Who am I?

You may contact me at: sylvia@orphansmom.com
I'd love to hear about YOUR passion for God or the oppressed.

More about me:

I'm Sylvia Atkins, Mom of three kids, aged 12-20.The seventh born of seven in the capital of the richest state in the richest nation on Earth, I became a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in 1990.  My husband of 15 years left me in 1998. A year later, I met Cliff, who I married in 2000.  Together, we are seeking daily to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Sometimes, we fail miserably!

I have always felt deep grief for the poor.  It seems my love for kids and God was also inborn, as my first choice of professions were those of a Mother and a Catholic nun. At 13, I discovered that Christ offered intimacy with all his true followers, so began a deeper spiritual walk, with the Bible as my guidebook.  From 16-23,  I became so appalled by the disparity between wealthy American Christians and the Third World poor, that I separated myself from Christianity altogether. This was akin to "throwing out the baby with the bathwater," and became a time of massive spiritual confusion and worldliness.  I began a quest to soften the hearts of Americans to the desperately poor and other issues of social justice. This included intentional living communities, political activism of all sorts, and even acts of nonviolent civil disobedience, for which I was arrested but by God's grace, never convicted.

I wrote an introspective Master's thesis at age 23, and realized that the only period in which I knew true peace of mind was during my 3 years walking closely with Christ. I rededicated my life to God with the stipulation that he bring me back into a place of inner peace. For the next 28 years, I sought to hear and obey the Spirit of God, and to quiet the voice of the world. I did not remain at peace through miscarriages, divorce, and human cruelty, but realized that for me, there was no turning back. I have chosen to stake my life and death on Jesus Christ.

From that purpose has grown a varied ministry including parenting, counseling, prayer, missions, teaching, and advocacy. Cliff and I volunteer as representatives for World Vision and Gospel for Asia.

I felt led of God to begin this website. Gratefully, my whole family is helping out, since I am a bonafide technological idiot. I don’t know God’s ultimate purpose in this, but leave results in His very capable hands.