Thank so much to all of you who gave me
your ideas on my Christmas survey. They have been a tremendous
help to me. I can't tell you everything right now, but I am writing and
pulling together some great resources to make your Christmas more
meaningful this year. I'll tell you more shortly.
Before I get to my newsletter this week, I just have to tell you that
it was snowing last week while we ate breakfast. It's been
raining for about 10 days off and on. The sun comes and goes
every 2 or 3 days. Last Thursday started out to be more of the
same - rain, rain, rain. When I called everyone for breakfast,
Steve said it looked like it was snowing. YEA! It didn't
stay long, but it sure was beautiful. I love November and the
coziness of family inside together.
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November is also the month to celebrate your thankfulness - thanking God for the blessings He has given you.
Last month I told you I would share a unique opportunity for your
children to learn to serve. Also, last month our family
discovered a way we can share what God has so abundantly given us.
We heard story after story last month about boys and girls around the
world that are coming to know the Lord as their Savior through the
outreach of Compassion International.. Often, these children
don't have much more than that - their family, a covering over their
head, some food and some clothes.
Compassion offered our
family a chance to help one of the children in their program.
With your donation, these children receive:
- Educational Opportunities
- Health Care and Supplemental Nutrition
- Opportunities for Safe Recreation
- Opportunities to Learn about Important Life Skills
-
Most important of all, sponsoring a child will
allow your child to Hear about Jesus and be Encouraged to Develop a
Lifelong Relationship with God.
BUT, this is not a
completely child-centered program. The child's family is
integrally involved. Here's what Compassion says about the
family's participation.
We feel strongly that every Compassion project should "belong" to
the people it's intended to serve. That means parents need to be
integrally involved in all aspects of their child's development,
including:
* Planning the daily activities
* Helping to make project decisions
* Ensuring that money is spent wisely and only for
the purpose that it was given
We also give weight to caring for parental needs the parents'
well-being directly relates to the welfare of their children. It's
often possible for us to include parents in training activities and
arrange for special classes in:
* Parenting skills
* Literacy
* Child care
* Income generation or other useful skills
HOW WILL YOUR CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM SPONSORING A CHILD?
Let me tell you! You get more than you can imagine from
sponsoring one of these children. We immediately began praying
for Sergio whose picture now adorns our refrigerator (good
Bible/character lesson). Besides praying we learned where Bolivia
was located, as well as all the other South American countries (good
geography lesson for a few weeks). We are taking turns writing
Sergio (great writing lesson). I plan to learn more about Bolivia
and its history (good history lesson). We are sending pictures of
our family (good photo class).
My children are excited to get
a letter back from Sergio. We discovered he has a tutor that
greeted us "in the name of our Lord and Savior". WOW! He
has a Christian tutor that is teaching him on a regular basis.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You can choose the child you want to
sponsor when you visit Compassion's website. Take a look at those
lovely faces and I'm sure you will want to help them.
http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm
WHY DO I BRING UP COMPASSION IF IT'S THANKSGIVING & CHRISTMAS?
If you are truly thankful for all God has given you, why not share it
with someone truly in need. Someone who won't ever play with an
x-box or other electronic toys.
I am encouraging all the
families that read my newsletter to consider sponsoring a child.
It is very inexpensive, only $32 per month. As a family, we began
sponsoring a child last month and now my children are thinking about
sponsoring another child
on their own (all of them contributing towards the $32 each month).
I CAN'T AFFORD 32? IS THERE ANOTHER WAY TO HELP THESE CHILDREN?
When my children were younger and did not have regular jobs, they
raised money for a missionary family each Christmas. They took
orders for chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin bread during Thanksgiving
and Christmas. We set aside a few days for baking and
delivery. Once the money was collected, they paid me back
for the ingredients. The proft was set aside for a missionary family.
This is an excellent time to teach your children the power and
influence of an entrepreneurial spirit. Most of you think an
entrepreneur is only concerned with having their own business and
making money. That is not an accurate definition. An entrepreneur
is an innovator and manager. Entrepreneurs are creative enough to
develop a plan to make some extra money.
Compassion International is a terrific place to use that money that
your young entrepreneurs might make this holiday season. If your
children do not make enough money to give $32 a month, they can donate
it to Compassion's Christmas Gift Program. Can you imagine what
it would be like to not receive a Christmas gift as
a child? Christmas donations are used equally among all sponsored children.
Click here to sponsor a child this coming year:
http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm
Even if you never buy anything from us, PLEASE consider helping these
children and, especially, so they can hear about the gospel of Christ.
Blessings,
Kerry
Raising Leaders
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