by Dennis Unrau,
Director of Casa de Hogar
in Colima, Mexico
Dinner Party Success for Rancho San Juan Bosco in Tecate, Mexico
by Dan Hare
Although we have many donors who reach out to their inner circle to join one of our many causes, Dan Hare, an ardent supporter of Rancho San Juan Bosco (RSJB), a boy's orphanage in Tecate, has had another successful dinner party to raise funds for the home. This only goes to show that there are many ways you can get involved to help raise money for a cause that is nearest to your heart. Below is an email we received from him detailing the dinner. His passion for RSJB does not go unnoticed and we appreciate and applaud him for introducing this vital project to new people. We can't wait to see what he does for his next dinner party!
I was feeling good after the dinner party we had in March which raised over $1000 for RSJB. Previous to that, we were able to raise around $400. So when I put out the word to raise $2000 for RSJB, I felt like we could do it. Faith made me think we could raise that much money.
As usual, the RSVP's were light until the last few days. Then it looked like 40 to 60 people were going to show up so I thought our goal was doable. The night of the party, 7:00 pm rolled around and only a few people had shown up - typical for "California time." Of course, we briefly panicked thinking the night was going to be a disaster. But as the tradition goes, people started to show up after 8:00 pm.
Everyone was having a good time and the donation bucket finally seemed to be full. The first "collection count" began at 11:00 pm. As I counted the money, I had a sinking feeling that we were short. Sure enough, we only collected about $1300. Then I realized that someone who couldn't make the party had pledged $500 so that meant we had $1800. It was closer to the $2000 mark, but it was still short of the objective.
Disappointment settled in, but I then realized that a bottle of wine was also donated. It was a very expensive bottle; we knew a restaurant that sold it for $160 a glass. The highest bidder bid $250, which took our grand total over $2000...we did it!
I should mention that this was also my birthday. The people who won the wine gave it to me as a birthday gift. Aside from a thank you for that, I extend many thanks to everyone who shared the evening with me and joined in to help the kids at RSJB. It couldn't have happened without you! And it was the coolest birthday I've ever had!
Lindsey recently finished a year-long commitment in Bulembu, Swaziland, teaching the local children. As she was talking about her experience in Bulembu, she mentioned some of the things the group used to do for entertainment. A friend of mine's father always used to say, "If you're bored, you have no one to blame but yourself." Lindsey certainly took that phrase to heart!
Here in America we KNOW what good entertainment is, right? We have the opportunity to keep ourselves busy with all sorts of things, such as movies on huge screens, television shows, live theatre and concerts, parks and recreation, going to WalMart at midnight and playing with the toys...or maybe that's just me :-). Even going to the gym is a source of entertainment for some. The point is we have a lot of options to keep ourselves busy.
Bulembu
For the past year, I lived in the small town of Bulembu, Swaziland. In Bulembu, there are not a lot of amenities or great sources of entertainment. It isn't as if Bulembu has nothing to offer...I mean, there is a ping-pong table, a racquetball court, beautiful mountains, a volleyball net, quite a few remarkable individuals, and a lot of cows. So, really, what more do you NEED? We became experts at relying on ourselves, and the local cows of course, for entertainment. There was a lot of poem writing, baking, and cake eating, and crazy, amusing, dress-up parties! Relying on ourselves and the cows helped us to realize how invaluable and unlimited our own imaginations are.
At the Soccar Field and Potluck Day
We would find the smallest, or biggest, possible thing to "celebrate" and then we'd make the most of it. Or if a person was having a hard time and needed their spirits lifted, we could quickly bake a cake and do silly decorations, throw on some unmatched clothes and maybe a multicolored wig, put together some lyrics for a rap, and bada-bing, bada-boom, we had an instant, "Cheer up, I promise it'll get better" party on our hands!
If we were welcoming a newcomer into town or saying farewell to a friend, we would really party it up. The best way to do this was to figure out a theme or idea based on that individual and then go totally overboard with it. So for Gennie, the high school girls' athletic coach, it was obviously gonna be all about lacrosse. We geared up and created lacrosse rackets out of plastic coke bottles and sticks and then put on a show before indulging in cake and sharing our favorite stories about each other.
Cooking with a Smile
For birthdays - or even half birthdays :-) - there might be a pretty princess party complete with make-up and nail painting or a parade marching down the road banging pots and pans to signify the importance of that day.
But beyond these regular bouts of animation, our other ongoing (almost daily, at times) live source of entertainment truly did come from the nomadic cows. These guys wandered in and out of town at their leisure, as if they were the ones running things. When they were present, they aroused a sense of awe in us...sometimes more on the side of fear...and they certainly possessed a sort of mysteriousness that always left us in wonder.
Our cow "encounters" could happen at anytime - day or night. Allow me to explain with one of my favorite cow shenanigans. My roommate and I were both in bed on our way to the land of dreams, when we were abruptly woken by the extremely loud sound of running feet (or was it hooves...) outside of our house. It sounded like a S.W.A.T. team was surrounding the building so out of fear and confusion I started yelling "TWINS! TWINS!" at the unknown beings, thinking and hoping that it was really just the local, 17-year-old twin girls who loved to be pranksters.
An "Owner of the Town"
I thought this yelling was the best defense at the moment because at least the invaders would know that we were wide awake and ready for anything. My roommate, however, thought I was crazy and that I should be silent...but since she was too scared to come out from under her blanket, I chose not to listen to her advice. Needless to say, the noise quickly ceased as we sat bewildered about what had just happened. The next morning, we found cow hoof prints EVERYWHERE around our house. How did the cows get in? How did the cows get out? Why didn't we hear a MOO? Our yard is surrounded by a fence.
I share all of this with you not only to put a smile on your face - hopefully :-) - but more importantly, to enlighten you about the lighter side of missions work that is often overlooked. There is a lot of fun to be had out there! So I leave you with this challenge: Next time you want some entertainment, think outside the box!
A Place for Kids to Learn
by Reverend Rick Whitcomb, Director of Agape Children's Home in Ghana, Africa
Through God's grace and our generous supporters, we have so far rescued 93 orphaned children. But the rescue is only the beginning. The true work is in caring for them and training them to reach their potential in Christ - and education is a vital key. Last year we started our own school in order to train today's orphans to become tomorrow's leaders. Now we're aiming for the next level: to equip the school and build a new facility for the Agape Academy, a private school for Agape kids.
You can help us make a difference! The building alone will cost at least $200,000. Additional funds are needed for learning materials, desks, teachers, etc. We are calling all AGM supporters to stand with us in prayer for a breakthrough in finances for this project. Please consider what you can do through giving and prayer to make this happen. Click here to watch a video about the Academy.
Thank you for joining with us to bring life to God's children - this is only the beginning!
Is South Africa Forgetting Children in AIDS Fight? by Michael Georgy
AIDS is as commonplace in Africa as the number of children who know who Mickey Mouse is in the United States. UNICEF recently came out with new statistics that indicate children are often the greatest victims of this disease. Some do not even have a fighting chance from the moment they are born. This has had an impact on the orphanages we support. Not only do we have many more children who are losing parents and family members to AIDS, we also have to help the children battle this deadly disease.
South Africa is neglecting most of the 100,000 children born every year with HIV/AIDS and half of them are likely to die before the age of 2, a senior UN official said on Tuesday. "This is unacceptable," Ann Veneman, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said in an interview. "The child really has been in some ways forgotten."
Although the country faces one of world's heaviest HIV caseloads, AIDS activists accuse the government of dragging its feet while the disease ravages millions of South Africans. Veneman called on both the government and community leaders to end what she called a state of denial and to recognize the magnitude of the problem.
Despite being amongst the most vulnerable of those infected, only a small proportion of children get adequate treatment - 10 to 15 percent. That, said Veneman, is a slight improvement on 5 percent two years ago, when UNICEF launched an initiative to "put the missing face of the child on the AIDS pandemic."
"They are missing so much. They are missing their parents because so many are orphans. They are missing teachers because so many are infected," she added. "They are missing health-care workers. There are so many people that are impacted by this disease that children really have been the ones that are left out."
Alarming death rates
Veneman noted some progress on her four-day visit to South Africa, during which she discussed efforts to alleviate suffering with Nelson Mandela, who has his own AIDS charity. She also met pregnant women and mothers infected with HIV/AIDS. She said death statistics were nevertheless still astonishing. An estimated 12 percent of South Africa's 47 million population have HIV. "There are 500,000 new infections every year," including 100,000 children, said Veneman, adding, "there are 400,000 people who die every year."
South African officials, including President Thabo Mbeki, have infuriated AIDS activists by questioning accepted AIDS science and endorsing unproven treatments. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been dubbed "Dr. Beetroot" for her promotion of beetroot, garlic, and other foods as a treatment for HIV/AIDS.
Veneman agreed the government should take a stronger, more vocal stand. But she said the problem cannot be tackled by the authorities alone.
A new mindset was needed across South Africa, where HIV/AIDS is still a taboo subject. "I think it's very difficult if people don't stand up and speak about it. And I think that has to be done at every level of society, from local and community organisations to the top levels of government," she said. The South African government was originally a reluctant convert to anti-retroviral medications (ARVs), which are credited with drastically reducing AIDS deaths. But Mbeki's government has since changed course, making ARVs a pillar of its plan to fight HIV/AIDS. It envisions a targeted five-fold increase in the number of HIV-positive people accessing ARVs by 2011 - but some 700,000 needy South Africans currently cannot get the medication.
"There is a ray of hope. But there are great challenges in terms of implementing plans and much needs to be done," said Veneman.
The Father's Hand on the Casket Only Proves to Say,
Life is So Fragile, Enjoy Today by Sara Berchtold
Sara Berchtold
Sara works with Hope for the Nations Romania. She has a heart-breaking story that only reinforces that we all need to embrace the gift of life because it is so short and fragile.
Corina, a six-month-old girl with the longest eyelashes and most beautiful spirit, passed away last week. She laid four days in the morgue until the doctors remembered to alert her parents. Heartlessly, the doctors called up Gaby, the social worker at the hospital, and told her to call the parents to pick up their child.
Sara's Van that Carried Corina
The parents, who are gypsies, did not have the $100 needed to buy a burial plot or to pay for transportation. Gaby somehow got a plot donated by the town hall and a casket by the local funeral home. The only thing missing was transportation. Gaby called me and asked if I would be willing to transport the deceased baby and her parents so they could finally bury Corina.
The HFTN van became a hearse and I became the driver. I could not imagine the parents taking a bus or walking to their home with the tiny wooden casket with little Corina inside. I was happy to help to ease a little of the parent's pain. I wasn't sure, though, how I would handle this emotionally. I kept thinking, "Get the job done. Tomorrow is a new day."
Gaby and Corina Days Before Corina's Death
Corina's father came out holding a two-foot casket and placed it in the back of the van. Corina's mother was crying. I could not imagine the pain of holding your deceased child. The parents did not know how the child died, which made the situation even worse.
The pain and suffering of this country is so heavy. Along with the feelings of sadness for Corina, I felt frustration as to why children have to suffer like this.
We all complain about senseless things in our blessed lives. I wanted to share this story to remind all of us that our problems sometimes don't compare to those of others. The children of Romania experience sorrow every single day without any justice in sight. Please keep praying for this country and for the children who are suffering constantly. And remember, life is so fragile, enjoy today...
When One Believes, There is Always Hope!
by Dennis Unrau, Director of Casa de Hogar in Colima, Mexico
Dennis Unrau is the director of a few different group homes in Colima. The homes take care of children of all ages and also help the community through a adult programs that cater to both men and women. Below is a success story for an entire family who sought refuge through the Casa de Hogar homes.
Victor and Celia's four children, Victor, Hugo, Christian, and Nayeli, have been at Casa Hogar for almost four years. We took the children in because Victor and Celia were having problems. The children were left with Celia who didn't have sufficient means to support them. The couple had tried to reunite without success when Celia, desperate to see changes
in her life, entered Casa Belen, which is our home for women. Three months later, Victor entered a 15-month drug and alcohol rehabilitation program at another one of our homes.
Both of them completed their programs and also received Christ as their personal savior in
the process. They began to date and reconstructed their relationship with the Lord at
the center. They were recently married in the church and have since taken the two youngest children out of the children's home to live with them. They will reunite the two older boys with the family at the end of their school year.
We are so thankful when we can see families which were separated, who had no hope, be brought together under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It's such a joy to see them together again as the family that Christ had ordained from the beginning of their relationship. Victor and Celia are giving back to the children's home by volunteering their time in support of the regular weekend staff at Casa Leone.
Although we have many donors who reach out to their inner circle to join one of our many causes, Dan Hare, an ardent supporter of Rancho San Juan Bosco (RSJB), a boy's orphanage in Tecate, has had another successful dinner party to raise funds for the home. This only goes to show that there are many ways you can get involved to help raise money for a cause that is nearest to your heart. Below is an email we received from him detailing the dinner. His passion for RSJB does not go unnoticed and we appreciate and applaud him for introducing this vital project to new people. We can't wait to see what he does for his next dinner party!
I was feeling good after the dinner party we had in March which raised over $1000 for RSJB. Previous to that, we were able to raise around $400. So when I put out the word to raise $2000 for RSJB, I felt like we could do it. Faith made me think we could raise that much money.
Everyone was having a good time and the donation bucket finally seemed to be full. The first "collection count" began at 11:00 pm. As I counted the money, I had a sinking feeling that we were short. Sure enough, we only collected about $1300. Then I realized that someone who couldn't make the party had pledged $500 so that meant we had $1800. It was closer to the $2000 mark, but it was still short of the objective. 
Disappointment settled in, but I then realized that a bottle of wine was also donated. It was a very expensive bottle; we knew a restaurant that sold it for $160 a glass. The highest bidder bid $250, which took our grand total over $2000...we did it!
Through God's grace and our generous supporters, we have so far rescued 93 orphaned children. But the rescue is only the beginning. The true work is in caring for them and training them to reach their potential in Christ - and education is a vital key. Last year we started our own school in order to train today's orphans to become tomorrow's leaders. Now we're aiming for the next level: to equip the school and build a new facility for the Agape Academy, a private school for Agape kids. 
Despite being amongst the most vulnerable of those infected, only a small proportion of children get adequate treatment - 10 to 15 percent. That, said Veneman, is a slight improvement on 5 percent two years ago, when UNICEF launched an initiative to "put the missing face of the child on the AIDS pandemic."
South African officials, including President Thabo Mbeki, have infuriated AIDS activists by questioning accepted AIDS science and endorsing unproven treatments. Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has been dubbed "Dr. Beetroot" for her promotion of beetroot, garlic, and other foods as a treatment for HIV/AIDS.
