FEED THE FORGOTTEN

**Most of you have already read this on other blogs. We thought this would also make the PERFECT KIDS PROJECT!!! Even my 3 year old can realize that her spare change can provide food for the precious Ugandan children***

Too often we hear heartbreaking stories like this (that I posted on Saturday) and do nothing. We feel helpless. . . and so we move on. Not this time. There are people DYING in Uganda right now. There are children who's bellies are hungry and aching. There are mamas who are too weak to stand and babies begging to be held. There are people trapping termites hoping for food and eating dung in helplessness. DO NOT CAVE TO DESPAIR. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.

Join us and Children's HopeChest to FEED THE FORGOTTEN!!! (CLICK HERE TO GIVE NOW) (note: please write FEED THE FORGOTTEN in the notes section)

For $0.14, we can (and WILL) feed someone a meal of posho and beans. (posho is cornmeal, which is filling and beans are protein). Take that in for a moment. . .

$0.14 a meal

$2.86 for 20 days

$1 per FAMILY

$20 feed a family for 20 days.

How much was my Chick Fil A yesterday? How much is your Starbucks? The bigger question is how much am I willing to give up SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT EAT?

Remember Jesus story of the Good Samaritan? Remember how his very neighbors walked right by him? They probably looked at him with pity. . .probably thought "oh poor guy, that breaks my heart" but the fact is THEY DID NOTHING.

What will you do? These children are starving. . .

these actual children. . .

will you help? The money raised will feed those precious children. There are 3 - 4 villages that we are targeting (I'm hoping for more after we see how much we can raise!) to bring food relief to asap. These people are literally starving. . and waiting for you to act. Will you help? Even with paypal fees (2-3%) even $1 will feed 6 people! You CAN make a difference.

Spread the word, blog about it, facebook it, twitter it, ask your church or school or business to give, post the blog badge anything. Truly, we are begging you. . .on behalf of these children not to forget this post and move on to the next in your google reader list. Stop, pray, act.
GIVE TO FEED THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN!!!!!

(note: please write FEED THE FORGOTTEN in the notes section when you give)

May Project

We are headed to Eastern Europe for this month's Kids LAKE project. Ukraine, to be exact. In the past, we have really focused on meeting some of the physical needs of children around the world, but this month we have more of a spiritual focus.

Heart of the Bride (who you may remember from our August, 2008 project in Kenya) has an ongoing relationship with The Zurhovlovs, a missionary family in Nizhnigorsk, Ukraine. As well as having several orphans living in their home who they care for, they have an outreach ministry to the many neglected, abused children in the community who live in poverty. They offer Sunday School classes on a weekly basis and run several week long Vacation Bible Schools throughout the summer months. Our project for this month is to be able to earn, raise and save enough money to sponsor 60 children for VBS at $20 per child. This money will provide, sports equipment, craft supplies, snacks, tee-shirt and Bible Curriculum. Since many of the items are non-consumable, this $20 will go even further and come into play for years to come in ministering to the children of this community.

Please make sure to read yesterday's post for more information about Heart of the Bride and statistics about this area of the Ukraine. There are some educational links and resources in the sidebar, so be sure to check them all out as we focus our hearts and prayers to the Ukraine this month.

Heart of the Bride: Ukraine

About Heart of the Bride

Heart of the Bride was established in 1998 as a non-profit organization dedicated to helping provide for the needs of orphans around the world. Our primary mission is to Share From Our Abundance With Those In Greatest Need.

Through steadfast prayer and partnering with Pastors and Christian Leaders in underprivileged countries, Heart of the Bride has established on-going relationships with local orphan ministries in 6 nations -- Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Kenya, Uganda, Ukraine, and Zambia.

Since our public launch of the ministry in the fall of 2004, Heart of the Bride has continued to grow at a rapid but manageable pace. Multiple long term missionaries have been commissioned, many orphanage facilities have been built, our contribution base has grown from regional to national, and short term ministry opportunities have continued to multiply. Our home staff is also continuing to grow comprised of full time faith supported workers, part time staff, and many professional volunteers.

Strategy of Heart of the Bride

We Pray.

The Board of Directors, Staff, and Prayer Teams are devoted to prayer. As a result of prayer and our growing relationships in the mission community, we consistently discover Pastors and Christian leaders in underprivileged countries who are taking initiative to help the many orphans that surround them.

We Cultivate Relationships with these ministers to establish mutual credibility and trust.

We also develop systems of long term accountability as we help them clarify and achieve a long term vision for orphan ministry.
We Gather Funds to build facilities and send resources. By example, Heart of the Bride leaders are helping Americans make meaningful investments in this important eternal work.

We Send Workers.

Although indigenous leaders initiate and oversee these ministries, we do send workers to help in different aspects of the work. Our goal is to help lift the arms of those on the front lines of this difficult ministry by sending qualified help as well as the necessary funds to equip the children for a strong future.

Ukraine Orphan Statistics
There are over 100,000 orphans in the Ukraine.

Only 10% of these children are orphaned due to death of a parent; the rest are social orphans- due to alcoholism, abandonment or imprisonment of parents.
Every year, more than 2,000 mothers abandon their babies in maternity hospitals.

6,000-7,000 more children are abandoned at an older age or removed from their home due to crime or neglect.

Many social orphans have experienced abuse and violence from parents who were drug addicts or alcoholics.

Orphans typically grow up in large state-run homes, which may house over 200 children.

Many children run away from these homes, preferring to live on the street.

Children usually graduate from these institutions between 15 and 16 years old and are turned out, unprepared for life outside the home.

About 10% of them will commit suicide after leaving the orphanage before their 18th birthday.

60% of the girls will end up in prostitution. Those who run prostitution rings target orphaned girls, who are especially vulnerable due to their lack of options and lack of people who care what happens to them. Though promised good jobs, they end up on the streets and brothels of cities across Europe.

70% of the boys will enter a life of crime. Many of these will die young of violence or end up in prison. Most inmates contract TB in prison.

Ukraine is now encouraging long-term foster care in private homes as an alternative to large state-run orphanages.

Guatemala

**Note: I am so sorry for the delay in getting this out this month. I sincerely apologize. Again, we will be doing a 1 1/2 month project to leave adequate time for our kiddos to get involved. If anyone is passionate about this project, I'd love help in researching our next projects and getting us prepared ahead of time so that we can launch the next project on MAY 1!

Eagle's Nest is a precious orphanage in Guatemala. Their funding was secure in the past because of adoptions of these little ones. However, adoptions have been halted in Guatemala so these little ones are living at Eagle's Nest for a LOT longer and with very little regular funding! WE get to be a part of their little lives this month!

$20 will provide milk for a little one for an entire month!!!!

'Nuff said, right?! Let's get to it. Encourage your kids to raise, save and earn their money to make a difference. Also, take a moment to check out the videos below. Angel (blogger and adoptive mama) has worked with Eagle's Nest for a long time and can vouch for how they love the children and Jesus! This is a video of her thoughts about Eagle's Nest following her last trip there.

Links for Teaching about Guatemala

CIA Factbook

Travel in Guatemala

Maps of Guatemala

Coloring Pages about Guatemala (food, map, etc)

Teaching Resources about Mayan Culture

Angel's Blog (she has adopted from and is passionate about Guatemala)

**If you have ideas for more links to share, please leave a comment!

Help Haiti TODAY

Need I say more?

Haiti!

Today was a big day for TWO reasons:

First, we held our second Playdate with a Purpose our purpose is the 2nd big thing of the day

Second, we kicked off our NEW KIDSLAKE PROJECT!!
BOWLS AND SPOONS FOR HAITI!!!

We are raising money for New Missions in Haiti to provide metal bowls and spoons for children. While my husband was there in December, they literally saw kids take bowls of rice and pour them onto their backpacks and eat the rice with their dirty hands because they didn't have the proper utensils.

So, today we did our playdate with a purpose to each teach the kids about Haiti and raise some money!

The idea behind Playdates with a Purpose is that all moms are looking for something fun to do with their kids! So, we decided to use the usual playdate and give it a twist. We meet at a local park and all the moms bring their bag lunch. We provide 2 things: 1. A game/activity used to teach the kids about our project, 2. a Craft to take home as a teaching tool.

This month's focus was Bowls and Spoons for Haiti. Every child brought $5 as their "offering" at the end. We played at the park for a while and then began our activity. I sat all of the children down on the playground and told them I had a snack for them. I asked Addison (the oldest child present) to come up for his rice. "Where is your bowl, Addison?" I asked. He, of course had no bowl and spoon. . .so I spooned the rice into his hands. We continued on with each child. Then, we talked about how hard this would be and how dangerous if your hands were really dirty. We also talked about how sad you would be if this was your only meal and you were dropping most of it on the ground!

Brooke then provided the craft. We made the CUTEST placemats with foam bowls and spoons on them. Then, the kids added pictures of children in Haiti, a map of Haiti and a sign saying, "pray for Haiti".

I think the kids really got it today. They talked about how their hearts were sad because of the kids without bowls and spoons and how they wanted to do a Hot Chocolate Stand to raise some more money!

So, there is your challenge: raise, earn or save money with your children for BOWLS AND SPOONS FOR HAITI this month! $5 buys metal bowls and spoons!**here is the question: I have waited to post this to get pictures from New Missions. They are super busy and haven't gotten back to me. . .should I extend this project for another month or just have it be a short notice month? What works best for your family?