Entries Tagged 'Causes' ↓

There are several organizations, or causes, that are close to our hearts. We’ve written about a few of them before (see posts categorized as causes).

One great cause is the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), a disaster response effort on behalf of the United Methodist Church.

UMCOR is an impressive organization, one that’s well-respected in the national/international community. In fact, UMCOR managed the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) program of distributing international aid for more than two years after Katrina (see Katrina Aid Today).

This is particularly a good time to learn more about UMCOR as they prepare to respond to Hurricane Gustav (see link for details and ways to help). Gustav made landfall in Louisiana yesterday, 3 years and a few days after Katrina.

Every year, Samaritan’s Purse conducts a wonderful outreach called Operation Christmas Child.

We’ve been able to participate in this ministry for the last several years through some of the churches we serve. This week is the week shoe boxes are delivered to drop-off locations all across the country, which will then be delivered to larger facilities for checking and packing, before finally being delivered to children all over the world.

May God bless children around the world as they receive show boxes, filled not only with little gifts, but even more importantly, acts of love.

Friday night’s Twila Paris concert with the World Vision Korea Children’s Choir was a great experience!

Twila Paris’ concert tour came to Huntingdon, PA last night. We enjoyed hearing her sing some of her classic songs, including, “The Warrior is a Child,” “We Bow down,” and “He is Exalted,” as well as a couple songs from her new (yet-to-be released) CD (pre-release copies were available at the concert, though).

While we enjoyed Twila Paris, the main reason we were there was to hear and see the World Vision Korea Children’s Choir (be sure to click on the English version). Watch the photo page for photos from last night’s concert (we’re waiting for permission from them to include a photo from last night’s event in this post).

The event caught our attention, of course, because we are awaiting the adoption of a child from South Korea. We’re glad we had the chance to be there. While we had already bought tickets, we received a call from World Vision to volunteer at the event, helping people sign up to sponsor children (as you may know, we sponsor a child in Rwanda). We gave our tickets to two children of Joleen’s cousins (hi Sam and Em!). After the concert, we went to The Meadows for ice cream.

The children’s choir did an amazing job. They are a very talented group of children! The World Vision Korea Children’s Choir is an excellent program, founded in 1960. Children practice 3 days per week after school and intense practice during vacation.

In addition to singing many Korean (and American) songs, it was also nice to see them join Twila for the closing worship songs and to see the heartfelt worship of the children. As many of the children spontaneously raised their hands in worship to God, many of them also placed a hand (or two) over their heart. It brought back memories of the Renovare workshop we attended earlier this year where one of the speakers (Richard Foster, we believe) said that, whereas Americans/Westerners tend to go to God with their heads and their mouths, Koreans go to God with their hearts and their ears.

Also very moving was seeing tears in the eyes of at least two of the children as they sang a closing song of blessing for the audience, a wish for God’s peace (which we were able to see from our second row seats). We picked up a couple of the children’s CDs to continue enjoying their music. The choir is on their 39th America tour. They are spending the month of August traveling in America serving as “a voice for the voiceless.” May God bless them and their ministry!

Sponsoring a child is a great way to make a difference in someone’s life!

For years we talked about sponsoring a child through one of the organizations that offers child sponsorship. We finally made the commitment to make a difference in the life of a child a few months ago by sponsoring a child through World Vision.

World Vision offers two types of sponsorship: Child Sponsorship and HopeChild Sponsorship. Child Sponsorship provides clean water, nutritious food, health care, educational opportunities, and spiritual nurture. HopeChild Sponsorship, offered in communities affected by HIV/AIDS, adds support for AIDS prevention, care for sick/dying parents, and HIV/AIDS counseling.

We chose the HopeChild sponsorship program and now have a couple photos of Jeanne, an 11 year old girl from Rwanda, on our refrigerator, which reminds us to pray for her. May God bless Jeanne, her family, and her community, through World Vision and through our prayers and financial support. And may God equip Jeanne to be a transforming presence in her community! (Speaking of Rwanda, we highly recommend the movie, Hotel Rwanda.)

You can search for a child to sponsor here (select Child Sponsorship or HopeChild under “Type of Sponsorship” in the left column, if you have a preference; currently, monthly donations are $30 and $35 per month, respectively).

Let us know if you have any questions (click on “Comments” below this post).

One of the causes we support (see list of causes we support in the sidebar) is Nothing But Nets, an effort in which the United Methodist Church is one of 5 founding partners. I’ve written a couple posts before: here and here.

As a follow-up to the event that Joleen spearheaded, Joleen was named an MVP.

Thanks again to all who helped, participated, and gave money. More money was donated since our last post. The total now stands at $1096.

I recently wrote about a youth sporting event to raise money and awareness for Nothing But Nets. That event took place last Saturday night. Youth from several area churches brought money from donations to help send nets to Africa.

We gathered at the Juniata Valley High School gym for an evening of basketball and volleyball (net sports). Randy opened with devotion and shared that early Christians were called “athletes of God.” The group of “athletes” who gathered in the gym Saturday night, Randy said, came for more than physical activity; they came to make a difference in someone’s life in another part of the world.

Many thanks to area youth who raised $1051!

And that number is sure to rise as donations are still coming in. Special thanks to our top two money raisers: Erica Brechbiel (from the12th Street UMC) who raised $173, and to Ben Irvin (from Faith UMC) who raised $166.

For more info on this effort to save lives in Africa, check out Nothing But Nets.

Athletes of God …

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9.24-27).

March is a big month for college basketball fans. Locally, the madness will include playing for a great cause. On Saturday (3/31), area youth in grades 6-12 will join together for an evening of sports activity in order to raise money for Nothing But Nets. The event will take place at the Juniata Valley High School gym (pending school board approval), 7:00-10:00 pm.

The United Methodist Church was invited to be one of five founding partners of the campaign, along with NBA Cares, Sports Illustrated, Mark J. Gordon Foundation, and United Nations Foundation.

We need nets! Not hoop nets, soccer nets or lacrosse nets. Not New Jersey Nets or dot-nets or clarinets. We need mosquito nets. Nearly 3,000 kids die each day in Africa from malaria. According to the World Health Organization, transmission of the disease would be reduced by 60% with the use of mosquito nets and prompt treatment for the infected. It costs $10 to ship and install an insecticide-coated net.

Area youth are raising funds for the 3/31 event, asking friends and family members to make a donation to help save lives!