Counting Shoes

Edmund is just one example of many who have been helped by Lifesong Honduras, and are now giving back.  I love how he obviously cares for these kids and even gives what little he has away so they can have shoes!  What a great example.

Here’s a question for you… How many pairs of shoes do you have? 

Me? I have somewhere in the 30’s… (eek!)

The kids at Lifesong Honduras have one pair each… sometimes two (a pair of boots to serve in).  Wow.

This Saturday join us for Shoe Saturday.  Simply count your shoes… and get your kids in on it too.  Have them count theirs.  And then tell them about the children in Honduras.  Tell them about Edmund who sacrifices his own money so children in the village can have something on their feet.  Then as a family pray.  Thank God for His faithfulness and His blessings on your family.  Thank Him for raising up men and women and children in Honduras to care for the poor, the orphaned, the vulnerable.  Ask Him to continue to provide and watch over them.  Ask Him raise up supporters so Lifesong can continue to serve in Honduras.  

We are reaching for a goal:

 

Please pray that we can reach this goal?   Maybe God wants to use you?  Will you prayerfully consider joining us?

Maybe you can't give $30 a month... Maybe you can give more.  Today we want to encourage you to give your best!

One commitment we've received was a one time gift... Another commitment was matched by the donor's employer... meaning his gift has now quadrupled!  We are so excited to see people rise up and give what they can!  

Thank you to those who have committed so far.  

We have 15.5 commitments.

Can we make 100?  

We have 7 days... 84.5 commitments to go.  

With your help we can do it!

Tortillas and then some...

What did you have for breakfast this morning? 

Maybe some coffee?  Yes?

Maybe some rice and beans, with white cheese and tortillas?  No?

At Lifesong Honduras this is what a normal breakfast for the 550 kids we serve looks like.

For lunch they will get tortillas with either vegetable soup, pasta, or chicken with rice and vegetables.

For dinner they will eat rice, beans, cream (similar to sour cream) white cheese, eggs (2 times a week) and (you guessed it) tortillas.

Next Tuesday, March 29th join us for Tortilla Tuesday!

Enjoy a meal at work or with your family or friends of tortillas, rice, and beans.  This is a great way to not just talk about life for kids in Honduras, but to actually experience it, if only in one small way.

We want to encourage you to use this opportunity to share the need in Honduras with your kids, friends, and co-workers.  Here are a few facts and conversation starters:

1. Honduras is one of the poorest nations in the western hemisphere

2. Last year approximately 75% of new students coming into Lifesong Honduras were malnurished, their weight and height way below average, and needed extra vitamins and supplements.  Pictured below are three 7th graders from this group

The reward comes in many forms... to watch them grow and their appearance change, knowing that you played a part in that.  It is hard explain, but when you take one of our graduates and compare them to someone of the same age, from their own villages, even though the differences may range from ever so slight to obvious, it is visible."

-Lifesong Honduras staff member

3. There are innumerous un-reached mountain villages that still do not have electricity or running water, children without clothing or shoes, and families without food to feed their children.

- Homes are barely constructed of mud, sticks, cardboard and whatever material they can use to cover themselves.

-Many villages have no organized church, nor a pastor, nor a church building in which to meet.

-Students at Plan Escalon spend part of their education giving back… visiting mountain villages, where many of them came from, to bring food (rice and beans) and minister to the people.

- Imagine what it would it be like to live in a mountain village in Honduras… What would it be like?  Would you feel hopeful of your future?   How would you survive?

4. At Lifesong Honduras they have to make 3,500 tortillas made every day… on only 3 stoves!

- Can you imagine making that many tortillas every day?  Think about how you would interact with others in the kitchen.  How easy would it be trying to accomplish this with only 3 stoves?

*Be sure to have your camera ready for Tortilla Tuesday! Please send us a photo of you and your family or co-workers (or whoever you invite) participating in Tortilla Tuesday, your location, and a short story about the impact it made and the conversations you had! If you have a blog or facebook, consider sharing it!

Our goal is:

Will you join us?  Every dollar will make a difference!  Every dollar will be doubled for the sake of orphans!

So far we have 4 commitments.  Thank you!  We still need more.  Together we can do more for the children and the future of Honduras!

Contact us at info@lifesongfororphans.org to make your commitment!

Hear personal stories & follow the progress on our blog all this week!

More

What if every time you gave a dollar to orphans it became one more? 

One more dollar towards food, education, shelter?

One more dollar towards sharing the Gospel and providing Biblical mentorship?

One more dollar towards changing the life of a child?

Thanks to a generous donor every dollar given to Lifesong Honduras will be matched… up to $120,000!  We praise the Lord for this amazing gift and invite you to be a part of it.

Over the next 10 days we are hoping for 100 1-year commitments of $30 a month.  Just think, for about $1 a day a life in Honduras can be forever changed. 

Partnering with Tree of Life Missions in Honduras, Lifesong for Orphans is able to work toward providing hope to the hopeless, help to the helpless and healing to the hurting.  TOLM reaches kids through a program called Plan Escalon.  (Escalon is translated "escalator" and is used to describe the children's escalator out of poverty/brokenness.) 

Through this program we strive toward: 

• Providing an education to the poorest of youth
• Providing food to the poorest of youth
• Providing vocational training & micro-business opportunities
• Providing free medical and dental clinics to those in need
• Training young people to give back to their communities
• Reaching people in the jungles of the Mosquito Coast 

Stay tuned for stories, personal testimonies, and fun ways to spread awareness and instill a heart of giving in your kids!

Our goal is:

Will you help us?  100 commitments in ten days is no small feat, but with God it is possible.  We have seen Him move mightily in His people to serve orphans and we pray that this ten weeks will be a testimony of that!  Together we can make a difference in the lives of these kids!  Together we can do more to bring joy and purpose to orphans!

Contact us at info@lifesongfororphans.org to make your commitment!

Hear personal stories & follow the progress on our blog all this week!

You will receive follow up emails on Thurs of this week and Tues of next week where we'll be sharing some personal stories and updating you on the progress.  Please join us in prayer as we ask the Lord to raise up 100 commitments!

Let them eat tortillas!

Next monday we will be kicking off an exciting 10 day blog-a-thon to spread the word about what's going on at Lifesong Honduras.  We will be sharing personal testimonies from changed lives, peeking into everyday Honduran life, and giving some tools to spread awareness in your families.

One of these tools is a little something we like to call (da-daDAAA!):

Tuesday, March 29th we will be dedicating 1 meal to eat what the children in Honduras eat on a daily basis... and we want you to be a part of it!  We will also provide some great topical questions and discussion guides for you to share with your kids on what life is like for children in another culture.  

So mark your calendars and head to the store to get tortillas, rice, and beans for the whole family! 

Godabuildawell

Who would have thought that building wells in Illinois could build a well in Honduras?

Lifesong Honduras has accepted more children into their care and went from 5,000 to 20,000 gallons of water needed per day. Their 20 year old well was damaged in a 2007 earthquake and needs to be replaced in order to provide clean drinking water for the kids at their orphanage. Total cost for the well: $9,500.

A local young adult small group has taken up the challenge to creatively raise the funds for this project by building & selling these wishing wells to help build a well in Honduras! So far, they've raised over $1700.00!

Thanks so much Pontiac Bible Church for your partnership & support!

To stay up-to-date on this project go to GodabuildawellFacebook's page!