February 2010 - Amazima

It has been way too long and we have gotten horribly distracted from this. Enough of that. This month we want to highlight a ministry we heard about from Uganda.

Their mission statement is:

Amazima Ministries International is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit based in Brentwood, TN. Amazima Ministries strives to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual encouragement to those who need it most. In the local language, Luganda, Amazima means "truth". Amazima desires to reveal truth to these children. The truth of a bigger world through education, but more importantly the truth of a God who created them beautiful in His image. A God who loves them, values them and wants the best for them. The truth of death on a cross, unconditional love, and eternity.

Amazima Ministries operates a sponsorship program for 400 orphaned children. These children are provided an education, school supplies, 3 meals a day, and medical care. They are also provided with spiritual encouragement and attend a weekly Bible study/fellowship program.

Another aspect of Amazima Ministries, is the feeding program provided to the displaced Karamojong people of the Masese community. These people are Uganda's poorest and often considered outcasts. A lunch meal is served to over 1,200 children Monday - Friday and a plate of food is sent home for dinner. This allows the children to attend school and not go to the street in town to beg. Also provided is basic medical care, Bible study and general health training.

Above all, Amazima desires that GOD is glorified and people who otherwise have no hope, would place their hope in Him, our Lord and Savior. We pray the our ministry will be a tangible example of a glimpse of Christ love!!

http://amazima.org/

They can receive donations for sponsoring a child via a form downloadable at:

http://amazima.org/waystohelp.html

Or, online via the Paypal link on their website.

May 2009 Ministry

We have finally finished our move and hopefully will be more disciplined about adding a monthly ministry. For May 2009, the ministry of City House, provides a good opportunity for a church-based, local outreach to touch the lives of young in need.

Their mission statement is:

The mission of CITY House is to protect children and strengthen families by helping children, youth and families resolve physical and emotional crises. We provide a complementary suite of intervention and prevention services at no cost to our clients.

Our Services include:

* an emergency shelter for the teens (10 to 17 years)
* an emergency shelter for the children (newborn to 9 years)
* family counseling
* life skills education
* parenting skills group
* crisis intervention.

Our goal is to enable families to function more effectively within the family unit and the
community.

http://www.cityhouse.org/index.html

They can receive donations at:

CITY House Administrative Office
1947 Ave K, Bldg A, Ste 400
Plano, TX 75074

or online via the Paypal link on their website.

August 2008 Ministry

Texas Reach Outis the ministry pick of the month.

This is from their website:

Founded by David and Margie Pena in 2001, Texas Reach Out Ministries is a 501 (c) (3)
non-profit organization specializing in transitional housing for those released from prison and those who are homeless as a result of unsuccessful integration into society after an extended prison stay. Reach Out Ministries serves only those men and women who have made a serious commitment to change their life course and a conscious decision for Christ. Residents apply for housing through a written application process, and many are referred by prison chaplains, pastors, and lay ministers. Each house becomes home to seven residents. You can see a list of their needs by clicking on their website and going to support needed on the left hand side.

Contact information is as follows:

David or Margarita Pena
P.O. Box 17006
Austin, TX 78760
Office (512) 291-0921
Fax (512) 291-4976
Email: Reachouttx@prodigy.net

July 2008 Ministry

http://www.embracetexas.org/Embrace is our pick for support this month. Their website does not have information about financial donations, but does have contact information. Please contact Cindy Coffman, Director at: cindy@embracetexas.org to find out how you can help spread their work of caring for the orphans of our time.

The mission of Embrace is to rally the members of our community to champion the needs of "waiting children" by becoming foster parents, adoptive families, or volunteers in our Resource Network. Waiting Children is a term now used to describe children in the foster care system, and those awaiting adoption. Founded in 2006 at Rhea's Mill Baptist Church, Embrace has now grown to involve a dozen families. Some are exploring the opportunity to grow their families through adoption. A few are families willing to open their homes and hearts to children in the foster care program. Many are individuals who have a heart for this cause, who commit to use their individual gifts and talents to benefit these children. We are working to expand the Embrace program in the Rhea's Mill congregation, while sharing with and encouraging the growth of similar ministries throughout our area.

Cape Ann Food Pantry

June 2008 Ministry

The Cape Ann Food Pantry provides support to local families in need of physical and community assistance. Their mission statement is:

The mission of The Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry is to alleviate hunger in the communities of Cape Ann. Our service area covers Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Manchester, and Ipswich.

We accomplish this by providing free meals and food in a hospitable environment, providing advocacy on behalf of the disadvantaged whenever possible, and providing job-skills training and job placement through our programs.

To make donations you can mail this address:

The Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry
28 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, MA 01930

Lift up the ministry, the lives of those who work with it and those touched by it as well over the next month as you are led.

May 2008 Ministry

Hope Clinic for Women is the May ministry of the month in honor of Audrey Caroline Smith. You can read Audrey's amazing story at Bring The Rain. It is such an amazing story of faith, hope and love. Your walk with the Lord will be changed by this little angel's powerful life!

To make donations onlineclick here.

Or you can mail donations to this address:
Hope Clinic for Women
1810 Hayes Street
Nashville, TN 37203

Please be sure to write Audrey Caroline on the memo of your check. And keep this family in your prayers. God bless you!

April 2008 Ministry

This month Atlanta's Open Door Community caught our attention. You can go to its website at:

http://www.opendoorcommunity.org

Donations can be mailed to:

910 Ponce de Leon Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30306-4212

Contact Information:

http://www.opendoorcommunity.org/contact_info.htm

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Believe it or not, it is getting harder and harder to find ministries that are the kind of ministries we think lines up with the spirit of what we are doing. If you have suggestions about any ministries that would be good to highlight, please let us know.

Will & Kerri

March 2008 Ministry

This month we feel led to highlight Ebenezer Christian Children's Home. The Home can be visited at the following website address:

http://www.egcch.org/index.htm

Donations can be mailed to:

Ebenezer Christian Children's Home
PO Box 2777
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659

The website also has the option for electronic donations via Paypal in case you don't like snail mail.

We'd love to hear feedback. Please leave comments or feel free to email us to let us know how you think God can be glorified by this.

Will & Kerri

Widows Harvest Ministries

The month of February we will be highlighting "Widows Harvest Ministries." Please check out their website at: Widows Harvest Ministries.


Their contact information is:

Widows Harvest Ministries
P.O. Box 2307
Chattanooga, TN 37409
(423) 266-0260

Please don't forget to tell them how you found out about their organization so that we can give more focus to His light!

Why we're here

Kerri and I have been giving tithes for several years to multiple organizations. A few weeks ago I felt really pulled to start "randomly" giving. For years I have wanted to open the phone book, find the first name I see and send that person money. I never actually did that. Last month, however, we decided we wanted to start sharing what God has given us a little differently. Kerri googled "women's shelter". The third link (not sure what number link it is now) that came up was the Women's Shelter. So, we sent a small check knowing, even though it was only a little bit of money, it would do some good. However, we believe God wants to expand on this concept.

I look at it like this: If we are each a ray of light there would be light in the world kind of like the stars in the sky. But, if we focus all of our individual lights together in one place the power of God would shine like the sun! We are trusting God has given us this site concept to glorify Himself through the power of giving. Christ said in Matthew 6:2, "When you give to the needy...". He didn't say, "If you give to the needy...". In that stream of thought we hope to focus the giving of many to powerfully impact one organization a month. God is ready to act in ways that are outside of our expectations, outside of the world's expectations, but, He still wants to accomplish the same thing: loving.

Our vision for this comes from Isiah 1:17, "Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." And James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." By these standards we are going to choose organizations that support the causes of the oppressed, the widowed and the orphaned. We will be praying and seeking the Lord's direction as to what organizations He wants to move in for that month and believe that the Holy Spirit will guide us to where He wants us to focus our giving each and every month.

We want to be clear that we believe tithing to your individual churches is first and foremost. This is a love offering. It is a gift given in the name of the Lord to express our thanks to Him who provides so abundantly to each and every one of us.
2 Corinthians 9:12, "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."

Each month we will post a ministry or organization to which we will send our funds. We will include a link to their website and all information about where to send the funds if you choose to join us. We hope you'll join with us in this effort to show God's love in a mighty way. We ask that you pray and ask the Lord what He wants your family to give. Or, if money is not what you can give at this time, we ask that you would keep the highlighted organization in your prayers the entire month as another way to bless them.

As another way to spread the word and get more people giving, we ask that you put the website name "givefocus.blogspot.com" somewhere on your check or in the envelope you send.

Will & Kerri Steele