Prince of Peace Children's home milk donation

We are ready for more milk for our kiddos at POPCH, in Zambrano.  We have seen some positive and good things come from these kids drinking good, healthy, whole milk every day, and because of your donations its possible for them to have it.  

The cost of the milk is about $2000.00, for a 6 month supply.

I know some of you have donated in the past for this cause, and its greatly appreciated!

If anyone would like to give for this purchase, to make a tax-deductible donation, you can send the money to:

ER International

2273 SW 15^th Street #153

Deerfield Beach, FL  33442

Att:  Milk for POPCH

Or you can send via pay pal, by clicking on the donate button on this blog page, or on the ER International Face Book page.

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.

Thank you, and God bless you all,

Robyn and Ernie Breaux

                                                                                 

Stolen Innocence

There are certain things that cause irreparable damage in children, which keep them from the getting the starts in life they need to become healthy, productive citizens and to enjoy all the fruits life has to offer.  These are the things that steal the joy and pleasure of youth which spur the learning of too much, too fast… that take the beauty of innocence away never to be returned.

Poverty is overwhelmingly common our world.  Children can’t think or play or learn when they are hungry.  When they have to focus on survival, the world becomes a hard, cold place where just living through the day is an accomplishment, and it is one that is too often only rewarded by another day of hunger. Poverty induces crime; young people will steal, mug, and harm others to get what they need to survive… taking actions that might never otherwise take, just in order to get by.

Poverty often seems to partner with two other striking evils: abuse and neglect.  Adults who are stressed because of impoverishment abuse children and one another; often they have grown up in an environment of abuse and the cycle seems never ending.

Neglect likely comes from as a result of self-preservation.  However hard and unkind it seems to us from other vantage points, many neglect those who need them in order to provide for themselves.  Again, the cycle is vicious with neglected children growing up only to neglect their own offspring in a similar fashion.  The hard truth is many have never known any better and few possess the tools – emotionally and intellectually – to remove themselves from the situation or to better it.

Yes, poverty, abuse, and neglect steal innocence away far too soon.  Yes, it’s a dire situation, and yes, it will never completely end.

It is our duty as blessed outsiders looking in to lend a hand whenever someone will take it, to teach whenever one will allow himself to learn, and make a difference when we can, even if it is one life at a time.  Ignoring doesn’t make the problem go away.  It multiplies it.

Missions Fund Raising

Process to fund raising for short term missions. Commit to the process, not the outcome God controls the outcome. Our job is to be faithful. Faithfulness is success. This is a rule for evangelism, discipleship, preaching, missions even fundraising. We don't control the outcome. When we fixate on the outcome, we become desperate and are tempted to manipulation. Fear and guilt become levers we're motivated by in our fundraising. And we fail. Don't do this! Commit to the process. Pray If you're going to be asking people to get behind you, to come on your team and to support you by funding your trip, ask God first. This is low-hanging fruit. No one loves you more than God, affirms you more than God. And He provides. Identify Who are you going to ask? Think broadly. Be generous in your estimation and expect people to be generous. Don't discredit people who can only give small gifts. Don't decide for them whether or not their going to give. Give them an opportunity. Notify Don't jump straight to asking. Give people a heads up. Let them know what you're going to be doing and that you're going to ask them to join your funding team. Here's a sample of simple notification ... I'm trying to go to Honduras to serve orphans in a month and I'm really excited about it. I'll give you a call this weekend to tell you more about the trip and see if you want to help me make it happen. That heads up removes awkwardness for them (Why are they calling?) and for you (How do I bring it up?). ways to notify: Paper newsletter E-mail Facebook message Text message Announcement at Small Group Do this in person if possible. Over the phone is okay, but awkward. You have to wade through silences and give people space to think. Make sure people know what you're going to do and where you're going to do it and why. Feel free to share the total amount you need, but don't feel like you need to explain where every penny goes unless they ask. Don't hesitate to suggest an amount this helps people know you aren't asking them to bankroll the whole trip. Make sure you know how they can give. And while you're asking put the money part first, but remember, you're building a team. Talk with them about how they might pray for your trip, supplies they might provide, ways they can follow your progress. Do the hard extra work to really include them. If you can't or won't do this, don't raise funds. People have to see how the trip went. They need to know that their generosity and sacrifice meant something. They need to hear stories and see pictures. Don't keep all the joy to yourself. And if you do this, they're more likely to go on a trip in the future and more likely to give to missions work in the future. A lot of us don't give to missions because we feel like we're giving into a black hole, throwing our money away.