Friday, October 28, 2016
CONSTRUCTION UPDATE {A Home for Christmas}
The money has been sent and the work has started!!!!! The cement blocks that will make up the structure of the home are starting to be formed!!! YEAHHHHH!!!!! We are officially underway!!!!!!!
Thursday, October 27, 2016
UPDATE: A Home for Christmas
UPDATE: As of 10/26/2016 this need is now FULLY FUNDED!!!!!!!! There is just nothing quite like experiencing the raw, jaw dropping power of the Lord when He comes through financially! We are humbled and overwhelmed with hearts swelling and fists pumping! Thanks be to God who meets all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus! I will post updates as the building of the home begins and progresses! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
I first met Doris and Mawutor in person on my January 2015 trip to Ghana. Many of you have heard my personal testimony about how the Lord used these two little blind girls to bring me face to face with the season of apathy that I was in. I know what it's like to avoid situations of suffering because you don't want to let in anymore pain. I know what it's like to experience your heart atrophy as you stop caring and stop participating in the things that God cares about in order to self-protect. Yet I also know that God works in upside down ways. And Doris and Mawutor became the springboard of me learning that the way through my own pain and struggle was to reach out to someone else's in theirs. So to say that Doris and Mawutor are part of my heart's story is an understatement. They are the vessels the Lord used to bring the dead, uncaring, unresponsive areas of my heart to life.
Doris and Mawutor are fatherless, their mother a single-mom. Between other siblings and cousins we are told there are 12 people total in this family that their mother is responsible for caring for including herself. For over two years now Acts 2 Collective has sponsored this family so that Doris and Mawutor can go to school and have their basic needs met. Recently we were presented with a big need for this family through our ministry partner, Vida, who oversees our sponsorship in-country. The structure this family is currently living in has not stood up under the heavy rainy season experienced this year. Their home is no longer sustainable and Vida (pictured in the red t-shirt below) has requested if Acts 2 Collective can build this family a new home.
We would love to build them a new home. But we need to raise the funds to do so. We don't currently have the finances to cover this. So I'm asking if you would be a part of making this happen? For $10? I'm asking for 500 people to give $10 so that we can give Doris and Mawutor, their mother, siblings, and family a home for Christmas.
The cost breakdown for materials is listed below. This will be a 3 bedroom home to fit the whole family. You can donate online at https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/ When donating please select 'Acts 2 Collective General Fund' for the account. And once you are entering in your contact info on the form please type 'A Home for Christmas' in the Organization section under your name. Or you can mail a check to the donation address listed in the sidebar of this blog. Checks can be made out to Acts 2 Collective and note 'A Home for Christmas' in the memo.
ESTIMATED BUDGET OF THE BUILDING FOR MAWUTOR AND DORIS:
1. Bricks, laying of bricks, plastering, screeding, materials and Labour for 3 bed-room =
Gh¢ 8,640
2. Roofing materials and Labour = Gh¢ 8,828
3. Paint and Labour = Gh¢ 860
Grand Total = Gh¢ 18,328 equiv: $5000 U.S.
I first met Doris and Mawutor in person on my January 2015 trip to Ghana. Many of you have heard my personal testimony about how the Lord used these two little blind girls to bring me face to face with the season of apathy that I was in. I know what it's like to avoid situations of suffering because you don't want to let in anymore pain. I know what it's like to experience your heart atrophy as you stop caring and stop participating in the things that God cares about in order to self-protect. Yet I also know that God works in upside down ways. And Doris and Mawutor became the springboard of me learning that the way through my own pain and struggle was to reach out to someone else's in theirs. So to say that Doris and Mawutor are part of my heart's story is an understatement. They are the vessels the Lord used to bring the dead, uncaring, unresponsive areas of my heart to life.
Doris and Mawutor are fatherless, their mother a single-mom. Between other siblings and cousins we are told there are 12 people total in this family that their mother is responsible for caring for including herself. For over two years now Acts 2 Collective has sponsored this family so that Doris and Mawutor can go to school and have their basic needs met. Recently we were presented with a big need for this family through our ministry partner, Vida, who oversees our sponsorship in-country. The structure this family is currently living in has not stood up under the heavy rainy season experienced this year. Their home is no longer sustainable and Vida (pictured in the red t-shirt below) has requested if Acts 2 Collective can build this family a new home.
The family's current home. Doris and Mawutor's mother is pictured in the skirt on the left with some of her other children....
We would love to build them a new home. But we need to raise the funds to do so. We don't currently have the finances to cover this. So I'm asking if you would be a part of making this happen? For $10? I'm asking for 500 people to give $10 so that we can give Doris and Mawutor, their mother, siblings, and family a home for Christmas.
Vida who oversees our sponsorship of the family in-country is pictured here with some of the family members. Doris is in the purple on the floor and Mawutor is sitting to the left of Vida. Their mother is sitting to the right of Vida.
The cost breakdown for materials is listed below. This will be a 3 bedroom home to fit the whole family. You can donate online at https://acts2collective.cloverdonations.com/donation/ When donating please select 'Acts 2 Collective General Fund' for the account. And once you are entering in your contact info on the form please type 'A Home for Christmas' in the Organization section under your name. Or you can mail a check to the donation address listed in the sidebar of this blog. Checks can be made out to Acts 2 Collective and note 'A Home for Christmas' in the memo.
ESTIMATED BUDGET OF THE BUILDING FOR MAWUTOR AND DORIS:
1. Bricks, laying of bricks, plastering, screeding, materials and Labour for 3 bed-room =
Gh¢ 8,640
2. Roofing materials and Labour = Gh¢ 8,828
3. Paint and Labour = Gh¢ 860
Grand Total = Gh¢ 18,328 equiv: $5000 U.S.
The girls registering for school...
Mawutor in her classroom.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Sponsorship Opportunity
I first met Patrick one night when it was pitch dark and I was walking back to the hotel from our mission center in Asikuma, Ghana all alone. He had just fetched water and was riding his bike back home. He stopped to introduce himself to me the foreigner, and just had the friendliest personality....like that kind-hearted, older brother sorta feel. It was like God used Patrick on my walk back to the hotel to whisper peace and that the Lord was right there with me, watching out for me.
Patrick, aka 'AJ', is one of the handful of young men that has been assisting James, our Agri-Hope employee, with the manual labor portion of the farming we have started on campus. Patrick is the definition of a humble, hard worker. From the moment I first met him I felt that the Lord had opened a door for him into our center in order to be rewarded for how he labors wholeheartedly to provide for his younger siblings.
Well, now it's time for that reward to come. And in Ghana, getting to go to school is one of the highest opportunities that the youth yearn for. Because of his age and lack of academic background, Patrick does not qualify for secondary school in Ghana. So the best option for him is to go to technical school and learn a trade. Recently Patrick approached us about sponsoring him to go to Somanya Technical school to study automobile engineering (he will learn to be a mechanic). We feel this would be a great route for our hard working, hands-on Patrick and will get him on track for a future career.
It will take $600 to get Patrick registered for school and set up for his 1st term. This is also a boarding school where Patrick will live, so there is a list of living supplies (see photo below) covered within this cost (think along the lines of moving into a dormitory - bedding, eating utensils, etc) as well as his school uniform, books and school supplies, etc.
Each term after the first will be $300 (this covers term fee plus living expenses), and there are 3 terms per year. The total program to become an auto mechanic through this school is 3 years long. To sum it up, the cost we are looking at is $1,200 per year.
We are looking for an individual who would be able to commit to sponsoring Patrick in school - right now we are just asking for a commitment for the first year, $1200. This opportunity could be what you want to make it. Patrick is on Facebook and can regularly communicate, speaks English, etc. The possibility for a relationship to be established between Patrick and a sponsor is definitely there. If you would rather remain anonymous that is fine too. We will be able to send you updates on Patrick either way.
If this is calling your name please email janel@acts2collective.org and I will get you all set up for the sponsorship! Patrick can start school as soon as funds are available. Thank you for considering partnering with us in this way!
Patrick, aka 'AJ', is one of the handful of young men that has been assisting James, our Agri-Hope employee, with the manual labor portion of the farming we have started on campus. Patrick is the definition of a humble, hard worker. From the moment I first met him I felt that the Lord had opened a door for him into our center in order to be rewarded for how he labors wholeheartedly to provide for his younger siblings.
Well, now it's time for that reward to come. And in Ghana, getting to go to school is one of the highest opportunities that the youth yearn for. Because of his age and lack of academic background, Patrick does not qualify for secondary school in Ghana. So the best option for him is to go to technical school and learn a trade. Recently Patrick approached us about sponsoring him to go to Somanya Technical school to study automobile engineering (he will learn to be a mechanic). We feel this would be a great route for our hard working, hands-on Patrick and will get him on track for a future career.
It will take $600 to get Patrick registered for school and set up for his 1st term. This is also a boarding school where Patrick will live, so there is a list of living supplies (see photo below) covered within this cost (think along the lines of moving into a dormitory - bedding, eating utensils, etc) as well as his school uniform, books and school supplies, etc.
Each term after the first will be $300 (this covers term fee plus living expenses), and there are 3 terms per year. The total program to become an auto mechanic through this school is 3 years long. To sum it up, the cost we are looking at is $1,200 per year.
We are looking for an individual who would be able to commit to sponsoring Patrick in school - right now we are just asking for a commitment for the first year, $1200. This opportunity could be what you want to make it. Patrick is on Facebook and can regularly communicate, speaks English, etc. The possibility for a relationship to be established between Patrick and a sponsor is definitely there. If you would rather remain anonymous that is fine too. We will be able to send you updates on Patrick either way.
If this is calling your name please email janel@acts2collective.org and I will get you all set up for the sponsorship! Patrick can start school as soon as funds are available. Thank you for considering partnering with us in this way!
Patrick is pictured here in the middle - farm tools in hand. :) James, our Agri-Hope employee is pictured right, and Wisdom our community director is pictured left.
Term fee breakdown
Living supplies list
School uniform
