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
Friday, September 16, 2016
Taking the Gospel to the Chadian Military
One of the objectives of Acts 2 Collective is that we aim to support our brothers and sisters in Christ in-country who are doing the Lord’s work. Such is the case with our Chadian brother, Marc. Marc has been overseeing our Sports Mission Complex vision in Sarh, Chad. Meanwhile, as we await more funding, Marc has been called to be a minister to the Chadian military. He is an evangelist to the soldiers, traveling all around Chad to teach God’s word to those in the military - holding bible studies, prayer groups, and even meals together. In Chad this is a trained position, and just recently Marc was invited by the Association of Military Christians Union to attend a training in Cameroon. Marc has continual need for funding to cover the cost of training materials (mainly to give each soldier a Bible in French which costs $4 each), food, and his travel expenses. This is one way Acts 2 Collective has been supporting Marc’s ministry, and in so doing we have seen many soldiers turning their lives over to Christ.
We recently received word from Marc of an urgent need that has come up in his ministry. Some time ago one of the men Marc ministered to in the military, Colonel Beal, ended up going to Mali in the UN mission and died in the war. Since then Marc has been looking after the care and needs of the family he left behind. Due to urbanization of the Chadian government in the city of Loumia where the military live, the home this widowed family was to move into was taken out by road construction. Marc is now looking to rebuild a 3 bedroom home for this family. The labor cost breakdown is listed in a photo below in French. Total estimated cost is $2,012.
In addition, another soldier Marc had ministered to, Abdel-Aziz Bore, also lost his life and Marc has stepped in to help care for the now widowed family he left behind. Their home was also affected by the road construction, and there is need to help them rebuild their kitchen and a toilet area. Their cost for rebuilding is $366. Furthermore, there are 12 children within these situations who are in need of school sponsorship.
These sorts of needs are just a sampling of the requests for help that Acts 2 Collective receives on what has become a weekly (and oftentimes daily) basis now. When you support Acts 2 Collective financially, your donations are helping to meet the needs of our in-country missionaries like Marc, as well as vulnerable women, children and families such as these.
We recently received word from Marc of an urgent need that has come up in his ministry. Some time ago one of the men Marc ministered to in the military, Colonel Beal, ended up going to Mali in the UN mission and died in the war. Since then Marc has been looking after the care and needs of the family he left behind. Due to urbanization of the Chadian government in the city of Loumia where the military live, the home this widowed family was to move into was taken out by road construction. Marc is now looking to rebuild a 3 bedroom home for this family. The labor cost breakdown is listed in a photo below in French. Total estimated cost is $2,012.
In addition, another soldier Marc had ministered to, Abdel-Aziz Bore, also lost his life and Marc has stepped in to help care for the now widowed family he left behind. Their home was also affected by the road construction, and there is need to help them rebuild their kitchen and a toilet area. Their cost for rebuilding is $366. Furthermore, there are 12 children within these situations who are in need of school sponsorship.
These sorts of needs are just a sampling of the requests for help that Acts 2 Collective receives on what has become a weekly (and oftentimes daily) basis now. When you support Acts 2 Collective financially, your donations are helping to meet the needs of our in-country missionaries like Marc, as well as vulnerable women, children and families such as these.
Our Chadian brother, Marc, on the left, out on mission.
Handing out the Word.
Bible training session
Soldiers with their Bibles! Yeah!!
Breaking bread and opening the Word with Marc
Another teaching session
Beal family
Cost to rebuild Beal home
Bore family
Project In Amanful
Amanful. A community tucked back in the heart of Cape Coast, Ghana. The entrance to the community greets visitors with a shrine display to its idol-god – a whale.
Ever since the Lord led us to Amanful to take one of its orphans into our mission center we have been drawn back to this community. One of the patterns we see in the life of Jesus is that oftentimes He first met a person’s physical need, and then that opened up the doorway to meet the person’s spiritual need. This has been our prayer for Amanful…that the Lord would grant us an access point into the community to birth our relationship and ultimately introduce the community to the One, True God – Jesus Christ.
Our vision at first was to dig a water well in Amanful to provide access to clean drinking water. However, we could not find a good drilling spot that gave this access due to the area being so close to the ocean. In the midst of searching out a water well site the chief of Amanful came to us and said that what the community really needed was an operable public restroom and showering facility. This sort of facility is a basic need in communities in Ghana because not every dwelling unit has a private bathroom attached like we are used to in the United States. You can of course imagine that not having readily available restrooms and bathing areas contributes to the public waste problem, spreading of disease and sickness, and very unsanitary conditions. Once this need was presented to us we assessed the existing facility which was in bad condition - not to mention its connection to running water was not working. We decided to take it on.
Our initial investment into the public restroom facility has been $6,500. This has enabled us to fix the connection to the existing water well that wasn’t working (which in turn provides running water to the facility), create shower stalls and doors, plumb in shower heads, paint the outside of the facility, and purchase a poly tank. During the rainy season there is plenty of water supplied by the existing well, but by the end of October the well will be dried up as the dry season comes through. The poly tank allows us to have a place to store up water during the rainy season so that there will still be water access through the dry season.
Current funds will provide the completion of the showering portion of the facility, but we are relying on more donations to come through to finish out the toileting area and related plumbing.
We are excited to begin this relationship with the community, and look forward to seeing how God draws lives to Himself through this open door into Amanful.
Ever since the Lord led us to Amanful to take one of its orphans into our mission center we have been drawn back to this community. One of the patterns we see in the life of Jesus is that oftentimes He first met a person’s physical need, and then that opened up the doorway to meet the person’s spiritual need. This has been our prayer for Amanful…that the Lord would grant us an access point into the community to birth our relationship and ultimately introduce the community to the One, True God – Jesus Christ.
Our vision at first was to dig a water well in Amanful to provide access to clean drinking water. However, we could not find a good drilling spot that gave this access due to the area being so close to the ocean. In the midst of searching out a water well site the chief of Amanful came to us and said that what the community really needed was an operable public restroom and showering facility. This sort of facility is a basic need in communities in Ghana because not every dwelling unit has a private bathroom attached like we are used to in the United States. You can of course imagine that not having readily available restrooms and bathing areas contributes to the public waste problem, spreading of disease and sickness, and very unsanitary conditions. Once this need was presented to us we assessed the existing facility which was in bad condition - not to mention its connection to running water was not working. We decided to take it on.
Our initial investment into the public restroom facility has been $6,500. This has enabled us to fix the connection to the existing water well that wasn’t working (which in turn provides running water to the facility), create shower stalls and doors, plumb in shower heads, paint the outside of the facility, and purchase a poly tank. During the rainy season there is plenty of water supplied by the existing well, but by the end of October the well will be dried up as the dry season comes through. The poly tank allows us to have a place to store up water during the rainy season so that there will still be water access through the dry season.
Current funds will provide the completion of the showering portion of the facility, but we are relying on more donations to come through to finish out the toileting area and related plumbing.
We are excited to begin this relationship with the community, and look forward to seeing how God draws lives to Himself through this open door into Amanful.
Site of what was the existing restroom facility - the cement wall structure on the left...
Inside the shower area BEFORE
Starting to work on the existing structure
Shower stalls and shower heads put in
Shower stall tile work
Shower stall doors
Painting the outside
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)