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When she looks up at the Dear Friend, High in the craggy mountains of Central Asia, children found seats in the grass in a small, run-down amphitheater. They were enjoying a holiday break at an old government-run camp for orphans, and one of our OM missionaries drove up to join them for the open-air concert. For the past year, Carol has been visiting these children in their orphanages, teaching them English. They swarmed around her on the cool ground, eager to see her again. With a canopy of stars and a backdrop of music, Carol had an opportunity to share the Gospel with these precious children. One little girl named Natasha pointed to the sky in wonder. “Natasha,” Carol asked, “do you know that God made all of those stars? And his heart is so big he loves every person on earth!” Natasha smiled, acknowledging God’s love and thankful to have her friend Carol nearby. Evenings like this are quite miraculous in Muslim countries. Children like Natasha might never hear the Gospel if not for people like Carol. And dedicated partners like you help send people like Carol to devote themselves to teaching (and loving) these children. All over the world, we meet children who desperately need love and OM’s Children in Need Fund exists to care for these young lives and give hope. Just last year, OM missionaries were able to spread the Good News in places like Central Asia where civil wars and economic unrest have forced many children into extreme conditions. Your support helps improve the overall well-being of these children and their communities through children’s health clubs, including basic hygiene and disease prevention education. You also equip them for a brighter future through English and computer lessons that can help them find employment later. In South Africa, your generosity helps extend the Gospel to children and adolescents in the Vukauzenzele primary school who are orphaned by AIDS. The Children in Need Fund supports training programs like our “Crossroads” AIDS prevention team and enables OM to:
Your prayers and gifts create inroads to dozens of other countries in which children absolutely need the love of their Father. Like little Natasha, many of them are orphans. Without someone else stepping in, they won’t receive a proper education, and many will suffer from malnutrition or disease. But you can be used by God today in a way He always rewards. The book of James reminds us, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). We need $80,000 to fund OM USA children’s outreach projects that are well under way and implement the new programs we’ve planned. When you bolster our Children in Need Fund for 2008, you help to make these goals a life-changing reality. Will you send a gift of support today? Your generosity will ensure that physical and spiritual needs will be met for more children like Natasha. And most importantly, because of you, many of them will be reminded of God’s great love whenever they look up at the stars. Your partner in missions, P.S. Help us reach our goal of $80,000 and send a gift of support today. Thank you for extending the Gospel to children across the world who are in need! |
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Rick Hicks