This year we have the honor of helping a small orphanage in Western Uganda change the lives of a group of homeless children.

We are raising $6,000 to buy 200 hens, pus materials and labor to build hen houses. These hens will help to feed the 50+ orphans from the His Grace Orphanage in Burora. They will also produce eggs for the orphanage to sell and help finance the orphanage. In fact, 100 eggs a day would completely finance their entire ministry.  They would actually be a self sustaining ministry because of these hens!

His Grace was started by Lazarus Piaranga in 2007 as a response to the the homeless children living in rural communities in Uganda. Many of them were abandoned or orphaned when sick parents passed away. Lazarus believes, that by meeting the spiritual and physical needs of these children, he is helping to raise up the next generation of leaders in Uganda for God’s glory.  These hens can completely change their lives!

Please consider giving a gift to help supply these hens.  Even $10 would make a huge difference.  Just go to http://findmercy.org/give/ and click “Give Now”.  Then Choose “Burora Orphanage Uganda” from the dropdown list.

Thanks in advance for being on this mission with us!

Lee

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His Grace was started by Lazarus Piaranga in 2007 as a response to the the homeless children living in rural communities in Uganda. Many of them were abandoned or orphaned when sick parents passed away. These hens can completely change their lives!

We hope to have the money raised by April first.

Doors open at 6:30 and the trivia starts at 7pm.

Entry is $10/person with teams of up to 8.

Bring your own food, drink and snacks for your teams and we’ll provide the fun!

Study up!

RSVP Soon as there is only room for 12 teams.

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Just like last year, we’ll be roasting and giving out hot dogs, giving out tons of candy, showing a movie, and playing games with the kids from our neighborhood on Halloween.

It’s going to be a great time and a chance to bless others in a fun way.

If you’d like to be a part, just show up around 4:00pm to help us set up and/or stick around afterwards to help clean up.  You can also RSVP on The City.

All activities take place in the parking lot on Halloween.

See you there!

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I just wanted to update you all on the clean water project we initiated during the 2011 Advent season.

The good news is that we were able to give the church in Manyetta, Kenya enough money to drill down until they reached water.  They are not able to install a pump yet, but villagers are able to lower buckets down with a rope to gather clean, drinkable water!

One amazing thing is the number of people who have given their lives to Jesus, in Manyetta, simply because they were so touched by the love and generosity shown to them by Fishers of Men (The organization in the field, doing all the work).  Because we were able to help them get water, many lives are being changed and the church is now packed!  It’s amazing what a little generosity can do!!

I’ve attached some pictures of the well in action to this post.

Stay available to Jesus!  Your life is making a difference!

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It has been such a joy to share Advent with you all!  Excitement rises up inside me as we anticipate the presence of Jesus in our lives and look forward to His awesome return.  It’s so freeing to know that it’s OK to get our hopes up.  He is faithful!

Last Sunday we talked about hope and how God uses us to bring hope to others.  Isn’t it great that God sends US when He wants to bless people?  We get to BE the hope others are longing for!

This Sunday we have the honor of being the hope for a village in Africa that really needs clean water.  Remember the Advent video?  More people die from lack of clean water than almost anything else.

We’re going to be taking up a special offering that will help to install a clean water well and a pump for that village.  Don’t forget to bring something for them.  It can literally change their lives.  This village is a primarily Muslim village with people coming to Jesus regularly because of the generosity of people like you!

If you prefer, you can give your gift online by going to http://findmercy.org/give.  Click “give now” and choose “clean water” from the drop-down option.  You can also go directly to your giving page on The City.

Thank you for being such a generous church!  You are bringing life and hope to those who don’t have any!

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One question Shane asked was, “How can your giftings intersect with the needs in your community?”  What a great question!

I posted a short video by Shane below.  I would love it if you took a minute or two to think about how YOU can be the change in your neighborhood, and then post what you come up with below.

I guess I’m crazy enough to believe that we CAN partner with God to change the world.  OK, now watch and post.  Go!

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at QC SoDa – 1502 5th Avenue in Moline

An event for the whole family!

We’ll be taking a few lessons from Gunter and Korah Schleuter of QC SoDa and then be dancing the night away!

Bring the family and share some light refreshments.

It’s going to be a terrific way to spend a Saturday night.

Don’t forget to wear your dancing shoes!

There is no cost for this event, but bringing a goodie to share would be cool!

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My do-it-yourselfness didn’t end with TVs, VCRs, stereos, and high-class entertainment shelving either.  I read far too many comic books and wanted so desperately to be more than I was.  I wanted to run faster, be stronger, be bullet proof, and jump higher.  Concerning the latter, I even took the biggest springs I could find and attached them to an old pair of shoes.  I’m not sure how being able to jump higher would make me a super hero but, somewhere in that 10 year old mind of mine, I imagined myself leaping from nowhere to rescue the innocent and go bouncing off before the evil doers could catch up.  Unfortunately, the first and only test of my new spring-loaded sneakers only produced pain as the springs tore away from my shoes and I rolled both of my ankles.

Church planters are a lot like wanna-be super heroes.  We believe we can swoop in, start a thriving church, and transform the world as God endues us with the strength of twenty five men.  We have visions of thousands saved, healed, and delivered after we step out, run hard, work tirelessly, and preach till our voice is gone.

Unfortunately, I’ve found that I only have the strength of one man (and that’s debatable),  I can’t run very fast, and I’ve never been so tired in my life.  Not only has this calling revealed my limitations, it’s rubbed my nose in them and called me girls names from the dugout.  It’s not at all like I imagined.  …It’s actually better.

You see, God HAS given me the strength of twenty five men.  More accurately, twenty five men and women who have worked and given sacrificially by my side.  People of God who have spent long days and nights in prayer and service to see God’s Kingdom advance here in our city.  Even as I write this, I’m in tears with gratitude for every coat of paint they’ve brushed, every hole they’ve drilled (even the ones I didn’t want them to), every stain they’ve cleaned, every prayer they’ve prayed, and every dollar they’ve given.  I’m also grateful for every time I heard, “Why don’t you let me lift that?” and “What can I do to help?”

Together we’ve been able to accomplish so much more than I could have done by myself.  I’ve found that GOD WORKS THROUGH TOGETHER!  Ministry done as a team is a powerful thing.  It breaks down walls, allows everyone to be a part, and brings a blessing from God (Psalm 133).

DIY really does spell DIE.  Doing it yourself is exhausting, discouraging, and accomplishes so little.

It’s not always easy to work as a team.  Things don’t always get done the way you want, personalities can clash, and expectations can get out of control.  But it’s such a God thing.  You may never leap over tall buildings in a single bound, but you can transform your community together.

Thanks so much Mercy Vineyard Launch Team.  You’re a greater blessing than you’ll ever know!

“How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!  For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe.  Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion.  And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.” ~Psalm 133

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That’s how these last few weeks have felt for me as we get closer to launching Mercy Vineyard.

I’m majorly anticipating God to touch our community.  I can’t wait for hearts to be healed, souls to be set free, and the lost to find their way home.

We’ve come across a really good thing and I know it’s just going to keep getting better.

How about you?

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