give2givehope.org : providing hope for a better tomorrow

Impacted once again...

(posted : Tuesday Jul 5, 2011)

Here's an excerpt from an email I sent to my coworkers today - my first day back to my "full time" job. I thought it was appropriate to share with the rest of the G2GH family to give a small peek into what has been going through my head for the last week....

Ken

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I just wanted to share with you - briefly (is that possible?) - about my trip to Honduras that I just returned from. Each time I go, I anticipate that I've "seen it all before" and am often surprised that there are still things for me to discover - not only about the community, the people, and the places... but about myself too. This trip was no exception.

When I started Give2GiveHope two years ago in 2009, we had information on 90 children. The next year when I returned in 2010, I anticipated that we'd have maybe 50 more children come to our registration day. I was overwhelmed when 200 new children showed up to enroll in our program. This year, I vowed to be more prepared and took enough supplies for 150 additional children - thinking that maybe our total number of children in the program would top out at maybe 450ish (I mean how many more children could there possibly be in this community??). Needless to say, I was overwhelmed once again. We now have information on approximately 580 children... 280 new children came to our registration day!

During this years' registration day, I was overcome with grief and heartache several times as I came face-to-face with the enormous needs of the children and the sheer number of the needs represented. I saw a father, who could not walk well, struggling to climb up the stairs in the church we do our registration in. In his arms, he carried his little daughter who was smiling because she had just received a toothbrush and a new pair of flip flops. This man had walked miles and miles to our location - and would have miles to walk back to where he came from - up rugged mountainous roads, carrying his daughter, limping on one leg. It would have been a difficult task for me to do even with two good working legs. And he did all of this just for the hope that his daughter might be sponsored... for the sheer possibility that maybe someone would choose his baby girl and she would be able to have food, medicines, and hope. The desperation of the situation overwhelmed me and brought me to tears and I sat there in the church with the chaos of children and parents swirling around me and I had a heart-to-heart with God about how the needs are so great and I felt powerless to even begin to meet them.

After I had regained my composure (mostly), I went to check the station where one of our translators was going over the �rules' of the program with the parents of the children. She turned to me and said, "Ken, these two children here have been abandoned by their parents and this lady is a neighbor who is trying to care for them (along with her own 3 children). Can she sign the forms so they can be part of the program even if she's not their legal guardian?" ... another wave of grief swept over me. How can both parents just discard these two helpless children - leaving them to figure out how to feed themselves, how to protect themselves? What must those children be feeling? Fear? Despair? Worthlessness? It was just unimaginable for me to even think about! Of course, my immediate answer was "YES!" (said with a cracking voice).

I'm still working through the things I saw and heard there and trying to get my mind around things like this. I'm also learning that I will probably never become "immune" to my Honduras experiences and that no matter how much I think I'm prepared, I'm probably not completely ready to be faced with situations that are so dramatically different from my life here in the US (where we have soup kitchens and homeless shelters and unemployment and Medicaid/Medicare and places like St. Mary's where people can turn for help and government assistance programs) ... There, when you are abandoned, there is no Dept. of Human Services to step in to put you into foster care. When you are hungry there are no food stamps to take to the store so your belly doesn't ache. When bad people come to hurt you, there are no local police to come and protect you.

It's just such a different world than we live in ... for all of the problems in America today, we are truly a very blessed people!

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Handley Students Are Amazing!

(posted : Friday May 27, 2011)

Handley school in Saginaw, Mi chose Give2GiveHope as their global fundraiser focus for 2010. We had the incredible privilege to meet the students at an assembly held on May 2nd, where Andrea Deering, a Give2GiveHope board member, gave a great presentation, sharing the challenges of being a child living in Honduras and comparing the lives of children in the US.

The student council felt they could raise $1000 during the month of May for Give2GiveHope, but we thought we'd challenge the students with a stretch goal. We suggested a competition among the classes and offered the class who raised the most funds Give2GiveHope "get-one-give-one" shirts for their class and teacher... and then we went the next also said that if the school could raise a total of $5000, we'd provide shirts for the entire school and staff - and throw them a popsicle party to celebrate their success.

Today, the fundraiser wrapped up and we are so thrilled to be able to share with you that the students not only hit the stretch goal of $5000, but went beyond it to raise an incredible $5350.59! We are overwhelmed with the generosity, enthusiasm and plain hard work that the students have done over the last 4 weeks.

The funds that the students raised will help us to purchase water filters for families in Honduras, provide supplies for an art project for the children in Honduras, give us the funds we need to complete our construction project for food storage, provide shirts, flip flops and hygiene items for the children enrolled in our program, and give us the funds we need to ensure that we can continue to provide hope for a better tomorrow through providing food, clothing, medical care and education to the impoverished children in Honduras.

A huge thank you to the Handley student council and their advisor's, the teachers and school leadership, the students, the parents, and all the generous donors who joined the students to help make this friendraiser such an amazing success! We are just blown away by their amazing work!

Click HERE to view photos from our celebration ceremony!

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Minimum Wage...

(posted : Thursday Mar 31, 2011)

I received an email this morning from Honduras:

.......

The minimum wage in Honduras just went up, and everyone has to start paying it from January 1st, 2011. This means that all companies will have to make an extra payment to complete the last three months.

For our Maquila Industry the minimum hourly wage is now L. 18.26 ( US$.0.97), for 8 hour day L. 146.08 (US$. 7.75), and for the monthly minimum wage salary L. 4,382.40 (US$.232.40). This does not include all of the benefits. For our Industry this represents a BASE to calculate were the production incentives need to be.

...

Can you even imagine making 97 cents an hour - or $8/DAY .. NOT PER HOUR... PER DAY!?!?!

One thing that sometimes frustrates me is when people hear about g2gh and they respond with something like "there are poor people in America too!". Often, these people aren't doing anything to help ANY poor people - American or otherwise - they're just using that as an excuse to not do something about the needs they've been presented with.

Yes, there are poor people in America, but nobody I know of in America makes 97 cents an hour! And we, in the US, enjoy the "luxury" of a government that provides for their people : food stamps, WIC, Medicare and Medicaid, unemployment, foster care, etc. We also have social care structures like soup kitchens and homeless shelters and Goodwill. In Honduras, when you can't get a job (even one making 97 cents an hour) there is no government help to receive, and very little (if any) social care in place. You simply are poor and have nothing. You literally starve.

Often, we have an impression that since this is a third-world country, then things must be cheaper there too. The reality is that a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk often costs MORE there than it does here in the US. Their cereal and meat is just as - if not more - expensive than our own. About the only benefit they have is they can go pick bananas and coconuts off the trees to eat... but that only goes so far, and you have to own the property that the trees grow on, and they have to be in season...

For all the problems we have in the United States, let's stop for a minute today and count our MANY blessings we have - which includes our government - our minimum wage jobs - and the organizations who are doing things to help not only people in our country, but people who live places where there is no such thing as 'government assistance.' For all our issues, we definitely live in a privileged country and are blessed with many things.

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Dichotomous Life

(posted : Friday Mar 11, 2011)

I had the privilege of speaking to a group of St. Mary's of Michigan employees this past Wednesday as part of their "Mentors in Mission" program. The talk was about my "Spiritual Trek" (as told via way of Star Trek) and of course, Give2GiveHope is part of the amazing journey that I've been on, so I was able to share with the group the ministry and mission of our organization.

I joined the group ahead of my scheduled speaking time so I could listen to what the other speakers had to share. The employees had had an opportunity to work at a local soup kitchen the week before, and for some of them, this was their first encounter with poverty at that level. All of them were extremely grateful for the opportunity to serve at the soup kitchen and they all had positive things to say about the experience.

The facilitator of the discussion was the Vice President of Mission Integration for St. Mary's of Michigan, Cherie Sammis. Cherie has been many places and seen many things in her journey - from Texas to Washington DC and beyond. She shared with the group some of her own experiences serving the homeless, poor, and underserved in the many locations where she's had opportunities to get engaged in services.

As I sat and listened to Cherie share with the group, my heart was churned. Her stories brought a flood of emotions to me. Waves of compassion washed over me again and again. I wanted so much to just be immersed in places and people and situations where I had nothing else to do but to show God's love and to help others and to give compassion and meet needs in miraculous ways. It made me want to be back in Honduras immediately... but not just for a short-term visit... for a lifetime.

I remembered with vivid clarity a "moment" I had on our VisionCatcher trip last June. I, along with a few members of our team, had climbed this incredibly steep (and tall) mountain to reach a family that had not come to our registration day. When we finally reached the pink house, we were greeted with the smiling faces of the children and their mother. One-by-one, we took their height and weight and asked the questions to complete their profile. "What do you do at home to help?" "What's your favorite subject in school?" "What kind of games do you like to play?" As I sat there, hunched over our papers, sweat dripping from every pore in my body - even ones I didn't know I had, wiping it out of my eyes to keep them from burning so badly, laughing to myself because I discovered that ink pens don't work so great on sweat-covered paper - I suddenly saw myself in some "alternate reality" where I was "missionary Ken"... the guy who did this kind of thing for "a living". At that moment, I felt so much peace and calmness it was almost surreal. I thought to myself "Yes, this could be me... I could do this... I could give it all up to go and serve the needs of others... Someday this COULD be my full-time job."

That moment on that mountain top may only be 8 months ago, but it seems like a life time.

The "real world" has consumed my life and much of my time since then. The job, the children, the house, the bills, the car, the pets, the vacations, the activities, etc. etc. Even the administration of Give2GiveHope - the creation of publications, maintenance of the website, donor relations, organizing new projects, getting our upcoming trip scheduled and organized... these are all things that keep me "busy" and going 100 miles an hour. That simple life - where you have nothing - and where you do nothing but serve others - seems a million miles and a million years removed from my "real life". It's sad how these things take back over your existence after having so much clarity and peace at a moment like that at the top of a Honduran mountain where there's nothing but "what is" at that very moment... but it is what it is, and it's what I am called to do for this time.

So, I basked in the warm feeling that I got listening to Cherie's stories as my heart was reignited once again to do what needed to be done to help these children God put in my path - even as I struggled with the sterile mechanical repetition of my current daily routine - and wrestled in my mind to try and make sense of my dichotomous life. Ultimately I reassured myself with the thought that if I suddenly ran off to become "missionary Ken" then it would leave a big void back here at Give2GiveHope - where websites needed to be updated, and programs needed to be planned out, and brochures needed designing, and trips needed to be organized.

A new friend, and supporter of Give2GiveHope, said something to me that I've been mulling on quite a bit over the last month. After sharing with him all the works of Give2GiveHope and our plans for the future and explaining how we got started, he sat back and smiled and said "You need to make it clear to others when you're talking about Give2GiveHope, that this is your AVOCATION." What he meant by that was that my work with Give2GiveHope is not something I get paid to do - something I earn a living by. It's something that I do in ADDITION to my 40+ hour a week life (job and family, and pets, and cars, and bill, and activities, and all those other things that most of us have).

Give2GiveHope is something that I'm passionate enough about to dedicate substantial resources to in order to make a difference in the lives of children who otherwise would have no other help. I strive to "do God's work, God's way, in God's time and for God's glory"... and for me, right now, that requires me to do this as my 'avocation' not my 'vocation'... but someday that might be different. Only God knows where this road will lead me. For now, I have my dichotomous life, and will enjoy (and look forward to) those moments where I'm a washed in just "being" and "serving".

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Looking Back and Looking Forward

(posted : Sunday Jan 23, 2011)

This week our 130 donors who helped us accomplish our mission in 2010 received our "2010 Annual Report" and we've also put it on line for the friends of our ministry to be able to access (click here).

It was a great exercise for me to go back through the emails, notes and other details to try to summarize what Give2GiveHope was able to accomplish in 2010. In the end I stood in awe of the work that God accomplished through us and how our organization is growing.

We tripled the number of children enrolled in our program - from 90 to 290, and the number of children who have sponsors - from 17 to 45. We had an incredible mission trip : VisionCatcher2010 and are already making plans for VisionCatcher2011. We've got a lot of foundational pieces in place for 2011 including a TON of marketing tools that we didn't have just 12 months ago. We added 2 amazing new board members to our team, and we're exploring some new ways Give2GiveHope can really make a difference in the life of children in the upcoming year.

All in all, it was an amazing year of growth for us - personally, organizationally, physically, and spiritually.

In that last particular realm, we were challenged a bit by some people who felt that the focus of our organizations mission needed to change from an emphasis on humanitarian assistance to direct evangelism. It was a rough road for us to walk (and I can't say it's over yet), for me in particular since the mission of Give2GiveHope is so entwined into my daily life - and has been since God gave me this job to do. It can be pretty discouraging to have others tell you that what you're doing isn't "good enough" for them to support you - especially when you know you're doing exactly what God told you to do and especially when those people should be some of your biggest supporters.

Eventually I had to come to the realization that just because what we do - the way we do it - doesn't meet the expectations of some organizations or people, it doesn't mean that what we do - or how we do it - is wrong (or bad)... it's just different from what they think it should be. When all is said and done, I need to be able to stand before God and be confident that I completed the mission He sent me on - and not worry about whether other's are happy about the work we did or how we did it. Give2GiveHope is God's organization. Our board, our volunteer staff, and each of us individually need to prayerfully consider the things we do and always strive to do "His work, in His way, in His time, and for His glory". From where I stand today, I can say that I truly believe we are accomplishing that mission... and that's really all we need to be concerned about in the end.

As we look ahead to 2011, I am excited to see how God does His amazing work through our organization and how thing unfold. Even in the last few weeks, doors have been opening to an entirely new area of work for Give2GiveHope and it's incredible to see how connections are being made to facilitate this work in such a short period of time.

We have an opportunity to get involved in a project I heard of long ago - before Give2GiveHope was even started - and through this project we're going to have a dramatic impact on the community we serve in Honduras. I am looking forward in anticipation to being able to share with our sponsors and friends of Give2GiveHope about this new program in the months to come. Please stay tuned!! You won't want to miss this!

There will be other great things coming from Give2GiveHope in 2011 including our plans for our first art auction which will be a fundraiser held in the fall (date to be determined). Andrea, our board member and "Director of Creative Services" will be working on this project in the months to come and plans do accomplish a lot of the work on our VisionCatcher2011 trip scheduled for June.

Thank you for being a partner with us in "providing hope for a better tomorrow" to the children of Sapadril Honduras and for keeping Give2GiveHope in your prayers. We know we could not accomplish the things we did in 2010 - or the things we will accomplish in 2011 - without faithful people like you who support us through your emails, letters, financial and prayer support, and through our child sponsorship program. You really make a difference to us - and to the children we serve.

May God Bless you for all you do!

Ken

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Happy New Year from Give2GiveHope!

(posted : Thursday Dec 30, 2010)

We just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know how thankful we are for your continued partnership with our organization in 2010. Because of you we were able to accomplish many things and further our mission to provide hope for a better tomorrow for impoverished children.

If you have given financially to Give2GiveHope in 2010, we wanted to let you know that we will be sending out acknowledgement letters with your 2010 annual giving total by January 31, 2011. Look for your letter in the mail. With your letter, we will also include an "Annual Report" detailing the accomplishments of Give2GiveHope in 2010 (which will also be available on our website).

There's still time to make a year-end tax donation to Give2GiveHope to qualify for a tax deduction (if you itemize and file a US tax return). Our website donation form has recently been redesigned to help make it easier for you to donate to Give2GiveHope. We accept PayPal and credit card donations (processed through PayPal) on our website. Donations must be made by midnight on December 31 to be eligible for tax-deductibility on your 2010 taxes. Click here to donate now.

Thank you again for your support in 2010. We are already making some great plans for 2011 and are excited to see what the future brings for our ministry. We treasure your partnership with Give2GiveHope and wish you the very best in the upcoming year. May God bless you and your family!

Ken Hayes
Founder / President, Give2GiveHope

www.give2givehope.org

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What's in a smile?

(posted : Sunday Dec 5, 2010)
When a new child is sponsored with Give2GiveHope, I get the great privilege of of sending the new sponsor a photo of their child along with a note of thanks for joining Give2GiveHope. I think this is one of the favorite parts of my job... mostly because it means that I get the opportunity to look through all the photos of the children from Honduras as I search to find the image of the child whose life has just been dramatically changed by the gift of sponsorship. The time I spend looking through the photos is a trip down memory lane for me and a reminder to me of exactly what it's "all about".

I have several folders of photos to sort through to find the photo of the newly sponsored child, and as I review each photo, in my mind I am transported back to Honduras, to the VisionCatcher2010 trip when the photos were taken. I get to remember all the great times we had together with the team and with the children. I think about the day of registration when the church was filled to the brim with children and families, the wonderful team that worked so hard to understand (and speak) with the children and parents, and how God worked in all the circumstances to make it a very successful day for everyone. I'm amazed all over again at how incredible the team was and how we were able to get it all accomplished with 300 children showing up that day. I remember how grateful the families were for the t-shirts and flip-flops, the toothpaste and toothbrushes, and the small gifts we were able to give to every child. The word "gracias" was heard many times that day and we all received a lot of hugs from the children and their parents.

I look at the photos of the children, into their smiling faces, into their deep brown eyes. As I flip through the photos - one after another - my heart is stirred all over again and I wish that I was somehow able to sponsor every single one of these precious children so that I could know they all had full stomachs and were safe and secure and that a bright future lie ahead for them. I am very conscious that each of these photos represents a real live breathing child... not just a name or a picture on our website... but a beautiful child that we smiled with, laughed with, and shared an afternoon in the jungle with. And I'm reminded once more how incredibly important to God they are.

Each of these children have a unique story and a different situation, but what they have in common is that they are all in need... some at the brink of starvation ... some in need of medicines ... some living in squalor and not knowing what the next day will bring ... some need school supplies ... some need safety or even something as simple as love. I am amazed every time I review these photos that, in spite of their circumstances, the children's faces are lit up with joy. I see in these faces a purity of faith that is often missing in our world. Each of these children are praying and hoping that someone might someday sponsor them. They believe that someday God will answer their prayers and that someone will reach out and be the hands of Christ in the world - and step forward to sponsor them - to give them food, or medicines, a new pair of flip flops or a backpack for school filled with the supplies they need. I see it in their eyes and in their smiles.

Looking through the photos of the children recharges my batteries and renews my purpose. It reminds me that someone is depending on me to continue to share the mission of Give2GiveHope and to encourage others to join in bringing hope to these children. It encourages me to be more faithful in my prayers for Give2GiveHope and that God would bring more sponsors for these children. It brings me back to the core of the mission that God gave me to do what is possible to care for the children. It helps me look forward to the next time I'm able to share a smile with these children and to stay diligent in doing what I can to keep Give2GiveHope on the right track. I am so thankful for these 279 reminders, and for the new sponsors who give me the opportunity to revisit all these things as I look through these pictures.

It is truly amazing all the things that can be found in the smile of a child.

Ken

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Thanksgiving

(posted : Wednesday Nov 24, 2010)

I received this letter from Letty Vallecillo today. Letty and her husband, Javier, are the site coordinators for g2gh in Honduras. I couldn't express in better words what Letty has shared... I am truly thankful for the mission God has given to us, and for the people I am allowed to do it with!

God Bless.

Ken

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November 24,2010

Hi Ken, how are you doing today?

I am sitting here, out in the porch and enjoying a beautiful day. The rain just stops like two hours ago and right now I can enjoy the shining sun. This is amazing how God can turn from rain to the shining sun!

Looking around, I have tried to make a list of things to be thankful for, but I never get to finish it because as much as I see the mountain, the children, hearing the birds, the hens seem excited, the horses are going up to do some work, the enthusiastic farmer with his machete, my neighbor cleaning corn, Orbelina turning on the fire, Carlitos picking up wood...

I just realized that my list to give thanks to my Lord is too big to be able to put it into paper and words. So I better close my eyes, feel His Spirit in this wonderful breeze, and lift a prayer giving thanks for the things that my mind can count and for those that my small humanity is not able yet to comprehend. All I am sure is that my entire life is not going to be enough to give thanks to my Lord for each precious blessing, for the salvation He gave me, for my loved family, for each friend, for each child's smile.

You know what? I want to say thanks also for G2GH. God is using this ministry to bring so much joy to the children, so much hope; so many children are getting closer to Jesus. Maybe they do not understand it like that, but when we see that a family that never had sent their children to any church and after being sponsored they are sending all their children now, we can see how much God will do through this ministry to reach families, not just a single child at the time.

I can't close this letter without sharing something special. Katie Perez's family is big; sisters, brothers, cousins, and neighbors from her place are coming every Sunday to Sunday's school since Katie got sponsored. YES! They are 8 children in total that had come because Katie's mom feels that her blessing can come only from Jesus and she has shared it with her relatives and neighbors. This is amazing!

Also, I want to thank you for the great opportunity that G2GH has given us to reach specially the non-Christians moms. When they come with their children to pick up their bag of food, it is so good and a very appropriated time to share with them how Jesus cares about them because of His love for them and her faces just bright when we share that God has a better plan for them, a better life waiting for them, just if they accept to receive Him as Lord and Savior. We know that some mothers are considering already making a decision in their lives about Jesus... so this is just starting Ken! I can't wait to see how many people will come to Jesus for the great work that G2GH is doing here.

The 6th Anniversary of MDS will be focused in giving thanks, so many things to give thanks, our heart are so grateful, and I wanted to share it also with you. Please pray for a special time where our church also can experience the joy to be thankful, because our God is so good and so faithful.

I wish you and your family a great Thanksgiving celebration. We have seen the wonders that our Lord has made, so lets be grateful and joyful for. Give my love to all my family there.

At His service with you,

Letty

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Goodbye and Hello

(posted : Sunday Nov 14, 2010)
I'm happy to say goodbye to October and hello to November. There were lots of changes that happened in October, and although I consider myself one who embraces change, I think I had more than my fair share of it last month. While change can be good, it's still change nonetheless and change means things are different than what you're used to.

We said goodbye to warmer weather and the beautiful colors of autumn. All our yard furniture has been packed away, the leaves have been raked (multiple times) and we're looking out the window at the brown and grey that covers the woods until we are ready to say hello to the impending snowfall.

In October I said hello to 41 as I celebrated my birthday. Our family had to say goodbye to our family dog, Sparkie, who spent the last 10 years with us. That was a particularly rough day for me... I still miss good old Sparkie!

I had all sorts of computer "fun" in October. I had to say goodbye to my work computer which had been on the fritz for several months (randomly deleting my typing) and said hello to the new computer my company provided me. It ultimately was a great change, but it still required me to go through the process of setting up all my software and networks and shared drives and moving files so that I could get back to work. My home computer died on me too - had to say hello to hours of extra work trying to get it going again - time I would of course rather have spent on something more enjoyable.

We are in the process of saying goodbye to our "Bag of Hope" fundraiser. We just took inventory and we have 60 bags left, so if you'd like to get one, do so soon! They make wonderful "gift bags" for Christmas and help a good cause at the same time. (AND they're reusable!)

We said hello to our new Give2GiveHope Christmas ornaments and they turned out more beautiful than we expected. They are for sale for a minimum donation of $20 and come with a beautiful card saying "A special donation has been made in your honor to Give2GiveHope to help provide food, clothing, medical care, and education to impoverished children". We are selling these so we can raise $2000 which will cover the cost of all our construction materials for the storage area we need in Honduras.

We said hello to our newest board member, Andrea Deering, who was part of our Vision Catcher 2010 trip that happened in June. Since then, Andrea has contributed a lot to Give2GiveHope with her enthusiasm and ideas. She's also our e.Newsletter editor and represented Give2GiveHope at a "Mom-to-Mom" sale at Hemeter school in Saginaw.

So there's been a lot of goodbyes and hellos this last month. Change shouldn't surprise any of us.. it's part of life. We say goodbye and hello often and most of the time, we don't have much control over those hellos and goodbyes. So while we're often not in control of the changes in our lives, we do take comfort in knowing that everything changes - the good and the bad - and that through it all God is still in control of it all.

God Bless!
Ken Hayes

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The Hole in Our Gospel

(posted : Friday Nov 5, 2010)

I began reading "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Word Vision president Richard Stearns on Tuesday evening and just have finished it about a half-hour ago. For me, this is a tremendous task, since I don't often have time to read - even the most engaging of books. It often takes me MONTHS to finish a book - if ever... but this one was a very different experience for me.

World Vision is an organization that my wife and I have participated in for over 14 years (long before Give2GiveHope was started). We currently sponsor a girl named Achitou in Niger, the Perea family in Sri Lanka, and our newest child, John in Tanzania.... in addition to the 4 children we support with Give2GiveHope. We've been very supportive of the work Word Vision has done and have participated in other projects with them along with the child sponsorship program. It was their child sponsorship program was what we modeled Give2GiveHope after when we began this work 22 months ago.

Within the first 50 pages of reading this book, I said more "AMEN!!"s than I've said in many sermons I've heard over the last 20 years of being a Christian. Rich talks about a "whole" gospel which is often found missing in our churches and Christian circles these days. We often hear about the necessity for FAITH (trusting in Jesus for our salvation), but then we stop short in talking about our faith in ACTION (doing good works). We've forgotten, or set aside, the other half of the 'whole' gospel.

I won't tell you more about the book because I don't want to spoil it for you, but I've felt so moved, affirmed, and even challenged by Rich's message that I really wanted to be able to share it with others.

Give2GiveHope has purchased copies of "The Hole in Our Gospel" and we want to share with anyone making a $100 donation or more now through Christmas.

If you're interested in receiving this gift, please send us an email or make a donation through our website and notate in the comments section that you'd like for us to send you "The Hole in Our Gospel".

At the end of Rich's book, he listed out a few ideas for those who ask the question "What do I do now?" and I thought his list of things to pray for was something even I could fit into my schedule so at the risk of plagiarizing the book, I'd like to share Rich's suggestions. I hope you find them as useful as I did (shortened here for this blog) :

1. When you take your morning shower, pray for families in poor countries who do not have access to clean water.

2. When you pack your child's lunch, pray for the 1 billion people who are chronically hungry in the world today.

3. As you commute to your job, pray for the adults around the world who can't find consistent work to feed their families or pray for the millions of children forced into harmful or exploitative labor.

4. When you drop off your child at school, pray for children around the world who can not get an education because of poverty or discrimination.

5. As you take a vitamin, pray for the families without adequate health care.

6. When you arrive home after work, pray for the children and families who are homeless due to poverty, conflict, or natural disasters.

7. As you tuck your children into bed, guide them to pray for the millions of children who have lost their parents around the world, especially the 15 million AIDS orphans around the world.

God Bless you and please keep the children of poverty in prayer this holiday season.

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Resting

(posted : Sunday Oct 10, 2010)
It's Sunday afternoon. The light is filtering in through what remains of the golden and fiery leaves on the maples outside the house. It's the time of day where you just want to lay down and take a nice Sunday afternoon nap with your Chihuahua nestled next to you . Snuggle down on the couch and let the week's (and weekend's) business just wash away...

It's a little different at our house today... We've just finished up making our favorite Honduran dish - chimole - for the "Missionary Sampler" at Calvary Baptist Church tonight. The horchata is in the refrigerator and ready to be dispensed into our "dixie cups" that we've bought. I've just sent Robyn out to the minivan to get some more "Bags of Hope" to put on our table tonight. The VisionCatcher2011 trip packets are printed, the brochures are in the bag, the information cards for the children are ready to be display... check, check, check. "Ok," Melissa says "I'm taking a nap!" and she collapses on the couch to take advantage of the next 30 minutes of uninterrupted time to catch that nap... before we have to get going again.

It's been a very hectic week this week, at the end of several hectic weeks before this one, but it's the kind of hectic-ness (is that a word) that we are happy to have. We've been busy about the work of the ministry and doing the jobs that God has called us to do so it's the kind of busy that we enjoy.

On Tuesday morning, I had the opportunity to talk to a group of high school students (FCA) about g2gh, what we do, share my personal testimony and talk about "doing the work that God asks you to do". It was great to see the enthusiasm on some of the kids faces (you have to cut them some slack, first of all they're awake and in school before most "normal" (lucky) people ever crack their eyes open) as we talked about how God calls us in ways we've never expected to do things we never expected.

Tuesday night was our first "brainstorming" session with our board of directors and several people on our Advisory Committee as we discussed fundraising ideas for 2011. We've got an amazing group of people helping us out and God's opening doors all over the place to help spread the word on the mission of g2gh. It was great to see the ideas and comments zipping around the room (spurred on by the gummy bears and m&m's I'm sure), and to start formulating some ideas of what we can do next year to help g2gh with our growing operating expenses. We came back home from that meeting with 3 giant sheets of paper - which I have yet to turn into electronic format - filled with multi-colored ideas (Wren and Robyn took turns being our 'scribes').

Yesterday was spent preparing for the Mission Fair which was this morning at Ogemaw Hills Free Methodist Church. We were so thankful to be able to participate for the second year in a row in this great gathering. We were able to visit with a lot of old friends and meet some new ones too. One man, whom I've never met before, came to our table and said "Tell me what Give2GiveHope is all about". After 5 minutes of explaining how we got started, the work we're doing, and our plans for the immediate future, he asked me "You've done all that in just a year!?!" I immediately said "Oh, no.. I haven't done that, GOD has done all that.".. to which he replied "But you were obedient to God's calling and when He asked you to do it, you did".

That right there kinda sums up this entire adventure we've been on for the last 18 months or so... just doing what God has asked us to do. I've shared this many times with many people - that when God asks you to do something, you always have two choices - to do it,or to walk away from it. I've walked away many times from things I should have said or done, so I'm not perfect by any means... but this time, I chose to follow the path that God laid out before me - and I have never regretted it! It's been hard work. There have been highs and lows - elations and devastations, but through it all, I am always looking forward to what God is going to do with g2gh - and as long as I stay on the path that He asked me to walk, then I guess He will take care of everything else.

The work isn't over yet. We're just about to head out to our next presentation and we're praying that God moves on the hearts of more people to join with us to accomplish the mission He gave us. Tonight will be another late night once we get back and put everything away, catch up with our oldest daughter who has been away all weekend on a school trip - and there's still that brainstorming paperwork waiting for me to organize and transcribe - and a stack of white papers I promised myself I'd read - a letter I need to write - and our "holiday gift donation" program that I've got to get set up and running before November 1st when Andrea will be presenting g2gh to a group of people in Saginaw... sigh... the job is never done.... but it's a good kind of busy because we know we are exactly where God wants us to be and doing exactly what God wants us to do.

So while I sometimes long for the luxury of a Sunday afternoon nap, I find great happiness that I can rest in the knowledge that we are busy doing God's work - for God - and the way that God has directed us to do it - and knowing that God is blessing the children, the families, our ministry and us for being obedient to Him. I find my rest and comfort in Him. PTL!

Ken

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Get in it to win it

(posted : Thursday Sep 23, 2010)
On Sunday night I finally got to the point where I felt confident enough to push the 'send' button on the e.Newsletter I had been working on all week long. It wasn't as intense of a project as putting together the brochure (my wife didn't have to look at it 100 times as I tweaked and tweaked and tweaked yet again) but it was still a pretty big project getting our template set up right, writing the articles, doing the layout and design, proofreading (ok, I stink at proofreading but thankfully God's provided someone like Andrea to be our "Editor-in-Chief"), and finalizing and polishing and redoing graphics, etc.

We rolled out our first e.Newsletter to 75 people whom were either sponsors, or had some connection with g2gh or my family. Unfortunately 5 of those email addresses were old and so they bounced immediately (oops!) ... but the good news is that 4 days later we have a 44% "open rate" from our initial email (we'd love to see that get to 100%). That "open rate" doesn't include our Facebook friends who have viewed our e.Newsletter online, anyone who viewed the link on our website, or any of the people who received it via email forward - so we're hoping our 'reach' has been a lot greater than just 31 people.

The goal of our e.Newsletter isn't to solicit donations or to blast our subscribers with a plea of desperation on a monthly basis. Instead the intent and purpose of our e.Newsletter is to keep our current donors and friends of our organization up to date on what's going on with g2gh, share some interesting stories or news updates with them, and make it a 'fun read' by adding in some facts or random trivia to keep it light. So if you're not on our email list yet, please sign up so we can keep you "in the know" about all the great things happening with g2gh.

Because we believe our e.Newsletter is going to be a great read, and we want to spread the word to all the friends of our ministry, we're holding a contest where 3 lucky winners have a chance to get a g2gh t-shirt and a bag of hope. Just make sure you've signed up on our email list before October 2nd to be entered! If you have any friends who you think might be interested in the work that give2givehope does, be sure to forward on our e.Newsletter to them and have the join our email list too!! We've had 12 people sign up already in just the last 2 days so word is getting around and we know this contest is going to be a great one.

So join our mail list now at http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=3D1103683652948 ... you have to be in it to win it and the deadline is only 1 week away!!

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A good problem

(posted : Saturday Sep 11, 2010)
I got back from my most recent trip to Honduras Monday morning at 2am just a little strung out on coffee (which combined with the company of my daughter, and a long conversation about future fundraising ideas helped keep me awake on the drive from the Detroit airport). It was a wonderful trip and we accomplished a lot of things in a very short amount of time.

One of the primary purposes of my trip was to do the provision shopping with the volunteer staff in Honduras and to discuss the future of our local (Honduras) food purchasing program. As you may know, we are in the process of raising $1000 of donations which we need to be able to purchase our first month + of food in bulk. We're selling "Bag of Hope" for $5 each - and we're 23% to our goal. This money is really necessary not only to help us get the food, but in part to be able to pay for a storage space for the food once we get it to the church.

This month's food purchase was for 34 sponsored children - and we are getting close to being maxed out on our ability to continue handling our provision shopping in the way we have for the last year. Imagine yourself filling a shopping cart with 34 boxes of corn flakes, another cart with 34 bags of corn flour and 34 bags of wheat flour... and yet other carts with 34 bags of sugar and 34 bags of rice and 34 bags of beans... and the imagine trying to maneuver those carts through a crowded grocery store with narrow isles and packed with other people trying to do their shopping. This is a far cry from the Sam's Club or Wal-Mart shopping experience of the U.S... and it's what our volunteer staff goes through each month in Honduras.

Then all those carts have to be brought to the cashier to be entered into the computer.. and then moved to the front of the store where a worker checks the receipt for each item purchased and another worker packages the food into our tubs (prior to brining the tubs in June, they were packed in flimsy cardboard boxes which were problematic to start with). These tubs and boxes then have to be loaded into Pastor Javier's truck to be transported back to the church. At 34 children, we are packing the back of the truck almost to the max! The 9 volunteers that did the shopping (which included me and my daughter Wren) barely fit into the truck with all the food.

The food is then driven the 20 or so miles back into the mountains on the bumpy rough jungle roads up and down steep inclines, around dogs laying in the road and sharing the road with cows lazily wandering from grass patch to grass patch. Once back at the church, the food is unloaded from the truck (using all the muscles available) and then divided into reusable shopping bags that we recently had donated to us by Crown Products and distributed to the waiting children and parents. It's quite a production and a huge job for our volunteer staff.. but one they do happily and without thought to the difficulties or challenges.

I mentioned to Pastor Javier on my last visit that I think we're reaching the point where we might need to start taking two trips to town to get the food. This means twice the work and twice the cost in gasoline and twice the time involved for our volunteer staff who already spend a good 6 hours a month making this happen. Pastor Javier replied that we might need to look at purchasing our provisions from a different store which would deliver the food to the church - but we've been putting that off since the prices are better at the store we are currently using.

A great thing that happened this month was that because we now have more children, we were able to buy some of our items in case quantity - which entitled us to a couple additional discounts. We bought a case of dried milk, a case of cornflakes, 2 cases of sugar, and 2 cases of pasta this month. With the money we saved by purchasing in case quantity (and not having to buy plastic shopping bags this month because we not have our reusable cloth bags) we were able to buy toothpaste and hand soap for every child - something we've never been able to do before. We are looking forward to being able to fill our bags with even more food and supplies for the children when we can finally begin to buy in bulk (and have it delivered) and get even better pricing.

As we talked about the future and the present situation and the challenges we have with purchasing and transporting the food, we all agreed that these kinds of problems are ones that we are happy to have - ones that mean our ministry is growing and that even more children are getting the food and medical care that they need to survive. What a blessing to be able to have these kinds of problems!!

I am so grateful for the team of volunteers in Honduras, and the great team of people we have working with g2gh here in the U.S. and I look forward to what God has planned for our ministry. I know that there will be challenges ahead - like the one we have now with the food purchase - but I know that with God's help we will have the answers we need and in His time our ministry will take the next step on this journey He has planned for us.

Dios te bendiga!

Ken
founder/president, Give2GiveHope

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Lots of (little) celebrations...

(posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010)

We've had a busy two weeks and I've feel like g2gh has grown by leaps and bounds even though a lot of our accomplishments may seem minor to most people... to us they're pretty big things to get excited about. At this stage of our organizations life, every little step forward seems like a momentous occasion to celebrate. I hope we never lose our ability to rejoice over even the small things!!

Last Wednesday night,our"Bags of Hope" finally arrived from the vendor!It was a big chunk of money for our organization, but we were able to have this fundraiser"underwritten" by the great VBS team at Temple Hill who raised enough money for us to buy the bags. The bags look GREAT!!! and I am so excited to be able to share something "tangible" with our constituents and others who are supporting our ministry. We are selling the bags for $5 each with the goal of raising $1000 to be able to begin to buy our food in bulk. We beganselling them a week ago andin that short time, we're one bag short of20% of our goal!We know it's a long way to $1000... but we're certainly rejoicing in every little step forward! And are very thankful for all those who have joined with us to make this happen.

Our first brochures were also picked up from the printer last Wednesdaynight and I have heard nothing but compliments on them... which was a great encouragement to me after hours and hours and design work trying to make everything just PERFECT! They turned out beautifully (check it outby visiting our website and clicking ministry > media/resources)... and I think they help people realize that g2gh isn't just a website somewhere that someone made up.. it's a real-life organization which is doing great things to help out very poor children who desperately need the help. Funny that a piece of paper can convey so much "legitimacy" but it's another one of those little steps forward that we're excited about as our organization grows over time.

Speaking of growing.. since my last blog post on August 9th, we've had 5 more children sponsored!! Talk about an amazing thing! We praise God for how he is moving the hearts of people who are joining with us in this incredible life-changing adventure. Those 5 children are going to have their lives radically changed (for the better) because of the generous and caring people who have stepped forward to make a difference. I have been asked "does $30 a month REALLY make that big a difference in the life of a child?" and I have to answer that with a resounding and emphatic"YES! More than you can imagine!". My wife and I have had the privilege to see that difference first hand, and I can assure you - it's amazing. The children we sponsor are healthier, happier, better educated, and the path of their lives has been changed - they have a hope for tomorrow that they did not have before. Our team gets so encouraged and excited every time a child is sponsored... and the reaction in Honduras is one of great rejoicing - with dancing and clapping and praising and tears. It really is probably the thing I hope we never get used to - that we take time to celebrate every child who gets sponsored... that's what is really at the core of what we do.

I've also had the privilege to participate in two different g2gh presentations in the last 2 weeks - one at St. Mary's Medical Center (where myself and Andrea - one of our VisionCatcher 2010 team members - are employed) and another at Calvary Baptist Church in West Branch. Both presentations were fantastic opportunities for us to meet with people, talk about our mission, help to spread the word about g2gh, and share the vision that God planted in my heart to help these children. I love this part of my job - talking about g2gh - and really look forward to the opportunity to speak about g2gh and the work God has given me. To have that opportunity twice in a week was great!

I tweaked our website (yet again) and did some cosmetic changes - and a fewfunctional changes as well. We're trying to get our "automatic" monthly sponsorship supporters (reoccurring PayPal subscriptions) to all happen on the same day (26th) which will make it a lot easier for us to track and do the bookwork all at once. I messed around with the JavaScript and was finally able to get everything to work right. Doesn't sound like a big thing to celebrate - but if you understood the hours of fiddling around, you'd laugh at how something so simple can be so complex.. .and you'd understand our little celebration over this accomplishment.

One more small celebration was we reached 200 fans on Facebook!! As Javier in Honduras would say "YIPPEEE!" It might seem silly to celebrate such a milestone but we are very excited about it... it's incredible to have that many fans in just a little over a month! We're excited to hit that milestone and are looking forward to celebrating the next 200 fans!!

As I look back on the last 2 (busy) weeks and all the little things we have to celebrate, I am setting aside this coming weekend to get packed and ready to leave on Monday night for another trip back to Honduras on an administrative visit. My intention to to spend some time with our volunteer staff down there, talk about the future, things we can do to help our program run smoother down there, things we can do here in the US to better support our staff and the children in Honduras, and also check off a few things on my list that I wasn't able to accomplish in June. It's going to be a short visit (it's always too short even when it's long!) but I am confident that we will accomplish a lot of things together and we'll have a few more things to celebrate because of the visit. God is so good! And I'm so thankful to be able to be used by Him in this work.. that's definitely something I celebrate daily!

Dios te bendiga!!

Ken Hayes

founder/president, Give2GiveHope / Vision 434, Inc.

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Crunching the Numbers

(posted : Monday Aug 9, 2010)
It's been a busy month since we stepped off the plane returning from VisionCatcher2010. I can't believe the amount of work that we've accomplished in that short time and all the things that have happened. Many many (too many my wife would say) late nights and work on the weekends dedicated to checking things off my list. The good news is, I'm down to the last few items - just in time to turn my attention back to getting ready to head to Honduras in 3 weeks. :)

One of the things that I've been working on is a print piece for Give2GiveHope. We've gotten several people say "Do you have a brochure?" and we've had to say 'no' ... because our primary means of communication has been the website - our sponsorship program is online, our photos are online, this blog is online, etc... so we've never put any time or energy (or money) into developing a print piece. But that request was heard loud and clear and so I've been spending my late hours hunched over the laptop (I've got poor posture!) and am finally done tweaking and retweaking and retweaking again and this week I'm going to pass it on to some friends for review and critique and then start working with some printers, getting prices, and seeing if we can get these print pieces done before our upcoming presentations on August 20 and 21st. It's going to be a tight squeeze, I know.

In creating the print piece, I thought it was important to address the question that we are frequently asked "How much of my sponsorship goes to my sponsored child". We've typically given the canned answer "between 85% - 90%". It has been our practice to withhold 10% of the $30 (basically $3 a child) to help us cover our administrative and operating expenses, but I've never really sat down and crunched the numbers to try to figure out EXACTLY where that money goes - and whether it really covers those expenses. After examining how the money comes in and goes out, I was surprised to find that of that 10% we withhold, a whopping 5.3% goes to cover bank fees - that would be paypal fees, foreign exchange fees, and fees in Honduras for withdrawing the funds. So in reality, Give2GiveHope uses only $1.40 out of every child's monthly sponsorship funds to help cover all our expense (at 30 children that's only $42/month. Wow! I hadn't realized it was so little. (For a details on how it all breaks out, see our stewardship page under the "Ministry" tab on our website).

This month alone (the last 7 days) I've used over $100 to help cover operating expenses - from buying more totes for Honduras (they're using all of them and need more to move the food purchases from the store to the church where it's repackaged and distributed), to buying another scale (the one we have there is very heavy and made of glass and isn't easily carried up and down the mountains), to buying a backpack (to carry the scale and supplies as we are hiking up and down the mountain) and miscellaneous things like paper for the brochures and photos, etc... and we haven't begun to touch the expenses of having the brochures printed or purchasing shirts for our volunteer staff in Honduras - all of which I'm hoping to have done in the next 3 weeks.

Doing this exercise in breaking down the numbers has really helped me see the need to get 1) more sponsors and 2) donors who will support our organization who will give to our general gift fund which helps us meet those operational expenses. We never ever want to withhold more than we have to from our child sponsorship funds, we are looking elsewhere for those needs to be met. So I'm asking you - if you're reading this - to join with me in prayer for some donors (individuals or organizations) who will step up with some gifts (one-time or ongoing) to help cover those expenses so that we can continue to maximize the funds going directly to supporting the sponsored child. I have confidence that God will provide the funds we need to continue... but He does his work through everyday people like you and me.... and I have confidence in the power of prayer because I've seen the results of it firsthand. Please join me in praying that the ongoing financial needs of our ministry are met.

I will write more about two new funds we've set up - the "Bag of Hope" and the "Last Supper" funds - in the upcoming weeks. These are two new ways for you to get involved to help us meet other needs of our ministry which also help us to minimize the amount of funds withheld from child sponsorship.

Dios te bendiga!

Ken Hayes
founder / president, Give2GiveHope

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Room for one more?

(posted : Friday Jul 30, 2010)
Something has been on my heart and mind over the last year and a half... and in particular, the last 4 weeks since returning from Honduras with the team of VisionCatcher2010 as our ministry is becoming more 'public' and we're interacting with more people and sharing the vision and mission of Give2GiveHope. I have been terribly hesitant to share these thoughts because I'm afraid of how they will come across and how people will perceive these thoughts, and I'm worried about offending people.

Today, that changed. A colleague of mine sent me a 'quote of the day' by Dr. Seuss ... "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." This colleague doesn't know about the thoughts that I've had over the last 18 months, as I've never shared these thoughts with anyone but my wife, and my colleague also doesn't know that I just finished an email exchange with a long-time friend which skirted this issue that I've been really mulling over this past year or so. So "coincidentally" the quote she sent me was the impetus I needed to "say what I feel" and to trust that God will open the ears of the right people and they "won't mind" or become offended by it.

These thoughts all began almost 2 years ago at our church's fall mission fair when I was confronted with someone who challenged my thought process and made me examine my priorities. We were strolling along the booths and talking with the people representing the various missions that our church supports and we came across a lady who was representing a program that does the same thing as Give2GiveHope : child sponsorship. At that time, g2gh wasn't even a glimmer in my eye, so this was long before our ministry was even in existence.

As I smiled at the lady and planned to keep walking she said to me "You should sponsor a child". I politely said "We already have a child we sponsor through another organization". She smiled back at me and said "There's always room for one more." I nodded and kept walking. In my mind I was thinking about how faithful our family has been about tithing, how we support multiple missionaries (one for the last 12 years of our lives), how we have been generous with our funds in 'anonymous' gifts, etc... I thought "there isn't room for one more in OUR finances!". Needless to say, that day I did not pick up the card for another child, take it home and pray over it, certainly did not ask God what he wanted me to do, and I did not make a decision to become a sponsor again...

But those words "There's always room for one more" really stuck with me. I've been chewing on those words in my mind over the last 18 months. And I've really come to believe that they are true... more and more each day.

Since that time almost two years ago, we HAVE had room for one more.. in fact, we now have 13 other mouths (besides my family) that are dependent upon my income. We have 6 children (and a mom and dad) with one organization, a child with another organization, and 4 children with Give2GiveHope, plus we pay for the education of one of those children. We have not stopped tithing or supporting missionaries or being less generous with our one-time gifts to other ministries. We also have not suddenly become independently wealthy to allow us to do these things without sacrifices in our lives. We have had to buckle down and live more frugally and become better stewards of the funds that God has provided for our living. There's no more vacations traveling the country (unless you count mission work to Honduras as vacations) and we don't have every "want", but God has - and I believe always will - provide for all our "needs". We have also been incredibly blessed and have never once felt 'cheated' by the commitments we have made to support these children.

Granted, there are a LOT of things we can put our money toward in this world... from global and high-profile things like the devastation in Haiti, to the little personal things like the car that needs new tires - or the vet bill that needs to be paid - or simply having some cash on hand to enjoy things in life with your family. There's also a ton of other organizations - religious and secular - that all have "good causes"... from Red Cross and the United Way to ones like Focus on the Family and the local Christian radio station that needs your support.

But I've been really struggling with - especially the last four weeks - about how to communicate to people that the money given to sponsor a child actually is "worth" more than cable TV or pizza night with the kids or a hunting trip with friends or buying a new electronic gadget that you somehow got along just fine without before. The money given to sponsor a child is not only life-changing here on earth, but it's immediately storing up treasures in heaven for when we are no longer here. It has eternal value, not just physical and earthly value.

I know it's different when you see this stuff first-hand, like my wife and I have... when you see the children that just a year ago were gaunt and 'haunted'... and now are healthy and smiling and filled with life... when you can see the change that a year of sponsorship has made in their lives. When you know the children by name and have had a chance to share a meal with them or to get a hug from them or to have them fall asleep in your arms. There is a connection there that is made between the check that is written out each month, and the reality of how that money affects a child's life... and that connection isn't there for most people because they haven't - and possibly never will - have those experiences to make that connection.

So, I ask myself - what is my 'job' in all of this? What can I do and say to help communicate to (or convince) people that they should sponsor a child.. that there IS room for one more in your budget... that the $1 a day you're donating isn't just worth a cup of coffee - it's worth LIFE and HOPE for a child, and it's worth a crown in heaven?

Even after mulling this question over in my head for almost two years, I haven't come up with the answer yet. I have shared our mission, our work, the purposes of our organization with many many people, and by far the vast majority of them have been very supportive of our organization with words of encouragement and words of praise and support... but by far the vast majority of them have not taken that step to become a sponsor for a child in need... and that both confuses and sorrows me.

Maybe, in the end, the question of "Is there room for one more?" isn't really a question for the ears... it's a question for the heart.

I find myself wondering how people can hear, and know, and see... and not walk away affected and want to do something about it.... but then I remember the lady at the mission fair who told me that there was always room for one more - and how that day, I walked away unaffected - at least on the outside. So maybe it's just something that God is going to have to open hearts and minds and eyes and ears for... and something people will need to chew on before realizing that there IS always room for one more.

Thanks Dr. Seuss for giving me the bump I needed to "say what I feel". I'm trusting God that those who matter won't mind ;)

Ken

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The ground moving

(posted : Saturday Jul 24, 2010)
This last week, g2gh had the incredible privilege of being the 'missionary focus' for Temple Hill Baptist Church's Vacation Bible School in Cadillac, Michigan.

Melissa, Wren, Jennifer Wiser and I made the trip over to their church on Tuesday night to set up our display and meet the people running their VBS program. I was told I would have 5 minutes to present g2gh at the end of their daily program. Knowing it was going to be late for these young children, and that their attention spans would be shorter than normal, I tried to figure out how to condense the experiences I've had over the last 2 years and to make it entertaining enough to capture the imaginations of young people - and to somehow keep it to 5 minutes. I put together a short power point with the help of my daughter, Wren, which focused on the core of our mission : food, clothing, medical care and education and did my best to talk fast and keep it to 5 minutes.

We left there Tuesday night a little in awe with what an amazing group of volunteers they have running their VBS, the "going all out" that they did decorating their church to look 'nautical' (LOVED the hallway that was like the hull of a ship, the way they made the stage look like a big boat, the ocean around the gymnasium), and the warm reception we were given. To be honest, I felt a little humbled to be such an ordinary guy and being so honored to be the focus of their mission work this week in the midst of such a talented and hard-working group of people.

We returned to Cadillac last night to attend their closing services, pick up the display, and to receive the donation that their children and parents had raised to help Give2GiveHope. They had set a goal of $100, and then raised that goal to $150 and then again to $200 and I knew that the children were so engaged and excited about the program (and the possibility of getting to 'tar and feather' their youth pastor) that they might even be able to collect $300 to donate to us. When we arrived we were told that the total amount raised would have to be a surprise and that we'd have to wait until the closing ceremony to find out.

Boy were we in for an incredible surprise! I was totally blown away by what this amazing group of children and adults were able to raise in just 4 days time!! I was pretty speechless when we were presented with a heavy bag (full of change and $1 bills) and told the total raised was $790! WOW!! What a blessing to have been part of their VBS program and to be able to receive these funds for our organization. We had only expected maybe $300, and had made some plans in our mind for the uses for those funds ($200 is needed to purchase reusable food bags for our children to be able to transport their food with - this will help reduce costs in Honduras and be much more helpful for both the volunteers and the sponsored children) but now we've got to really pray about the best way to use the additional funds we received. Our board of directors is going to take some time to pray about how God would want us to use these additional funds so we are good stewards of the blessings that God has provided.

This great blessing comes right on the heels of three weeks of hustle and bustle where we've been busy making plans for the future and catching up from our recent trip to Honduras. Within that time, we've had 4 new children sponsored, got our Face Book page up and running (and I'm completely amazed that we already have 127 fans), did some major things with our website, had 9 people indicate that they want to be part of our next trip to Honduras in June 2011, planned an administrative trip to Honduras for September, presented at a VBS, and many many other things too numerous to detail out.

Needless to say, g2gh has been on 'high speed' since early June and there's no signs of stopping! In fact, I just got another call about a possibility of presenting g2gh at another church later this year. (And gearing up for two more presentations in the next month or so).

When talking with my good sister, Letty, who helps to run the g2gh program in Honduras I told her that I almost feel the ground beneath me rumbling with the movements of God. Everywhere I look I see that God is moving things and arranging them as if in preparation for a big explosion of growth for our ministry. This is an exciting time for Give2GiveHope and I feel so encouraged by all the things God is doing around me and through me. Some people would be concerned about the future - how on earth could our ministry grow fast and what about all the things that need to happen to make that growth successful - but the two big lessons I learned during my time in Honduras in June were 1) God's TIMING is always perfect and that if we just wait on Him, then when He does things, they will work out right and good and better than if we get ahead (or lag behind) Him, and 2) FAITH in God moves mountains, heals people, answers 'impossible' prayers, makes things happen that we can't imagine.

So I am approaching the future of our organization with FAITH and confidence in God's TIMING... Give2GiveHope will grow when God wants it to grow, in His time, and in His way, and that what is required of me is to have FAITH in the work that God around and through our ministry. If we build our work on the solid foundation of Christ, then there is nothing to fear from the rumblings in the ground. God has been, is currently, and will remain, in control of everything Give2GiveHope does.

Ken
founder / president, Give2GiveHope

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Technology @ g2gh website

(posted : Saturday Jul 17, 2010)
I've been furiously working behind the scenes ever since we returned from Honduras two weeks ago. There's been so many things I've done with our website and our system, most of which are transparent to the average visitor to our site ... not that I think we have a ton of those right now, but I'm laying some foundational things for the future and we've made some exciting progress recently so I thought I'd take a moment to detail out what some of those things are...

1) Through God's great timing, we were able to buy the domain name www.g2gh.com . We've never advertised that you could get to our website through www.g2gh.org before (as well as www.give2givehope.com and www.give2givehope.org and vision434.org/.com) because we didn't own the .com and I was concerned that people would use the .com and not get to our site. While we were in Honduras on our trip, the .com became available for purchase... for $900.. which is obviously way out of reach of our ministry - no matter how much I wanted it. Since I wasn't able to get my email in Honduras, those who were trying to sell the domain to us did not receive a response, and so they took my non-response for non-interest and gave up.

God's timing was perfect (which is one of the great lessons I learned in Honduras and am constantly getting little reminders) and when we got back, I got the emails, and I checked into it, I was able to secure g2gh.com for $8/yr. WOW!! Talk about a savings! This is great news for our ministry since we'll be able to use g2gh on our marketing materials now as well as give2givehope.org/com and be sure that our visitors get to our website!

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2) As I was catching up on some reading that had been sitting on my desk for more than a month, I read an article about a thing called "QR" barcodes. These little barcodes can be read by the newer smartphones and can contain much more information than a traditional barcode (which usually contains just digits 0-9). QR barcodes can contain things like event information, contact information, text messages, GPS coordinates, and web addresses. I began to think about how I could use QR barcodes for our ministry and what kind of 'shortcut' they might provide us... maybe not NOW, but in the future as techonology advances and more and more people get smartphones.

Through the assitance of one of my long-time web-geek friends (a term that offends neither of us), we were able to generate QR barcodes on the fly and customize the barcode contents to create a direct link (via web address) to each child's "more information" page. These QR barcodes are now printed on our child sponsorship information cards which we display and give away at our presentations.

What this means is that when someone visits us and takes an information card on one of the children in our program, if they were to scan that barcode that is printed on the card with their smartphone, it would present them with the option to open a web browser on their phone and go directly to the specific page where that child can be sponsored. This eliminates the need to visit our main webpage and filter through all the children (although those options are still available to everyone) and takes the user directly to the webpage created for that specifc child.

We don't think this will be a 'must have' option anytime soon, but as technology moves forward it's a cool thing to be on the 'cutting edge' with our little ministry.

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3) Welcome to FaceBook!! (I know, FB has been around a long time). To be quite honest, I wasn't sure we would ever dip our toe in the FaceBook world. I simply don't have enough time in the day to juggle all the balls I have on my plate now and wasn't willing to take on the responsibility for posting and keeping content fresh and update on yet another web page (see items below related to my committment to keep this blog updated better). We've had some request by friends of the ministry to create a FB page but it was kinda low on the priority list... until our most recent trip to Honduras.

One of our team members, Jennifer Wiser, is very passionate about doing what she can to help g2gh and so she's been asked to be the content manager for our FB page. We just got our FB page set up two days ago and I was surprised to find out yesterday we already had 34 fans - half of which are new friends to me and our ministry! WOW!! I'm really thankful for Jennifer and her willingness to help g2gh enter the FB world. I'm confident that social media will continue to be an important arena to participate in... and maybe it's becoming even more important than traditional emails and websites... so this is a great thing for our ministry to jump into and I'm very excited that God has brought us someone like Jennifer who is willing to help out!

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4) We now have an RSS feed available on our website. Just got that set up a couple days ago. The RSS feed will deliver this blog content directly into your favorite RSS reader. I have my igoogle home page and Google Reader set up as subscribed to the g2gh RSS feed (found at http://feeds.feedburner.com/g2gh ). I know I've been terrible at keeping this blog updated over the last year - along with our Twitter feed (which btw, is now linked up with our FB page - optimizing the synergy!!)... again just too many balls to juggle... but I think that it's important to make the committment to our existing and potential donors to make regular communications about what's going on in our ministry (and in the mind of the president of our ministry) so I'm going to try to update our blog (and RSS feed, and FB/Twitter) much more consistently than we've done in the past.

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5) I'm just like every other person on the planet and if it's easy, then I'm more apt to do it than if it's difficult.. and that's been one of the challenges with blogging. I'm a much better 'emailer' than I am a 'blogger'. I'm not sure what the difference is... maybe it's the session time-out thing that is the deal breaker... maybe it's the familiarity of the email window (I send/receive hundreds a day).. who knows.. but for whatever reason I like to send emails more than I like to blog. So I stayed up late last night and got up early this morning and after jumping some hoops I have it all figured out how to post to my blog (and RSS) via email!! So, this blog post is being sent to you via our newly created email-to-blog function... Hopefully making life easier for me to keep our website updated :)

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So those are some of the technological advancements we've made in the last two weeks. There's some other things I've done behind the scenes but they're less glamorous than the 5 I've shared here which help to lay the foundation for the future and increase the ability of friends of our ministry to share our mission with others.

It's gonna be a gorgeous day here in northern Michigan, so I'm going to get off the computer now and go out and enjoy the beautiful day that God has given us!

Dios te bendiga!

Ken Hayes
founder / president

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Reflections on VC2010

(posted : Sunday Jul 11, 2010)
It's been just a little over a week since we returned from our organizations first organized trip. I've been so swamped trying to tie up loose ends that I haven't had a chance to share here my thoughts on the experience.

People have asked "How was the trip?" and I've given answers like "Incredible" and "Amazing" because those are the only words I can conjure up to describe the indescribable experience. I had an incredible team, we did incredible work, shared an incredible time together with incredible people, and were all impacted in incredible ways.

The trip was called "VisionCatcher 2010" because the primary purpose of the visit to our location in Honduras was to create the right kind of environment in which we might be more open to catching the vision for God's work around us. It wasn't with the intent to convert everyone to "Give2GiveHope-ites", because I truly believe that God is working in many ways and in many places and there are many opportunities to join in God's work right where we are. But catching the vision for that work is sometimes difficult when we are "in our rut"... walking through life day-by-day doing the same things and dealing with the same "problems" that we deal with every day, surrounded by our same environments, same people, same situations. Sometimes it takes getting out of our comfort zones and having our faith-muscles stretched and perspectives radically altered to be able to have our eyes opened to what work God might want us to join in.

No matter where we do God's work, the primary objective is that we are DOING something to advance God's work and care for others - not just sitting on the side-lines waiting for others to do it. Some of us may catch the vision to work at our local soup kitchen, some are called to minister at their local church, some feel lead to help save lives or bring comfort to others with organizations like the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity... and some are called to help impoverished children in Honduras in the little village of Sapadril. The goal of the trip was not to gathering more workers for our organization... rather, just to help people to catch a vision for where God would want them to "plug in" and to take those first steps to begin the job (and if that happens to be with Give2GiveHope, that's a great bonus for us!)

The second, and more 'practical' purpose of our trip was to update our records for the 97 children we had enrolled in our program beginning in 2009. We knew it would be a challenge to get all 97 children's records updated, and we were sure that we'd have some new applicants join our program. I anticipated maybe 50 more kids, so we took 137 pair of flipflops, 47 new Give2GiveHope Tshirts, 51 hand-made dolls, and an equal number of donated beanie-babies to give away.

God had bigger plans than we had! We ended up registering 180 new children, almost tripling the number of children we have enrolled in Give2GiveHope. Needless to say we quickly ran out of shirts and flipflops and dolls to give away. We thank God (in hindsight) for the rainy day as we would not have been able to handle all the families showing up at once and the bad weather helped spread them out so we were only an hour and a half late for lunch.

This task of gathering family information, demographics, height, weight, photos, etc. for all these children would have been almost impossible for the local volunteer staff. It would have taken months for them to complete and taken them away from the many other things they had to do. Our team, working alongside the amazing local volunteers, accomplished this in approximately 6 hours worth of time. Everyone did amazing work and we were all impacted deeply by the experience and the children.

The children's information has been updated and entered into the website, all the photos have been uploaded, and there are now 253 beautiful children who are waiting for a sponsor... waiting for someone to give them a little hope. (Here's my shameless plug for our program) Won't you consider sponsoring one - or two - of these children? They're not just photos on a website. Our team can testify to you that they're real children who laugh and cry and hug and love� and your sponsorship makes a big difference in their lives.

On our last day in Honduras, our team had the privilege of doing the provision shopping, packing the food for the children, and being part of the distribution of food. It was an incredibly moving experience for us as we saw the smiles on the faces of the children and their mothers. As two of the children my family sponsors were receiving their monthly provisions, my wife turned to me and said (as she wiped tears from her eyes) "It's so good to see the reality of what really happens after I write that check out every month". We really are providing hope for a better tomorrow to these children! We're not niave enough to think that our sponsorship program will solve all the problems in their lives, but we witnessed first-hand how our program impacts their lives in ways that are immeasurable.

As the team has returned to their homes and jobs, and have begun the process of re-assimilating to their old environments, I can't really say that our group will ever fully 'adjust' and get back to the way they were before... in fact, I can pretty much say that all of us will never be the same.. We all have new memories of the time we spent laughing and playing and hugging the children, new friends - both among our team and in Honduras, a new appreciation for the comforts we have in our lives, and hopefully a new vision for the work of God going on all around us.

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Rollercoaster Ride

(posted : Saturday Jun 19, 2010)

We've had a roller coaster ride as we've prepared for our trip to Honduras next week. It's been a lot of ups and downs... and the ride ain't over yet.

Our team of 15 has spent several months preparing for this adventure - from preparing paperwork and visas and shots to raising funds. We've had two team meetings to discuss plans and gather needed resources. Hours and hours of prayer have covered our team - both here in the US and in Honduras. It's been a lot of work and preparation.

And then the Spirit Airlines pilots went on strike... and of course, our tickets were booked on Spirit. We were all crushed and discouraged and wondering what we were supposed to do....

Through God's intervention we were able to get a refund from Spirit (and we were very hopeful).... and then we tried to rebook flights on other carriers and couldn't find any flights (and we were upset) ... and then we were able to rebook our flight on Delta for 2 days later than we originally planned to leave (and we got excited again)... but they cost an additional $1100. (ouch is right!)

We had been doing great up until that point with our fund raising. We had all the team's expenses met including having raised the funds to pay the the ladies who will prepare our food. (They only get paid $5/day for all the work they do to feed the 15 team members). We also had raised $900 to put toward the purchase of a new refrigerator for Jaiver and Letty (the missionaries who live in Honduras and volunteer to run the G2GH program).

All that disappeared in 48 hours. Needless to say, we were happy to be able to go, but a little distraught at how the change in carrier and flights had sucked up all our reserves and we were trying to figure out how we would be able to pay the ladies who prepare our food - let alone be able to raise funds to help pay for the refrigerator that is desperately needed in Honduras.

We shared our concerns with the team in Honduras and our friends and family here, and we all went to the Lord in prayer. The g2gh team in Honduras and the church there we work with were praying and fasting for us. I shared our situation with a couple people I knew and in two days time, the $1100 we had lost to the airlines had been donated and we were back on track. Those people were an answer to prayer, and we are so thankful to them that we don't even have words to express our gratitude.

So we're back up to the top of our roller coaster hill and excited to see what God's going to do on our trip.

Through all this, I have to confess that at times, I haven't always had the faith that I should have had that God would work all these things out. I had the knowledge in my head, but it didn't always make it to my heart. I got discouraged when things weren't going right. I was thankful that during these down times there were others around me to encourage me - share bible verses with me - pray with and for me - let me know that God has a plan for all this - and if I only had the faith and would leave these things at God's feet that he would take care of things.

And He has. And more wonderfully than we could have organized or planned or prepared for on our own. So we continue on the ride, anxious to see how God continues to work out any of the problems we might encounter... and always praying for and seeking the faith we need to get us through those valleys.

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G2GH gets some local press

(posted : Friday Jan 22, 2010)

The children of g2gh wrote letters to their sponsors back in August of 2009 and those letters were delivered here to the US and then translated and delivered to the sponsors in time for Christmas.

Our local Spanish teacher asked some spanish-speaking exchange students to assist our ministry by doing the translations for us and they agreed! Check out the story that ran just yesterday in our local paper : The Ogemaw County Herald... click to enlarge the image to readable size.

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Nice surprises

(posted : Saturday Jan 16, 2010)

I received a note this week from a colleague. It went something like this :

Ken,

I was moved by your stories of your efforts to get support for children in Honduras. I know the need in the village must be huge and I admire the sacrifices you and your family are making.

I currently support a child in Guatemala and so can not take on another one at this time. I am however, sending you a check and hope that you will use it to help a child.

I will keep you and Give2GiveHope and all the children of the Honduran village you work with in my prayers.

Laurie

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