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To
our Partners in Ministry,
In America, and even
around the world, many face financial loss and uncertainty. It affects
all of us. Please know that we pray for you. We realize that you may
be cautious right now in your giving and investing in ministry. We
understand.
On the other hand, we
are seeing that most of our Partners in Ministry are remaining faithful
to the support of our sponsored children for their schooling and basic
food supply for their health. We thank you from the bottom of our
hearts for your love of these precious children. We also believe God is
pleased with your faithfulness to give and invest in the lives of the
children who are the hope for a better future.
Some Ministry
Partners and Sponsors have not been able to send money for the needs of
the children and other ministry needs. Our income took a drastic dip in
August and September. It is a little better in October, but we have
still not caught up to the needs. If you are able to send some extra at
this time, it will be a tremendous help.
Please consider
sending your investment now by going to: Giving Options.
PERU
MISSION
As you know, Ras and
Bev are spending a month in Chiclayo, Peru (October 21 through November
18). As Partners with this ministry, you need to know of the incredible
favor our Lord has given us in Chiclayo. God has blessed us and the
city of Chiclayo with Rebekah Bohlin (our FCM Missionary to Peru), Leo
and Martha Oliva (native Peruvian FCM Missionaries), and
the pastors who oversee our sponsored children.
We consider ourselves part of the same
family here in Chiclayo. There is a genuine heart bonding among us for
the cause of the children. Here is a photo of Rebekah, Leo and Martha
(back row) with some of the sponsored children.
Last week we met with
all the pastors in the city who minister to the sponsored children.
These godly men and women genuinely love the children and work with them
and their families to overcome and break the cycle of poverty that has
them in bondage. One pastor told of buying an eight year boy his first
shoes so he could attend school. The child, with eyes filled with awe,
held the shoes close and would not let them out of his sight until he
could put them on. The same pastor told us of another sponsored boy who
had never had underwear. He told the pastor how glad he was to now have
his first underwear for school. The stories of these boys brought tears
to our eyes. The pastor and his wife love children. They have two of
their own and they oversee six sponsored children. After speaking in
their church last Sunday night, they invited us to their house for a
traditional piece of chicken and a very large serving of rice. The home
was filled with joy. We were at home there.
Another pastor told
of sponsored children who sleep on cardboard beds without a roof. They
are praying that one day they will have a roof over their beds. In
another situation, the pastor helped a child’s family get a birth
certificate so he could be admitted to school for the first time.
Another child has very poor eyesight and was given her first pair of
glasses. These are just some of the stories we heard the first few days
of this visit.
We heard stories of
families with several children who could only afford to send one of them
to school so one child goes to school and the others stay home. You who
are supporting FCM ministries are helping to change lives.
In two services last
Sunday we saw 73 souls saved. Wednesday night, we saw 10 saved in a
small cell group. The fields are white unto harvest here.
NEEDS
IN PERU
Our
greatest need is for more children to be sponsored. It requires only
$25.00 per month to send a child to school. Those funds provide the
basic needs of a child: shoes, underwear, eye glasses, backpack, books,
school supplies, school uniforms and supplementary food when a school
child shows signs of being malnourished, and help for an overseeing
pastor. We do the best we can with the money our Partners invest in the
children.
In this photo are
some of our sponsored children at a swim party we gave them. For most
of them, it was the first time they had been swimming.
To sponsor a child,
go to:
Sponsor-A-Child.
In addition to funds
needed for sponsoring children, we need funds for rice and supplements
of vitamins and minerals. Some signs of malnutrition we notice in the
children are: their black hair begins to turn brownish red; they cannot
concentrate in school classes. When we provide food for the sponsored
children in their homes, we also include their parents and siblings. We
need Food Sponsors who will invest $50.00 per month or whatever they can
afford.
To become a Food
Sponsor and help feed undernourished and hungry children go to:
Giving Options.
Today we drove
through the poorest of the poor areas of Chiclayo. It was heart
rending. We saw where four of our overseeing pastors, who have churches
in the area, work with the children. All of them have a weekly Bible
study and worship service for the sponsored children.
All in all, the
mission work in Chiclayo is going well. The pastors and city leaders
receive our ministry and welcome our help. Please continue to pray for
us. God has given us much favor. There is much to be done as God
brings darkness to light and death to life.
OUR
MISSION IN THE PHILIPPINES
The children in this
photo are some of our sponsored children in the Philippines. All of
them live at the garbage dump of a large city, but because of your
generosity, they have hope for a
better future. These children are in
school, most for the first time in their lives. Money is sent each
month to pay for school expenses of these children and to provide food.
The man in the back in the white t-shirt is the local pastor who cares
for the children. He is a wonderful man who cares deeply for them and
daily lays down his life for them. The sign above the shelter says it
well – “KIDS FREEDOM CENTER Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through
Education by FULLNESS IN CHRIST.” Everyone who gives to Fullness in
Christ Ministries is part of transforming the lives of these children
and hundreds more like them. We need you. Every donation – large or
small – helps to change the life and future of a child.
One special note. The
children in this photo were in the center of the recent terrorist
uprising when Islamic extremists began attacking Christians living in
areas they claimed for their own territory. We have about 200 sponsored
children and 6 pastors in the affected area. Many of you joined us in
prayer for their safety. We are very happy to report that none of the
children in our care were harmed and God used the pastors to minister to
many hurting people in the area. At one time, even international aid
workers were not allowed into the places where there was intense
fighting because the Philippine Army could not guarantee their
protection. During that time, we were able to get money directly to the
local pastors who were already there and ministering to the people.
Thank you for your prayers and for the support you sent.
FEEDING HUNGRY CHILDREN
Our hearts have been
touched with your response to feeding the hungry children in the
Philippines and in Peru. Those of you who have given to that special
fund have been part of providing nourishing food for hundreds of the
poorest of the poor children. The letters received from pastors who
have received the extra funds for feeding the children are full of
gratefulness. There is always a need for more, but I want to share with
you a story about a group of poor and hungry who are giving and being
blessed in return.
There is a group of
people in a small city here in the US who are very poor. They regularly
eat free meals at a soup kitchen. The lady who runs the soup kitchen is
one of our subscribers and sponsors a child. She told the people who
came to eat about the children who had no food. There were about 75
very poor people there that day. With tears in their eyes, they were so
touched by the needs of the children that they began to bring their
pennies and other precious coins to give for food for the children.
They prepared a small coffee can for their coins and called it “COINS
FOR KIDS.” Each month they send what they have collected. As they come
up the line for their free lunch, they can hardly wait to put their
coins and sometimes even dollars in the can.
Here is an excerpt
from an e-mail recently received from the ministry director at the soup
kitchen.
“This is so amazing.
These people come for the (free) Tuesday lunch, and when the line
starts, some of them are almost RUNNING to put their coins in that
can! Tuesday a man showed me his little plastic baggie of dirty coins,
He said he had been looking in old couch cushions and furniture for
coins and had found these. The coins totaled maybe $2.00. Others told
me that since I asked them to pray and ask the LORD to tell them where
the coins were in the streets, that people dropped, they HAD found
pennies, and nickels, and sometimes more. They were so amazed. But I
am not surprised...only very blessed and overjoyed, that THESE people
who have so little, very little or NO INCOME, do not keep THE COINS;
they bring them here for the children! They come WITH SMILES. THEY
ALWAYS WANT TO SEE THE PICTURES OF THE CHILDREN. THEN THEY HURRY TO PUT
THEIR GIFT IN THE JAR.”
This story brought tears to our eyes. These people know about hunger
and it broke their hearts to think of children who are hungry. They may
not have much, but their gifts are big to God. We recently told this
story in a church in Branson and the people came with tears in their
eyes to give their coins. Before we left, the church had set up a “COIN
JAR” to collect change for feeding hungry children. Think about whether
your church or ministry might want to do the same.
Pray and ask God
about giving so hungry children can be fed. To send your donations, go
to:
Giving Options.
ARTWORK FROM BEV
ROBINSON
Over the
years Bev Robinson has blessed us with beautiful calligraphic artwork.
Many beautiful pieces were printed on the back of Fulness Magazine. We see those pieces framed and hung in homes around the
world. Recently we have begun again to offer them for sale. The income
from this artwork goes to the support of Fullness in Christ Ministries
and the missions in the Philippines, Peru and other places God takes
us. You can view them and purchase them online at:
Artwork.
WHAT ARE THE NEEDS?
Christmas for
Sponsored Children:
Each year we try to send extra money for Christmas for the sponsored
children. Sometimes we are able to bless other children as well,
especially siblings of the sponsored children who are not yet
sponsored. This year, because of the tight financial conditions of the
world, our funds are not what we need for this. If you would like to
help give a Christmas blessing (a meal and small gift) to a child, go to
Giving Options.
Sponsors:
We have many children in both Peru and the Philippines who still need a
sponsor. We also have some children who have been sponsored whose
sponsors are not able to continue at this time. The cost to sponsor a
child is $25 a month. If you would like to invest in the future of a
child, go to
Giving Options.
Food for Hungry
Children in Peru and Philippines:
Most of our sponsored children come from homes where food is inadequate
or non-existent. We are sending extra money for feeding the children to
many of our pastors. They are so grateful because they see the great
needs. You can help provide nutritious food for a child or a group of
children. A donation of any amount helps. Go to
Giving Options.
Your partnership with
us has meant more than we can express. We know of the uncertainty of
the times we are in, especially in the financial arena. We desire to
partner with you in prayer for your needs even as you pray for our
needs. If you have prayer needs that you would like to share, please
e-mail us at
prayer@fullnessnetwork.net
to share your
prayer requests with us. Your requests, as always, will be kept
confidential.
Thank you for
visiting our ministry website.
God bless you,
Ras and Bev Robinson
and Kathy Bohlin |
