Thursday, August 27, 2015

"Feed the Need" & Our Partnership with Haiti

“We love, because He first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 

In an effort to instill the virtues of charity, compassion, and gratitude in the hearts of our students, Bethany Christian School will be partnering with Mission of Hope to offer outreach and assistance to children in Haiti. Mission of Hope was founded in 1998 by Brad and Vanessa Johnson, and it has since partnered with hundreds of American churches and businesses to provide relief and hope to more than 100,000 Haitians in eleven different villages. Until now, Mission of Hope has never partnered with a school. This year, Bethany Christian School will be serving needs and building relationships with the children on Mission of Hope’s main campus. We will be doing so through a four-pronged approach.

#1 - “Feed the Need” – During the 2015 fall semester, Bethany will be launching a campaign pledge drive that will support the ministry of Bethany Christian School and enable Bethany’s students to purchase, pack, and ship more than 10,000 meals to children in Haiti. Each bag of food costs $5 and contains multiple meals. This campaign, which will replace the Boosterthon Fun Run, seeks to accomplish three primary objectives: (1) to instill in our children a love of missions and service to those in need, (2) to raise funds for Bethany Christian School, and (3) to pay for the costs of meals, packing materials, and shipping. 

To "become a fundraiser," click on the following link:

Or text "BOBCAT" to 71777.  

After registering as a "fundraiser" on the website, you will be supplied with a link that is specific to your family. There will be one link per family. You can then share this link with your family and friends via text, email, or on social media -- encouraging others to support the cause. 


#2 - Village of Hope School Supply Drive – Bethany will also be partnering with the Village of Hope — the primary orphanage on the Mission of Hope main campus. We have pledged to provide for the educational and clothing needs of sixty-two orphans — with ages ranging from preschool to high school. In this effort, we will be collecting backpacks, pencils, pencil pouches and sharpeners, pens (blue ink), erasers, scientific calculators, geometry sets, underwear, undershirts, and belts.

Watch the Story of Jean Marc. 


#3 - Pen-Pal Program – In addition to offering our assistance in supplying nutritional, educational, and clothing needs, Bethany will be launching a pen-pal program to build relationships of love and hope between our students and these 62 children. Each of our classes will “adopt” 4-5 students. Psalm 68 declares that our God is a “Father to the fatherless,” and He “sets the lonely in families.” It is our prayer that our students will become an extended spiritual family to these kids who have lost their families.


#4 - Our Spring Break Mission Trip – Finally, Bethany and Rio Vista Community Church will be offering Bethany families an opportunity to take a short-term mission trip over Spring Break to visit the Mission of Hope campus and to see the fruit of your generosity. During the trip, we will be leading students in the SAINTS sports camp and working to improve their campus. Our students will be able to meet the children with whom they have formed these relationships. Our families will have the opportunity to visit the orphanage, see the supplies, play with these kids, and be blessed in witnessing the amazing redemptive work that our God is doing in the lives of these children.

For more information on how you can support our efforts, contact Marne MacPhee at mmacphee@bcsftl.org. For more information about the spring mission trip, please contact Scott Carson at scott@riovistachurch.com.

About Mission of Hope

The Mission of Hope website declares: “As an organization following Jesus Christ, we exist to bring life transformation to every man, woman, and child in Haiti. Mission of Hope was founded in 1998, and continues to serve Haiti daily by meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the Haitian population. Our desire is to serve the nation of Haiti, and see lives changed. Our passion is to see the hopeless find hope through Jesus Christ, and empower future generations through education to bring their country out of poverty.”

FIVE RESOLUTIONS OF MISSION OF HOPE

1.       Intentionally modeling Christ’s love through relationships.
2.       Repeatedly sharing the Gospel message in targeted geographies.
3.       Strategically developing national leaders to carry the vision to the nation.
4.       Pursuing God’s physical, mental, social and spiritual destiny for every man, woman and child.
5.       Responsibly utilizing all resources and talents to their fullest potential for God’s glory.

For more information about Mission of Hope, visit their website at www.mohhaiti.org


Facts about Haiti

Ø  FACT: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Ø  FACT: Two out of every three Haitians live on less than $2 per day.
Ø  FACT: Eighty percent of the Haitian population lives in abject poverty.
Ø  FACT: Haiti ranks among the three worst countries in the world for daily caloric intake.
Ø  FACT: The 2010 earthquake killed more than 200,000 Haitians and left 1.5 million homeless.
Ø  FACT: There are currently more than 400,000 orphans living in Haiti.
Ø  FACT: Roughly 100,000 Haitian children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition.


Thanks in advance for partnering with us in this effort to bless our students and the children of Haiti.

“We love, because He first loved us.”

In Christ,

Sam Kastensmidt
Head of School

Bethany Christian School

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