Thought for today

If Jesus taught us to love our friends and hate our enemies, we could probably grasp how wide, high, and deep God's love is.

Nicaragua Update - June 25, 2013

HUGE thanks to my support team, providing financial, prayer, and material resources for the upcoming trip!  Thank you thank you thank you!  You are ALL a blessing and I am humbled to serve as Christ's hands and feet.  As Philippians 1:3 says, I thank God every time I think of you.

Check out the latest from O-Net below.  I'm excited to see the two kids (among others) at Casa Bernabe.

Speaking of the kids at Casa, last week our Team received a roster of the residents there - my how they've grown!  I can't wait to see them again.

Support Team, always remember that you are a significant part of this effort - you are going with me.

Dear Jonathan,  As our summer kicks off and numerous teams head to Nicaragua, you may be donating towards or praying for individuals as they take their trip. And, if you're being honest - you are 90% happy for them, but 10% jealous! This summer, even if you can't make the trip, you can still bring a little Nica to your heart. Sign up to sponsor one of our children, and you can help change a child's life as well as experience Nica through their eyes! Right now ORPHANetwork has 65 children who are completely unsponsored at our partner orphanages. Read below about three children who still need sponsors. They would love to have a relationship with you, knowing that they are being prayed for and cared about.   Meet Jeferson from Casa Bernabe, Vera Cruz - Jeferson arrived at Casa in February 2013. He turned 7 years old on May 19th. He comes from a broken home and was left alone frequently with no one to care for him. He arrived at Casa with pneumonia, parasites, very malnourished and underweight. Thankfully, he is thriving in his new environment. He says his favorite things to do are play ball and paint. He would love to know that you are praying for his health! Click here to sponsor Jeferson! Meet Manuel at El Canyon - Manuel arrived in August 2012. We do not know his birthday but know he is approximately 14 years old. He was brought to El Canyon because his familywas making him juggle at traffic lights to make money. They were living in extreme poverty and often unable to feed Manuel. He was not attending school and there was also suspicion of abuse by his stepfather. Today Manuel is in the 1st grade and his favorite subject is Math. He loves to play soccer with his new friends and would love to receive a letter from you with encouragement to keep doing well in school! Click here to sponsor Manuel! Meet Julieby at Casa Bernabe, Puerto Cabezas - Julieby is a sweet girl who turned 11 on June 4th. She was brought to Port last April because she was living in extreme poverty andoften unable to eat or attend school. Julieby is already in the 5th grade which is remarkable because she has not consistently attended school. She is very motivated and wants to be a teacher when she grows up so she can help the community she grew up in. She would love to know you are praying for her dreams to come true! Click here to sponsor Julieby.  For more information about child sponsorship or to see more children who are available for sponsorship, please click here.  Already an ORPHANetwork sponsor? Thank you! Please pass this email onto someone you know that you think would be encouraged by supporting a child and changing their life. Let's get all 65 children who are currently without sponsors, sponsored up!    Blessings! Katie Donahue Sponsorship & Donor Communications Director ORPHANetwork 1 Country, 6 Orphanages, 78 Local Church Initiatives, Almost 12,000 Children Served Daily     It's so easy to stay connected with us, just click on one of the links below:

Nicaragua Mission Trip Update 14Jun13

Check out the info below from OrphaNetwork regarding the success of feeding centers (posted with their permission).

Last July, I had the opportunity to serve at the feeding center near Tipitapa, as well as set up a makeshift medical clinic to track the kid's progress and have local doctors provide exams and care.

As you may know, Nicaragua is the second poorest nation in our hemisphere, Haiti being the poorest.  It's great to have our church be effectively partnering with missions organizations in both countries to truly help those in need.

SDG

Then - Yirreth (on the right) had blonde highlights from the lack of protein in her diet. Now - Yirreth's hair is dark and healthy because she is well nourished and receiving the protein she needs.     In Nicaragua it is estimated that one in three children is chronically malnourished.  When we began conducting health assessments on roughly 4,300 of the children we serve through 26 Local Church Initiatives (LCIs) our baseline results showed chronic malnourishment rates at 26%.  Since 2012 ORPHANetwork's Medical Director, Dr. Janice Hebbert, and Nutritionist, Flavia Urbina, have been working diligently with our church partners in Nicaragua to drive chronic malnourishment rates down in the children we serve.  Our most recent health assessments resulted in a 14% average across all 26 locations! Our goal for 2013 is to drive the rates down to 10%, and our primary health goal is to wipe-out malnourishment in the children we serve.     What does wiping out malnourishment in our Local Church Initiatives look like?  Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to as well as a new initiative that we've just begun:   Education Flavia suggests menus to each church location with different combinations of ingredients for the best nutritional impact on the children. Cooks are taught about nutritional absorption of the ingredients in the lunches they prepare each day. Children and parents are learning how to wash their hands before they eat and why it is so important to their health.      Increased Calories Each child that attends one of our LCI's eats a nourishing 800 calorie lunch each weekday. When a child is identified as chronically malnourished they are given soy-fortified milk to add additional calories and nutrition to their daily diet. Many pastors or leaders of the programs make home visits to get a better perspective of what that malnourished child's home-life is like, and often the child is given food to take home to their family as well.     Medical Care    Alternating between health assessment screenings, Dr. Janice's medical team also treats acute medical needs every six months. Twice a year children are given deworming pills to rid their bodies of harmful parasites that may be stealing precious nutrients from their bellies.  The children are also given Vitamin A supplements to assist their immune system's ability to fight disease. Educating New Mothers Dr. Janice and Flavia just began a new initiative for educating and helping both expectant and new mothers in Nueva Vida. Read more here. We could not be making the progress we have without God's abundant blessings, our talented team in Nicaragua, and all of your support.  Thank you for being ORPHANetwork! Many Blessings, Katie Beasley Communications Director ORPHANetwork   1 Country, 6 Orphanages, 78 Local Church Initiatives, Almost 12,000 Children Served Daily

Nicaragua Mission Trip Update

THANK YOU to all who have or are supporting our Team on our trip to Nicaragua!  Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to prepare to serve.

Thanks to your prayer and financial support for trip costs, I was able to match funds for the purchase of 85 copies of Biblia Historias de Jesus, as well as 7 "CPR Anytime" kits.  The Bibles will be used as education material for kids and parents in the areas we serve, and the CPR kits will be used for my CPR/first aid classes - all to be left behind for future reference.

Please continue to pray for our Team as we prepare for our mission!

SDG