Your Impact
As I have mentioned before, I continue to assist the GAiN leadership team with strategic planning and helping them follow through on strategy initiatives. The simplest way to describe what GAiN does is help Cru ministries around he world have access, gain credibility, and increase their effectiveness through Food and Agriculture, Clean Water, and Critical Aid programs. I received the following story last week from their Communications Team.
“Traumatized by war and living away from home, refugees in East Africa struggle to find food. Thanks to a recent shipment of GAiN meals, 980 refugee families, along with prison inmates, orphans, and university students, joyfully received nourishing meals made possible through the support of partners like you.
But they were not hungry for food alone. They were also starving for hope. As the meals were delivered, GAiN field partners had the opportunity to minister to many and introduce them to Jesus. As a result, 235 people responded to the eternal hope of Jesus, 89 of them joined a discipleship group, and a church has been established for this refugee community. God worked in the worst of circumstances to meet immediate physical needs — and to give suffering people hope for eternity. As the humanitarian partner of Cru®, Global Aid Network® (GAiN®) expresses the kindness of Jesus in the toughest places on earth by relieving suffering, restoring dignity, and revealing hope.”
Many times the drilling or repair of a well will open up opportunities for our national staff to share the gospel, and multiple churches will be established in a new region of a country. The work we do to help GAiN is increasing their capacity to go to more locations and serve more people. Their goal is to increase the number of countries they serve from 31 to 50 and to increase the number of containers they ship from 44 to 150 by 2023.
GAiN has also been implementing a name change this year. Because GAiN is a global brand, with Cru having GAiNs in Germany, Canada, and other countries, the US team has been limited in how they can talk about the ministry connection as openly as some countries are comfortable with. By changing the name to Unto, they are able to be talk more about how their work brings people to Christ.
Trying something new
This is Macy’s softball team, the Vipers. Of the 11 girls on the team, two are brand new to softball, but only 2 have played more than a couple of years. And, we have no pitcher, which is softball, is kind of a major deal. So, I set expectations low, and we focused on different kinds of success. So far, 3 girls have tried pitching in games, and everyone is getting opportunities to try something new. Despite our lack of experience, we did win a game and took this picture to celebrate!
I always learn life lessons while coaching. Like being willing to try something even if you are not sure you can do it. We minister to others by taking a gulp and stepping up and saying the first word. We trust God for things we can’t see how He will provide. Thanks for investing in us as we walk by faith.
We are glad to be on the same team with you!
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| This week we had practice in costume. I'm the horse monk. Yes, I know it makes no sense. Macy is the banana. |
