Posted by Scott on Mar 9, 2010 in Life | 0 comments
Christmas came early to the children of the Manna feeding center in Santiago, Chile. While we were sweating out the month of August, the kids in Santiago were freezing, literally. Because Santiago is located in the Southern Hemisphere, August is the coldest month of their winter. But I’m getting the cart ahead of the horse so to speak so let me back up a bit and tell you the amazing story of blankets & coats for Chile.
It was the last week in July when I had a conversation with Andrew Even, the missionary who oversees the Manna feeding center in Santiago, Chile. I had called him to find out the status of the center, to see how many children we were feeding and to see how the current global recession was affecting things for them in Chile. Andrew painted a bleak picture. He told me the cost for food was about 30% higher than what we pay in the United States but that the average salary was 40% less than what we earn here. He said for most people it was a struggle just to put food on the table. And for the families whose children attend the feeding center their situation was dire, and it was the dead of winter.
At the end of our conversation, I asked if there was anything we could do for the kids. Andrew expressed that most of them didn’t have winter coats. But even worse, these kids didn’t have blankets at home to keep them warm. I asked how much it would take to get the kids coats and a blankets. The response was about $600.00. I said I would see what I could do and hung up.
So how do you come up with $600.00 when the funding isn’t available? I thought and thought, searching for answers. Then I went to a friend and we kicked ideas around, but nothing seemed relevant. Finally I prayed about it, and out of the blue the answer came. Post you need on Facebook. Within 10 minutes I had a post out there hoping some people would help. Within minutes other people had read the post and in turn posted it to their sites. By the next morning, I had commitments for $1200.00! Praise God!
The funds were sent to Andrew. And as you can see from the picture, the children were extremely blessed. Here is a copy of Andrew’s email that I received.
Scott,
Just wanted to say thanks to you and everyone at SF for the huge help for winter gear for our MANNA kids. They were so excited and thankful! We were able to get coats, blankets, hats, gloves and scarves for all of the kids plus some sweaters. We were also able to purchase a propane heater and hot water heater for the center with the remainder. God helped us make the money go a long way! I was able to be there to give out the things to about half of the kids one day. It was like Christmas but even better! Thanks again to you all for making it possible. Praise God for Shore!
Andrew Even
So for everyone who contributed, blessings and a big thank you. You did a wonderful thing.