By Andy Baker
As the years pass, I begin to appreciate the Thanksgiving season more. In the busy lives we lead it is good to pause, reflect, and to give thanks. This year has been an exceptional year for Remember the Children and a large part of what we celebrate comes from your investment in our ministry by your presence, your gifts, and the volunteer hours that many give on this side of the world to help with our ongoing needs.
We are thankful for the ongoing work in Santandrei. We have hit roadblock after roadblock in the construction of the church/community center, but what we are most thankful for is the transformation taking place there. Almost every family in this community is employed. On a recent visit, all the families invited us to their homes for fellowship and prayer. The relationships are growing deeper, and we see the fruits of our seven years investment. However, it will be time to build in 2019, and we will need additional gifts for this project. Would you be willing to help us with a Thanksgiving gift to help build the church in this community? As well, the community leader, Nelu Lucaciu, asked if we would go on a mission trip with him. He took us to a village about two hours from Santandrei, introduced us to the community, and we were able to begin to build relationships there. Our plan is to go back at Christmas to share the joy of the season with this community. We could use extra help in sponsoring that community. Would you be willing to send $25 with a Christmas card to sponsor a child for Christmas?
We are thankful for what is happening in Tetchea. We continue to see improvements in that community, and the church continues to grow. The after-school program is thriving, and many children are attending church as well. For my birthday this year, many of you sent gifts for me to help my sponsored family build their new home. We are $7,000 away from the final funding to complete the entire home. The community has gotten involved and many people are donating time and materials to help them. It is really encouraging to see the entire community get involved in helping this family. Would you help with a gift to complete this home?
We are thankful for the ongoing translation of the Bible Made Simple. Three new volumes of an extended study of the Old Testament are ready to go to print, but we need $3,000 to complete this. If you are passionate about making the bible easily accessible, would you consider giving to this project?
We are thankful our work in Tanzania is growing rapidly. I never imagined we would have five homes by November of this year. I just received word that the sixth home will open before the end of 2018. We also have paid for the land and electric installation. The water will be coming via a pipeline from Lake Victoria in the coming months. We plan to break ground on the first permanent home of the village in January. We have half the money raised, and need an additional $30,000 to complete this first home. Your year end gift for this project would be most welcomed.
This year we hosted the most mission teams in recent history. In December we have a team of twenty-two ready to go help us deliver gifts for many underprivileged children in Romania. There is still time to send a Christmas card along with $25 to sponsor a child for the holiday. This could be a project you do as a family this Thanksgiving as way to pass on a blessing to a child in need.
We thank you for the countless ways in which you serve Remember the Children. Thank you for the constant support and sacrifice as we seek to transform leaders and communities.
More About Andy
Andy Baker founded Remember the Children in 1996 after visiting Romania for the first time with his wife, Gerri. He has spent the last 21 years pouring into the people of Romania and Tanzania. He lives in Indiana with his wife and 2 daughters, is a Baltimore Orioles Fan, and loves a good game of bingo.