C3 Missions Newsletter

September 2007:4

We’re starting a photo-of-the-month tradition. Mercy Flora got the nod in August. Here’s the September installment:

Hang on, now! You expected to have an “AWWWW, HOW SWEET” moment. Instead you got this. There’s a story here.

On the left, you’ll see our guests from Texas, Florida, New Mexico and South Africa gathered at Mike and Beth’s house on August 20 (that’s Joe, Mike and Peter in the back). By the end of our meeting, our current 20 home project in S. Africa expanded to a 100 home commitment over the next year.

On the right, this group met again the next day with Brad Johnson (second from left) to discuss more homes in Haiti. Since that meeting, we’ve hammered out the details to build homes for 6-8 orphans and their new mommy for $5,000 each. Brad runs one of the best private schools in Haiti. Our children will go to school there. From the streets to school in a flash!

Discussion and fellowship in a 24 hours span will mean life to well over 1,000 more children. Why? Because ordinary people (and these pictures scream “ORDINARY”) who understand the power of a dollar wisely and eternally invested said, “Yes.” They made these children their priority. They feel blessed for it. This is fun!

Expansion Update

Our partnership with Saddleback to care for the orphans of Rwanda is moving right along. We’ve identified the first two “clusters” for development and are working through the economics. C3 has individuals, families, businesses and churches starting to line up to support homes in Rwanda. They’re chomping at the bit to get started. So are we. We need more supporters in the pipeline.

We’ve agreed to a project in the Philippines. We’ll build 4 homes, 20 children each (10 and momma downstairs; 10 and momma upstairs) in Mindanao. We’re working through the economics, but expect that each home will cost in the $10k range. The children will attend church and a private Christian school down the street from the homes. We’re blessed to partner with pastors on this project who really “get it.” Our vision is that many of these children will become future C3 caretakers and cluster leaders throughout South Asia. The next step is to raise the funds to build.

We plan to keep pushing with urgency.

Consider building a home. Consider supporting the children in a home via a monthly gift. It hugely matters. And this is fun!

Neat Giving Stories

We want to share some exciting and touching stories about giving hearts through C3. Can you relate to these?

Jan. ’06 – A gentleman writes this month’s $500 check to C3. It’s not a money-in / money-out transaction for him and his wife. This is a lot of money. Yet, every month, they joyfully invest to care for more than a dozen C3 children. We wonder: why are they always grinning ear-to-ear when we see them?

Sept. ’07 – Mom and Dad are about to celebrate their 60th Anniversary. Their children are pooling resources to build a children’s home in honor of Number 60. If you’re Mom and Dad, how will you feel when you hear that 30 abandoned children will live and love in a home built in your honor? How would you feel to give that gift? (Don’t worry, Mom and Dad aren’t getting this newsletter.)

Aug. ’07 – Principals in a successful company want more meaning in business. They and their wives informed C3 that they’ve decided to build homes for orphans in Africa as a fruit of their business venture. 100% of their contributions to C3 will go to the homes. Do you think this adds a little oomph to the business?

Aug. ’07 – Wife feels called to leave the business world. Husband is an educator. They’ve had a heart for this ministry, and made the decision to earmark $15,000 to support orphans. They talked and prayed through this with their daughter, a college sophomore, and their son, a teenager in high-school. The family plans to visit the children in the home they build, and grow with them. They haven’t just invested in orphans; they’ve invested in their own children. How might this impact these children facing the “stuff” barrage our kids face?

Aug. ’07 – An estranged daughter loves her father, and wants him to know that. She knows his heart breaks for the children C3 serves. One day, on his birthday, he opens a note from his daughter telling him she made a donation in his name. “Happy Birthday, Dad.” She could have given dad a polo shirt and new pants. This gift means much more. How might this affect her heart?

We tell you a lot about our kids in this newsletter. We thought you might like to hear a bit about our ministry at home. These are true stories, typical of the partners rallying to this cause. This is great fun!

Conclusion and Request

Please make this your personal ministry. Your family’s ministry. Your company’s ministry. Your church’s ministry. God is at work here, and it’s not about any of us at C3. It’s far bigger than us. As each of you makes this your ministry, and engages your circle, this ministry will become a viral Movement. 1,000 children will become 10,000, and 10,000 will become 100,000.

Thanks for all that you do.

Faithfully yours,

Mike and Beth Fox

Joe Knittig