Myanmar team members David and Emily Growden sharing some love with the children
Dear Friends,
How I so wish that you would have been with me during our two weeks in Myanmar last month. It was a marvelous trip, and everything went so smoothly. Please do consider joining one of our teams in November/December of 2010. It will be a life-changing experience for you, as it has been for every other child sponsor we’ve taken with us over the past four years. If you would like more specific information about next year’s trips, please contact us. For a taste of what your trip will be like, take a look at my 14 blog entries while I was in Myanmar, starting here: //blog.heavensfamily.org/2009/11/10/.
Our team of 9 visited over 30 orphanages in 3 different regions of Myanmar, and we spent time having fun with beautiful children at each one. It is always so special to visit an orphanage where one of your own sponsored children lives. And I am so happy to report, thanks to you and all the other sponsors, that we have seen dramatic changes in the quality of the children’s lives. The majority are living in much nicer buildings than when we first met them, they’re eating better, they’re healthier, they have better clothing, and many are excelling in school. All in all, they’re very happy. Oh how I wish you could have been with us to witness all the joy for yourself! (Again, please consider joining one of our teams in 2010!)
Rice is Nice
At left: Twelve female rice harvesters, who each make two dollars per day. At right: One of our orphanage directors and three of her children, who will soon be benefitting from their own rice field.
Last month, three new rice fields were purchased for three of our orphanages. That makes 16 rice fields that we’ve purchased so far. A rice field is a huge blessing for an orphanage, as the price of rice has almost tripled globally over the past four years. At the same time, we’ve also watched the price of land where rice is grown triple during the same time frame, so we don’t get as much acreage as we once did for a rice field costing $8,000 to $10,000.
Why has the price of rice increased so much? It is, of course, a matter of supply and demand. The two major factors that have increased demand for grains, such as rice, are biofuels and India’s and China’s growing middle classes, who are eating, not more rice, but more meat. It takes five to ten times the amount of grain, such as rice, to produce the same amount of calories for human consumption in pork or beef as it does in grains themselves. China and India’s populations make up about 38% of the world’s entire population, so you can understand why, if both of those nations start consuming more meat, it requires growing much more grain to feed the animals they will eat. So as some around the world prosper, the poor are hit even harder. In any case, thanks to everyone who has given to the Rice Fields for Orphanages Fund over the past few years. It is paying off.
Dorms are Delightful
The children in front of three recently-built dorms, funded by Orphan’s Tear
While I was in Myanmar, I made commitments to four orphanage directors that we would do our best to help them build new dorms in 2010. In some cases, we’ve already purchased the land that they need to build on, and in one case, we still need to buy land. But I was so thankful as I visited all the orphanages where they’re enjoying dorms that we’ve been able to build for them over the past five years. A number were built in 2009, and so I saw them in person for the first time.
Amazingly, we are still able to build a two-story, 26′ x 45′, solid brick building with hardwood floors for around $18,000. We’ve built twenty-four of these kinds of dorms so far, which again amazes me. Thanks so much to everyone who has made those buildings possible with gifts to the Dorms for Orphanages Fund and the Orphan’s Tear Special Gifts Fund.
Christmas is Clothing
The only Christmas gift that most of our children receive is one set of new clothing, for which they are overjoyed
Just to remind you, Christmas is just a few weeks away. If you would like to give your sponsored child (or children) a Christmas gift, I would like to ask that you consider giving $5 per child, which will be used by the orphanage director where your child lives to purchase new clothes for your child. Our sponsored orphans and unwanted children in Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Moldova, Nepal, Tanzania and Kenya don’t expect toys for Christmas. They are delighted to receive one set of new clothes, or perhaps a new sleeping blanket. If you give more than $5 for each of your sponsored children, that will help provide Christmas clothes for unsponsored children in our “adopted” orphanages in eight nations.
To contribute Christmas gifts, you can either send a check to Orphan’s Tear, P.O. Box 12854, Pittsburgh, PA 15241 with “Christmas Gifts” in the memo, or click here to contribute securely by credit card. Thanks so much for making Christmas special for your child (or children).
A Favor Requested
May I ask a final favor of you? Could you forward this email to your compassionate friends and family members, in hopes that they might follow your example and sponsor one of the hundreds of children who are waiting to be loved by someone at OrphansTear.org? You are our best means of spreading the need, and your recommendation can be the answer to a child’s prayers. Please let your friends know that 100% of their monthly $20 sponsorship will go directly to the orphanage where their sponsored children live, and that nothing is taken for administration, as all administrative costs are paid from the general fund of our parent ministry, Heaven’s Family. Thanks so very much.
Have a lovely Christmas or Hanukkah, and if you don’t celebrate either (as is the case of some of our staff here at Orphan’s Tear), have a lovely December in Christ! There is always something to celebrate when you are on the way to heaven!
For the Children,
David Servant
