kenmurphy.org

19 Volunteer Missionaries Living the Gospel in Guatemala City

Stonecreek Church: Please remember to pray for our 19 adult volunteer missionaries who are currently serving the children and families of Guatemala City through the ministry of Hope for Guatemala. Pastors Ryan Martin and Jason Howard are hosting the trip, and reported on Monday that the team arrived safely and are eager to serve.

Take a few moments each day this week to pray for each person by name:

Allison, Allison, Angela, Betsy, Chad, Cindy, Donna, George, Howie, Jason, Karen, Katelynn, Latonya, Leslie, Nicole, Ron, Ryan, Tina, Tom

Hey Mon! Stonecreek Students in Harmons, Jamaica

28 students and adult sponsors are spending their Spring Break serving the rural community of Harmons, Jamaica. You can view their daily group picks, here. Remember to pray for our students as they serve, build shelters and minister among the people in Harmons, Jamaican.

You Can! Do Something About It

Three seconds seems hardly worth mentioning. It goes by so fast. What can one really do in such a short amount of time? In fact, it has taken you longer than three seconds just to read to the end of this sentence. So how could it be so significant?

Here's how: Every three seconds a child under age 5 dies somewhere in the world from a preventable cause such as diarrhea, malaria and measles. Right now, a little girl is breathing her last breath because she didn't have access to clean water. And a little boy won't wake from his sleep because he got a sickness that could have been prevented with a $1 vaccination. None of it has to happen.

God has called His Church to reach out to the poor and the needy — to take care of His children. In Proverbs, He tells us to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." In James, we're called to "look after orphans and widows in their distress." In all, more than 2,000 verses in the Bible address children and the poor. God is that serious about it. He has commanded us to get involved. The very least we can do as a church is pray. Please take some time today to pray for the millions of children in the world who are suffering in sickness that could and should be prevented.

But don’t stop there. Visit www.compassion.com/youcan to learn how Stonecreek is releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name through Compassion International. Compassion ministers to more than 800,000 impoverished children around the world, and Stonecreek is a part of this ministry!
It's time for us to get involved. Every three seconds we hesitate is another life that could have been saved.

Learn more! Click here to take a quick quiz on poverty and learn from The Poverty Wheel.

Compassion International's Crisis Update Page

Thanks, Chris Giovagnoni, for leaving this comment on my recent post on the crisis in Kenya! Chris is a Web Communications Specialist for Compassion International, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. - Ken

Chris Giovagnoni Writes...
Here is the link to Compassion's crisis update page. It's where sponsors can follow how the violence in Kenya is affecting Compassion-assisted children.

Compassion International Crisis Updates

Earn $150 for Your Sponsored Child
Also, Compassion sponsors may be interested in an opportunity to earn $150 family gift for their sponsored child simply by writing a letter before January 31. This link (to my personal blog) has the details.

Chris Giovagnoni's Blog

Foul Play in Kenya Leaves Hundreds Dead

While we casually pass, "Happy New Year" to the barista at our local Starbucks, people suffer in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Riots break out and men, women and children are left vulnerable to a lack of food, transportation to their jobs and many, homeless. Hundreds are left dead after claims of foul play in last week's presidential elections. The United States of America and Britain are urging against all but essential travel.

This is one example of how much your child sponsorship through Compassion International matters. This year, consider sponsoring a child trapped in poverty. For those of you who already sponsor a child, write him or her a letter. With your help, you can release a child from the devastating grips of poverty in Jesus' name. Learn how YOU CAN!

Kenyans Burned to Death in Church
BBC News
FOX News

300 Backpacks of Hope

Thank you, Stonecreek, for your generosity in filling 300 Backpacks of Hope for Guatemalan children!

Stonecreek Launches "Backpacks of Hope" Project

Dustin Dozier (pictured above) serves as Stonecreek's volunteer coordinator for many of its missions partnerships and ministries. Dustin and Sloan have worked closely with our missionaries to Guatemala, Brandon and Shanna Christensen, in creating the Backpacks of Hope Christmas Project benefiting Guatemalan children.

This Sunday, pick up a backpack (blue for boys, yellow for girls), contribute $5 per backpack for shipping, and fill your backpack with items from the provided list of recommended gifts and supplies. The final day for collection is December 2.

This is a great project to engage your entire family together. Sure, it's easy to send mom to Target to get all the supplies. Why not use this as another opportunity to recapture time together as a family, meeting the needs of someone else. When is the last time you shared an experience with your family that was for someone other than yourselves?

Junky Car Club

Check out the Junky Car Club.

While I don't consider my 109,000-mile 1998 Volvo S90 junk, it obviously qualifies for the Junky Car Club! "Paid for" is beauty enough to make junk look beautiful to me! So, I've joined the company of people from the US, Australia, Singapore, England, and New Zealand and am an official card-carrying member! Club members are everyday people learning to live with less so we can give more by sponsoring a child through Compassion International.

Want to join the club?

Prayer for Shinta: 8.4 Earthquake in Indonesia

I received this email from a Compassion sponsor who attends Stonecreek. She's asking us to pray for the child she sponsors:

I'm writing you today because of a Compassion International alert that I received this morning about the homeland of our sponsor child, Shinta Uly Aritonang.  Apparently there was an earthquake measuring 8.4 just off the shore of Indonesia, where Shinta and her family live. While our family prays and writes to Shinta on a regular basis, there was something about receiving an alert this morning that made her life very real to me.  I don't quite know how to explain it but I found myself staring at her picture, crying the tears of a mother.  I can't imagine the emotions of her parents in the midst of such circumstances.

I'd like to ask you to join me in praying for Shinta and her family.  She is 4 years old and the youngest of 6 children.  Please pray for her country, God's provision for her family, and for their safety.  Most importantly pray that in their circumstances they would see the face of Jesus.  Thank you for praying.

Y2K (again) ... and Tragedy Looms

Okay, I'm having flash-backs.

Ethiopia, Africa uses the calendar of the Coptic Orthodox Church - which means the year 2000 began at midnight on Wednesday (2100GMT on Tuesday). According to BBC News, some Ethiopians paid $170 per ticket for a new millennium concert in Addis Ababa featuring the US band, The Black Eyed Peas.

Here's the tragedy: The BBC reports that $170 is two months wages for most Ethiopians. (I would argue that it's probably more like three months salary.) Not much to celebrate.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the Ethiopian Millennium was the "end of the dark ages", but many live in poverty, sleeping rough in the capital. Most are children.