Give the Gift of Water... literally!

$100.00. One Benjamin.  A C-note.  One bill. What if I told you that by giving just $100.00, you could change a family’s life?  Would you do it? What if I told you that $100.00 could be the single most important ministry gift you make this year because it could save someones life?  Would you make that donation? And what if I told you that by giving one C-note, you might save a little boy or girl from dying of dehydration?  Would you empty your change jar and instead of turning it into Coinstar, give it to Adventures in Life Ministry? Here’s the newsflash... it’s all true! That’s right.  A single donation of $100.00 to Adventures in Life Ministry, in response to this appeal will literally save lives. Let me explain. More than 10% of all babies born to indigenous women in Mexico will die before they reach five years old.  I have personally heard from many parents that one of the reasons they have so many kids is that they assume at least one child will die young. One of the main reasons for these early deaths is lack of quality water.  Many rural parents lack an ability to buy clean water and often, they are living in an area with no potable water source or sewer system.  That means two things... one, outhouses and two, water from polluted wells near those outhouses. Taken together, this is a recipe for disaster, especially mixed with a lack of quality medical care when your baby does get sick. So, how can you help? With a Sawyer Water Filter. It really is as simple as that.   A $100.00 donation will help a family in our little corner of Oaxaca, Mexico have a water filter that will literally change their life.  Pastor Chable, with whom I’ve worked for many years told me in March that his family has not been sick since they got their filter in August.  It is the first time in all his life that his family has ever gone 6 months without being sick! Incredible isn’t it? In an age when almost everything we want is at our fingertips here in the United States, our neighbors just to the south are needlessly dying for need of quality water.  And we have within our grasp the ability to change that equation for less than the cost of a few Vente Mochas at Starbucks. Think about it.   Every $100.00 will give us one filter to put into the hands of a family in Oaxaca and help support the ongoing ministry of Adventures in Life and Pastor Chable in this challenging area. Are you able to help us save a life today so that we will have the opportunity tomorrow to share about an eternity with Jesus?   If so, follow this link to our support page and then drop me a line to let us know you are on board.

It's Friday, but Sunday's Comin...

I think I was 19 years old when it happened. I was up at a Christian Camp in the mountains, with my soon to be wife and hundreds of my closest friends.  The place was packed because that particular year, we had someone speaking to us who was unlike anyone else we had ever heard way back in 1978. His name was Tony Campolo and he was to become a larger than life figure for me. Throughout the weekend Tony weaved a call to serve the poor with Jesus call on our lives, admonishing us to do something great for God with our lives. I remember one person shared with him that she wanted to be a doctor in the nice suburban area where she had grown up.  Tony looked right at her and asked why she would want to do that when she could serve the poor and make a real difference.  "There will always be plenty of doctors to serve the haves" he said, "why not help those who can't get to a doctor?" She was devastated by his challenge. I was stunned. For the first time in my young life, the Gospel made practical sense and I made the decision that weekend to give my life to missions and serving the poor. Almost 15 years later, in 1992, along with a friend, I founded Adventures in Life Ministry to do mission work in Mexico.  Add another 20 years on that, and today, the majority of our work in Mexico is centered in the state of Oaxaca, the second poorest state in the country. There is no other way to say this... I am a missionary because God used Tony that weekend and over the years to touch and call me in ways I never expected. At the end of that conference where I first met Tony, he shared his now famous "It's Friday, but Sunday's Comin'" sermon. I think it's appropriate today on Good Friday to take a listen and reflect...