The children's VBS at St. Andrew's Presbyterian in Tucson, AZ raised $2,700 to purchase paper for the Faith Works Schools in Zambia, Africa. WOW! A team from St. Andrew's took the money and purchased the paper in Zambia during their summer missions trip. More details and a picture of the team delivering the paper to the children will be posted soon.
Thank you to the children of St. Andrew's. You are all God's shining stars!!
Church's efforts can help children change lives in an impoverished area in Zambia
BY PHYLLIS SIDES Journal Times RACINE - As the Elder for Christian Formation at Covenant Presbyterian Church, one of Maureen Potter's responsibilities this year was finding a mission project for the children in the congregation.
Potter says she found many worthy projects and causes, but something drew her again and again to the Change 4 Children project, sponsored by the Alliance for Children Everywhere.
Alliance for Children Everywhere is a nonprofit Christian organization founded in 1969. Its headquarters is in Tucson, Ariz.
The Change 4 Children project was launched in January, and after introducing it to the church's pastors, a decision was made to involve the entire church instead of limiting it to children, Potter said. The project's goal is to help orphaned children in Zambia.
Under the program, church members use handcrafted baskets made by women in Zambia to collect change. The baskets were gifts to the congregation from the women.
For 10-year-old Holly Neubauer, the baskets turn the collection into a special occasion.
"I'm glad they made the baskets for us to put the money in, because they're really nice, and it makes it special," Neubauer said. The last collection will be Sunday.
To Nick Scholzen, 9, "the baskets are really neat - mine is shallow but wide. They're a link to the people in Africa."
The women are from a village called Limulunga, near the town of Mongu.
"Mongu was once a very rich area producing premium quality rice and cashew nuts," Potter said. "However, over the past 20 years, long-standing drought has led to crop failure, and the resulting change in the area has been dramatic and devastating. Now the area's three biggest concerns are poverty, AIDS and the lack of education.
"Most of the people in this area are trying to survive on less than $1 a day Death from AIDS has already left 13 million orphans in this region and by the year 2010, that figure is expected to reach 25 million," Potter said.
Each family in the congregation received a basket.
Approximately once a month, the church has a Change 4 Children Sunday, where church members and their friends bring their baskets to church filled with the change they've collected.
There is a Time for Children during the regular service which is reserved for the pastor's message to the children. On Change 4 Children Sundays, Potter invites the entire congregation to come forward with their baskets during that time. Everyone who wishes files to the front of the church where they deposit their collected change into one large collection basket, she said.
After the collection, the children stay in the sanctuary seated around the collection basket.
"I then give a special message geared toward the children about the mission work we are doing and the results of our efforts in Zambia," Potter said. "In addition to collecting their change, the children also have been learning about the challenges facing children in Zambia."
The project has made the children involved more aware that all children aren't as well off as they are. Neubauer thinks Change 4 Children is a good project for young people to be involved with, and she would "recommend it to other kids my age."
Scholzen is happy to help others, because "it's a really good cause and I know they appreciate what we're doing, because once the teacher showed us a movie."
When he's in the sanctuary, Matthew Steege, said he thinks "about the people in Zambia, and all the people who die each year, and I feel really good about helping them."
His favorite part of Change 4 Children Sundays is the collection.
"I really like it when we put all the money in the big basket and it's really overflowing. It makes me happy when I see that, because the money goes to people who really need it."
In all he's contributed about $20 since the project started, the 10 year-old said.
"I'm really proud because our church set a record for donating the largest amount of money in one week," he said.
More than $1,000 was collected at the church's first mission offering in January and, according to Potter, because of the generosity of their subsequent donations, Alliance for Children Everywhere said Covenant's donations have broken records.
Steege thinks other churches and organizations should set up their own Change 4 Children projects. "I think that would be neat."
Potter hopes the project will spread to other congregations and organizations, as it has to a local Kiwanis Club, and she is willing to introduce the program to any group that is interested in it.
Covenant member Owen Davies introduced the Change 4 Children program to his Kiwanis group and the members now collect change at their weekly meetings.
"Once we showed them what we were doing, that we were doing really great things for the kids, it really brought tears to their eyes," Davies said. "I put the basket out every week and they respond."
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Tucson, Arizona Enthusiastically Welcomes the Return of the Change 4 Children Program
On Sunday, February 27, 2005, Change 4 Children was presented for the second year in a row to the St. Andrew's congregation at each of its four worship services. After the sermon Sandra Levinson gave examples of how 2004 change donations helped Zambian children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Baskets were given to attendees as they left worship. People choose from a variety of patterns and sizes, and where awed by the beautiful handiwork of the Zambian women. The supply dwindled quickly as members excitedly picked over the tables full of black and brown woven reed containers to take them home and start filling them like they did last spring. Our pastor's sermon this day, was a Godly coincidence that helped spur interest. He spoke on entering someone else's world as ministers for Christ. As several mentioned after the service, Change 4 Children certainly allows us to use our station in life to influence others for God.
Last year the congregation brought over $10,000 in coins and bills during the three months that collections were taken. Each Sunday, members including children, brought to church the loose change they'd placed in their beautiful hand-made Change 4 Children baskets. Volunteers counted and wrapped coins each Monday before they were taken to the bank. Over 500 families and individuals took part in the offerings and another couple dozen or so members were involved in basket distribution, Sunday collections and counting and banking.
"Change4Children has helped us achieve one of the church's objectives in missions, in that it involves so many in outreach to the poor and the neglected outside our country."
Dick Kampa Missions Elder
He also pointed out that several folks from the church have indicated an interest in going on a mission trip to Zambia this summer. Such trips further the St. Andrew's pursuit of the purpose of active evangelism and broader use of member ministry gifts.
Here's a picture of members at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Racine, Wisconsin participating in their first "Change 4 Children Sunday" offering which totaled $1,106.50! We are a relatively small congregation of approximately 235 members, but God is doing big things in our hearts.
This month our children learned the difference between being "rich" and "poor" as they compared themselves to the entire world's population. They now know that they are all some of the richest children in the world and that the money they give to Change 4 Children will go to some of the poorest.
God has blessed each of us with the power to make a positive change in the world and we are doing that by participating in the Change 4 Children program.
Maureen Potter
Elder for Christian Formation
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Coins tumbled from baskets as a seemingly endless stream of delighted children flowed forward in the church service, eager to pour out their love along with the pennies, nickels and dimes they'd collected.
When our Children's Ministries team at Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church in Gig Harbor, Washington, learned of the children in Zambia who have no chance for an education, it captured our hearts. As we shared the story with the children in our area, it captured theirs as well. For two months after the children in our Sunday morning program were given a Zambian basket to take home, they did odd jobs, saved birthday money, and scoured couches and car seats for coins in an attempt to fill their baskets and help children half a world away realize the dream of learning at school.
Then an amazing thing happened. Many asked if they could continue to collect change in their baskets after the project had "officially" ended. In the end, these preschool to 5th graders collected far more than we imagined possible—just under $10,000!
It was decided a team of us would visit the school in Lusaka, Zambia. Children enthusiastically collected pencils, pens, crayons, toothbrushes, soap and washcloths so that we could give each child in the Garden School a packet of school and hygiene supplies. When we learned that many children in Zambia have never celebrated their birthday, we included birthday items. In August, a team of five women and two students delivered the school packs to 600 cheering Garden Hill School children and their teachers!
Now, February 2005, interest is expanding. Middle schoolers and some adults have joined the children in collecting school supplies! This summer we hope to deliver more gifts of love to the Garden Hill School. Our Sunday morning and Mission Club kids are including postcards with photos and self-portraits for the kids, making a personal connection.
Change 4 Children has given our kids a very real way to make a positive life changing difference in the world.
Debbie Robertson
Director of Children's Ministries
Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church
Dear Friends,
My troop really enjoyed the Change 4 Children project! Enclosed is our check for $225 that my 30 third grade girls raised for Faith Works School. On January 3rd we kicked off the fundraiser with the two videos and a poverty simulation, eating rice with our hands for a snack (a small amount!), we played their Kotumba game and geography games.
The girls collected their change for a month and I was overwhelmed with their generosity. We are proud to be able to contribute in this special way. I hope you enjoy seeing their enthusiasm in this picture!
God Bless,
Libby Delong Troop 1912
Proceeds of Reindeer Food Project Benefit House of Moses
Every Wednesday after school, a group of third, fourth and fifth graders gather at Webster Groves Presbyterian Church in St. Louis MO for fun and fellowship. Under the guidance of Hannah Peters, Director of Children's Ministries, Dr. Blythe Kieffer, Associate Pastor, and three enthusiastic volunteer moms, the children meet to learn about the gospel and complete group projects. A tradition for this group, known as Celebration, is to raise money for a worthy cause during the holiday season.
Following a presentation by Mia Walters (a lifelong member of WGPC) on her trip to Lusaka Zambia this summer, the kids voted to support House Of Moses with the proceeds from their sale of packaged holiday treats. Lots of planning went into this project: deciding how many recipes to make, how many supplies to purchase, how many sessions to prepare the food, package it, and have it ready to sell to the congregation.
Everyone donned plastic gloves and caps to insure the products were prepared by health dept regulations. Huge quantities of hot chocolate mix, peppermint bark and reindeer food* were measured and mixed. Then, each recipe was packaged, labeled, and tied with bows. The Celebration kids prepared signs with a monetary goal for House of Moses.
Imagine everyone's surprise and delight that a group of 15 kids sold enough reindeer food to donate $1003 to HOM!! This year's sales set a new record! Not only were the people who purchased the food blessed, but also the children living at House of Moses were blessed to be recipients of the joy, prayers and money from the Celebration kids.
*Want to know what reindeer like to eat? Trail mix with M & Ms!
Mia Walters
Change 4 Children Coordinator
St. Louis, MO