As a church, the members of Shore Fellowship excel at giving when a need arises.  Even in the midst of very tough economic times, we always rise to the occasion.  I believe our generosity to the poor and those in need is a quality that Almighty God holds very dear to His heart.

Pastor Tim and I recently took a trip to visit an existing feeding center that another church had financially abandoned.  The feeding center is located in Sumpango, Guatemala.  The villagers of Sumpano are extremely poor.  The average family of six lives in a one room cinderblock building.  There are no doors or windows, only openings.  Typically there is no electricity, gas or indoor plumbing.  Their water supply comes from a local well or the river. They try to grow what they eat, but usually it’s not enough.  And what little money they have goes to purchase a few items they can’t grow.

Upon arriving at the feeding center we were greeted by fifty five beautiful little children ranging in age from four to eleven. Some had warm inviting smiles, while others were unsure of who we were or why we were there.  It was meal time.  The missionary explained they could only feed these kids three meals per week.  They no longer had chicken with their meals, but had to eat a soy product as a substitute. To make matters worse, for most of those kids it was the only meal they would have that day.

Overall the building was in good condition.  However, there was one huge concern; the building lacked a railing system around the entire second story balcony.  It also lacked stair rails leading to the second floor. As these children played, they constantly ran up the stairs and along the second story balcony.  It’s a twelve foot drop from the balcony to the ground.  I couldn’t imagine our five & six year olds having access to such a dangerous area.  It is only a matter of time before a child is seriously injured or even killed.

Now is the time for us to shine!  There are 55 beautiful children who deserve to be fed every day, not three days a week.  And those same children shouldn’t have to worry about falling twelve feet to the ground because there’s no money for a railing system.   These situations need to be corrected.  In spite of the economy, we need to rise to the occasion, and champion their cause.  With your help, we can correct these situations.

Amounts we need to raise:

New railing system:    (one time amount)                         $3,000.00

Ongoing amount to feed a minimum of 5 days / week:    $   800.00 / month

PROVERBS 19:17 He who lends to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.

So I leave you with this……….If these children were in our neighborhood, would we turn a blind eye?  ……………Oh yea, I forgot……. according to Jesus Christ, these kids are our neighbors!

Respectfully,

Scott Walter

Foreign missions director

Shore Fellowship Church

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