TONY'S NEWSLETTER
JANUARY 2011
Dear Partners in Mission,
EAPE got another four star rating from Charity Navigator, a website that promotes "intelligent giving" by evaluating the efficiency of non-profit organizations, but the affirmation that matters most comes from people whose lives have been changed by the ministries we support.
Consider Vincent, a homeless teenager caught stealing at the summer camp run by our Urban Promise affiliate in Wilmington, Delaware. Instead of throwing Vincent out of camp, his UP counselor took him home and provided guidance and opportunities that enabled Vincent to encounter Christ and gave him a chance for a whole new life.
Also consider a remarkable Haitian woman who grew up as a restavek (i.e. a slave child), exploited by a family who never even bothered to give her a name. Neighbors called her “Tibebe” which means “little baby" in Creole, and eventually she called herself Tibebe as well. After escaping during her teenage years, Tibebe became a champion in the struggle to end the oppression of the more than 250,000 restaveks of Haiti, and now leads a grassroots organization of more than 3000 rape survivors in the slums of Port-au-Prince, using training and resources provided by Beyond Borders.
And then there is Noncedo Lutshetu, a South African woman who came to Evangeline Ministries with a ninth grade education, an HIV positive diagnosis, and a desperate desire to support her family. Evangeline, which is directed by Eastern University alum (and former EAPE board member) Wendy Ryan, offered Noncedo the opportunity to learn a trade. Last year, after completing courses in sewing and basic computer skills, and receiving a sewing machine from Evangeline Ministries upon graduation, Noncedo started a business that now supports nine people. She relishes reading her Bible, attends church regularly, and is working hard to reach her entire family for Christ.
I love statistics about how many children and adults are being loved into God’s Kingdom, but my son Bart keeps telling me you'd rather read stories about the beautiful ways your gifts are helping to change people's lives. I hope he's right, and I hope you keep giving graciously, so we have even more beautiful stories to tell.
Sincerely,
P.S. We are grateful for the all the financial and prayer support we received from you in 2010 and we are counting on your help and encouragement in this New Year. We look forward to partnering with you in sharing God’s love in word and deed to the poor and oppressed in 2011 and we are excited about our newest ministry initiative, Red Letter Christians. To support and learn how to become involved with Red Letter Christians, please visit http://www.redletterchristians.org/.
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For more information, please contact our office at 610-341-1715.
ABOUT TONY + JANUARY 2011