Mustard Seed Canada - Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Invest in the Kingdom!
If you are looking for a guaranteed return on your money, then there is no better investment than in the Kingdom of God:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
One of best Kingdom investments is with Mustard Seed Canada. We bring the love of Christ to the people in Indonesia and focus on providing children with better opportunities. Many have received not only the basic necessities of life but the skills needed to have a new career and become a productive member of their city or village plus they have started a relationship with Christ. Thousands have turned from destructive behaviors and beliefs and have come to faith in Christ.
"What does December 31st have to do with April 30th?"
The answer is both dates are very important for your taxes. December 31st is the last date that you can make a charitable contribution and be allowed to deduct it on your 2010 tax-return. Charitable giving could lower your tax burden — lowering your tax bill or give you a bigger refund.
If you are able, please consider Mustard Seed Canada beyond your regular commitment to your church. In the midst of the uncertainty and upheaval in the world today, the collective body of Christ needs to stand firm and continue to provide a strong voice of hope to those that need it.
Please see your tax accountant or professional to determine if you or your company can benefit from additional charitable giving at this time. If so, please think of us! All gifts to Mustard Seed Canada are tax deductible to the maximum extent allowed under law and we also participate in the CCCC Seal of Accountability Program.
On behalf of the Mustard Seed team in Indonesia and the lives that have been transformed through this ministry, thank you very much! Because of your gifts this year, people have come to faith in Christ, children have been given the opportunity to learn new skills and better their communities in Indonesia for the better. We are so thankful and humbled that God has chosen us for this work. May God Bless You! You are literally changing the world with your support of Mustard Seed Canada!
With the Christmas season comes the obvious hustle and bustle of gift purchasing, Christmas parties and family gatherings around the dinner table to celebrate the birth of Christ or the descending of a jolly man in a red suit down your chimney, depending on your preference.Indeed, it is quite the time of year. For us, Christmas is a very special time of year and it reminds us of "why we do what we do".
Of course, many churches will be filled with Christmas sermons this season and most will talk about the virgin birth, the prophecies of old and the gifts brought to the feet of the newly born king.But let me make one suggestion that doesn’t quite get the attention it deserves.When God became man he came to make all things new which should beg the question: what do we see that isn’t new?What isn’t right?
I’m reminded of that famous Christmas hymn and echo sentiment that indeed, ‘the weary soul rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn’.With the birth of Christ a new era has begun, one in which the weary rejoice because God has become man and changed everything.The weary understand that everything needs to change because things are not right; things are not as they should be.But a new and glorious morn has come!
Our hope at Mustard Seed Canada is to continually remember that because of Jesus, everything is being made new. We’re simply playing our part in the kingdom by loving Indonesian children and their families and journeying with them as they escape the cycle of poverty through education!Our hope is that they will experience that newness of life for now and for eternity!
Merry Christmas from all of us at Mustard Seed Canada!
Bible Passage: Isaiah 65:17-66:6
Lucie shared Mustard Seed stories with the children at a Christian school in Richmond Hill.Pray for Christian schools in Canada.
We often receive letters and bits of news from Mustard Seed's schools in East Asia but it takes time for us to to through everything and translate before we can share them with you. This is what we are accomplishing overseas with your generous support. Here is an encouraging update sent to us from a 14 year old Mustard Seed student named Iruni.
Hi, my name is Iruni. I’m fourteen and I’m in the eighth class.
I give thanks to God because I can study and live here in this Children’s Home. I am an only child. I don’t have a mommy because she passed away when I was born so I never saw her. I need to study and be a success in my life. Ideally, I’d like to become a nurse.
My day is spent studying at school from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. everyday, Monday to Saturday. We have community prayer here every morning and evening. We study English with Uncle Bema three hours a week.
We have just received news and an urgent request from a student attending a Mustard Seed sponsored school in an Indonesian village. This village is located in the jungle and she has been working hard to save enough money to go to college. This particular student is fiercely determined to graduate from high school, attend college and return to her village in the jungle to become a teacher. Living in a jungle village makes it very difficult for her to earn or raise funds without our help.
The amount she needs to raise is $250 for each college semester. She does not have resources such as government student funding like we have in Canada so organizations like Mustard Seed are her only chance to break the cycle of poverty, continue her education and give back to her village. As you can see, our dollars stretch very far in Indonesia. If you would like to help send her to college, please donate to our "After High School fund".
Mustard Seed’s first After School Educational Centre opened three and a half years ago in the poorest area of a large Indonesian city. Many of the school-age children were unable to read and write. The parents were nervous and slow to trust. Gradually they saw sincerity behind the help, and they saw their children blossoming as they packed into the rented room to play games and learn computer skills. The outreach to this community is changing lives. Staff and involved parents are distributing food and medicine and praying for the sick. When a local Muslim man of influence raped two neighbourhood girls, the community around the Centre united in a call for justice.
There is another community; it's at the city dump. The air always smells of rotting garbage; the children spend their days picking through the trash for bits to hawk on the streets. But we sense openness among the people to a Christian school. Is it just a dream, or will the Spirit provide evidence of this being a viable location for us to serve? Will these children have an opportunity for a better future?
We often receive letters and bits of news from Mustard Seed's schools in East Asia but it takes time for us to to through everything and translate before we can share them with you. This is what we are accomplishing overseas with your generous support. Here is an encouraging update sent to us from a 14 year old Mustard Seed student named Iruni.
We have just received news and an urgent request from a student attending a Mustard Seed sponsored school in an Indonesian village. This village is located in the jungle and she has been working hard to save enough money to go to college. This particular student is fiercely determined to graduate from high school, attend college and return to her village in the jungle to become a teacher. Living in a jungle village makes it very difficult for her to earn or raise funds without our help.
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