Footprints Blog

A friend of Mustard Seed sent a gift for a Mustard Seed school’s Orchid Club as a Christmas gift to her husband.  She might have imagined her gift as a bunch of garden tools.  But there were few details with the thank you…until today when this note arrived. Please pass on some information about the money that was sent for the orchid club last Christmas.  We gave the funds in rupiahs to the Science Club coordinator to work together with the students on a project.  I have a complete breakdown of expenses plus all of the receipts.  They bought two gardening tools, a book about orchids, pots, trays, and twenty orchids, which they distributed to the classrooms. They have been teaching the students how to care for the orchids, and if one of the orchids dies, the class that was taking care of it replaces it.  Every single one of the twenty orchids is a different variety.  

Not only is this Christmas gift still blooming with life, but in a country where half of the population is involved in agriculture, knowing how to care for orchids could lead to gainful employment.  

Invest in the Kingdom!

"What does December 31st have to do with April 30th?"

T H A N K   Y O U ! ! !

Bible Passage:   Luke 8:4-39 

Thank God for the special donations received to increase enrolment in Mustard Seed schools.

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. 

I just want to say thank you for all of this.

May God bless you all.

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?

Looking back at all that has been accomplished and looking forward to the mountain of work ahead of us, we are encouraged by the enduring faithfulness of supporters and workers of Mustard Seed.  Time seems to fly by so quickly but it is amazing to me that we can celebrate so many people who have generously gave of their time, effort and money to support the work.  They have stood by us through good times and bad.  As we prepare to celebrate the miracle of Easter, let us remember how Jesus rewarded those who also kept their faith even when it seemed that all was lost.

Luke 22:1-71  As you give thanks for Jesus’ faithfulness to Father God during Holy week pray special prayers celebrating the faithfulness of the Mustard Seed team.  Pray for encouragement.