Prayer

"The cultural captivity of the church has meant that the church is more likely to reflect the individualism of Western Philosophy than the value of community found in Scripture." -Soong-Chan Rah.

Tonight we will first and foremost, thank God, for the gracious action he has already taken in and through these prayer meetings. Then we will dive into the importance of ministering to Africa (and America, our team, our family, our friendships, etc) as a community that needs to be restored to God.

This will lead us into our next topic which will be pride. We will be praying that our pride can be fostered into desire and motivation, which God will use. How? Through humility and service. That again, must require us to look past the individual and into the community of believers/nonbelievers.

Tie-Dye T-Shirts

Another great idea coming out of the $10 microfinance fundraiser: TIE-DYE T-SHIRTS! These shirts have been carefully and creatively hand dyed by Nicole Yankey and Talia Sheets. Each shirt is unique and made with love. They are $8 and 100% directly supports Westmont Africa 2010. Place your orders at

muckandmuck@

yahoo.com.

Prayer: Those we come into contact with

Please pray for those men, women, children, refugees, prisoners, and many others with whom we will come into contact with during our time in Uganda. Pray God will begin working in us by softening our hearts for the broken.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn." -Isaiah 61:1

Prayer: New Semester

Please pray for this new semester that is upon us. As we strive to be academically successful, pray that we will be diligent with our time. That over the course of these next 5 months, we will remain fervent in prayer, faithful to God's word, active in financial ventures, and steadfast women of God. We lay this semester and our trip at the foot of the cross, confident it is in the Lord's hands.

Headbands For Sale

For the microfinance fundraiser, Britney Scannell and I decided to create pretty things and sell them. These flower headbands, bobby pins, and hair-ties were all made for under $10! The fabric was bought from Art From Scrap, hair accessories from the Dollar Tree, creative ideas, hot glue, buttons, and lessons all donated by Ali Nelson-White.

We made regular headbands with flowers ($10, {see below}), elastic headbands with flowers ($10, {see below}), ponytail bands with flowers ($10), and bobby pins some with flowers and others with buttons ($5). 100% of the proceeds go directly to Westmont Africa 2010.

If you wish to buy one for yourself or give as a gift please email us at:

jennelson@westmont.edu or bscannell@westmont.edu

Microfinance Fundraiser Challenge

I recently heard Peter Greer from HOPE International speak about his work in lesser developed countries and about microfinance from his new book, The Poor Will Be Glad. Microfinance offers loans and savings, while "providing financial services to poor people so they can increase their income and decrease their vulnerability to unforeseen circumstances" (Greer 101). While using microfinance to help lift countries from poverty, Greer and HOPE are also using it as a way to fundraise here in the U.S. To help raise money for their non-profit organization, they created NeverEndingHope, a way to turn something small into something significant.

With that in mind and using money we have already raised, each player was given $10 and the challenge to multiply that money into the most possible. For example, someone can put on a karaoke night by buying a CD ($8), inviting 10 people, and charging each person $5 for attending...equalling $50. That $50 - $8 (CD) = $42 made from the initial $10!!

Pictured left, Jameisha Washington and Bailey Esquivel show their advertisements for the Christmas cookie grams they sold and delivered to Westmont students. Other girls tie-dyed T-shirts, created crafts, and put on bake sales as ways to earn more money.

So, thank you Peter Greer and HOPE Int. for the microfinance fundraiser idea. This has been our team challenge over Christmas break and we hope this encourages you to make something great out of very little and donate the proceeds to a worthy cause. Be sure to check back for updates on our microfinance endeavor and the $5 YogurtLand (team favorite) gift certificate winner for the player who raised the most!

Prayer: Direction

Please pray that God will open and close doors according to His will. It's our prayer that we go only where He has gone before us, so let us be obedient to His calling and direction. Let us have a peace about the itinerary and all that planned for us.