What can pancakes do to change the world?

What does bacon, pancakes, sausage, and fruit have in common with rice, beans and a home?  For $7 you can join us at Fatz Cafe on Smokey Park Hwy on February 5th from 7:30-11:00am and eat a pancake breakfast that will provide meals and a home for the children of Honduras.  Come and enjoy pancakes, sausage or  bacon, fruit and a drink for $7 (children under 6 free) and $4 of that will go to help build the orphanage in Honduras.  Thanks to the great staff and management at Fatz we will also be able to collect donations and all tips as members of the Carpenters Heart will serve as the wait staff and busboys and gals.  This is a great opportunity to bring the whole family out and share a good meal and give you a chance to show your children that there are many around the world in need.

Please Consider coming out and helping us raise funds for phase II as we begin to put the foundation in place for our April teams to begin to lay block.  We have received a quote of $21,000 to complete the foundation. As you can see we have a large mountain to climb just as we did last year, however our God can do things we cannot even imagine.

I recently herd an explanation of an often herd parable.  Faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain.  Maybe that isn't always having faith that God will move the mountain with a miracle, maybe it means that we should all band together as Christians and take a shovel at a time and move the mountain ourselves.  There are over 100 churches in Buncombe County alone and if each church would send 10 people to the breakfast we would serve 1,000 meals at $4 per person.  $4,000 would be a great start towards the orphanage.  Please come out and be a part of what God is doing just by showing up.

What would your help do?

What would your money do?  Ever wondered what that change lying on the dresser is worth?  How many of us have a place in our car where we throw loose change?  How many ladies do you know whose pocket book has loose change floating around? 

Here is an interesting stat.  In 2008 there where over 206,000 people living in Buncombe County alone.  Just think if each one of us gave a dollar in change.  What would that $206,000 dollars do?  What is the price of hope.  Well in Honduras I can tell you that for the thousands of Men,Women, and children living on nothing more than tortilla's and fruit if anything at all.  A months worth of food can be purchased for around $60 dollars.  A home for a family like you see above costs $500.  If we could come together as a county and search our couch and cars for the loose change we might have what could our forgotten money do to help the forgotten people around the world. 

This ministry is currently working to follow Gods will for a piece of land in Honduras.  The vision we have been given will give a home for up to 40 children with no where to live.  It will eventually employee people who cannot find work.  It will be equipped to feed up to 200 people a day.  It will show these beautiful people that they are loved and valued.  By showing them love we show that our Father cares.  I herd a quote and cannot remember by who that said while your people plan and prepare our people are dying.  As we sit here in our snow covered mountains and hope for warmer days, there are people connected to the same piece of dirt we are standing on that are starving.  There are children who have been abandoned on the streets and will not eat today.  There are husbands who will spend the day searching for fruits and vegetables to feed there family.  While we wait to see if school will be canceled most families around Central America are looking for enough money to send their children to school to get an elementary education.

God didn't bless us to bring guilt upon us.  We weren't placed here because God loves us more than those in third world countries.  You see we are all loved in Gods eyes.  Maybe God gave us the blessings of comfort and extra material things in order to serve.  You see life and happiness isn't about how much you can attain.  If you look at the life of Jesus he was all about using what was available to meet the needs of those around Him.  Right now I would say each person reading this post has an extra Bible to be given to a new believer.  We all would have a spare coat in the closet that might help that man on the street through the night.  We all have a few dimes and nickels laying around to help build an orphanage.  We probably even have a few cans of food to go to the food bank to give a meal to those around you.

Phase II has begun for the orphanage project in Honduras.  What does that mean, and what can you do.  Well the first step in this long and rewarding walk is a foundation.  We know that the Bible talks about the foundation quite a bit.  We often forget how important the foundation of a building is.  It is the unseen and forgotten part of what is visible to the world.  The strength in the foundation supports the life of the structure.  We have received the quote for the cost of the foundation.  We will need to raise a total of $21,000 to complete this step.   When you look at this number it looks unattainable.  For anyone in this ministry $21,000 is an amount of money that represents a good part of a years salary.  The only way this money will be raised is through Gods strength and His people getting involved.  If 1/4 of the over 200,000 folks where to give a dollar tonight the money would be raised instantly.  What if you where called to more?  What if you mobilized the people you work with, or your families, or your school.  What could you do? 

These are some examples.

The steel will cost $5.70 each and we will need 105 pieces for a total of $600
Block is a little less than a dollar a piece with 3,500 for a total of $3,500
Sand will be be $163 a truck load, seven loads will be $1,141
Gravel will be the same  7 loads for a total of $1,141
We will need 600 bags of cement at $7 per bag for a total of $4,200
We will need wire for the columns to hold the re bar together that will total $217
We need wood and nails to for framing the columns to total $700
Materials will cost a little over $12,000

Grading will  cost just a little over $1,400

The estimate for the labor to build the foundation will be around $8,000

We hope and pray that you see what God has given each of us and do with it what He is calling us to. 

Fun Depot Jan 14th 5-8pm

We hope everyone has had a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.   We would like to have everyone come together and join in a night of fun for a reason on Jan 14th.  We have been blessed to partner with the Fun Depot.  They are allowing us to provide you with a special discount on the 2hr fun card.  What is normally a $20 card that will get you 2 hours of video games and 2 big attraction items will be specially priced at $15.  The best part is that for every person that asks for the Carpenters Heart special we will receive a $5 donation.  We have been blessed to be able to purchase the land and begin grading, water, and preparation for the foundation over the first 8 months of this project.  God has done amazing things in 2010 and we would love to spend some time and share with you a little of  how He  has worked here and abroad.  We will be sharing information about the trip that we where able to take in November as well as share about the upcoming trip in April of this year.  We will begin laying block on this trip and therefore we must raise money for a couple of different aspects of this project.  We will have to pay for three phases before April.  The first will be the digging of the foundation, this will begin most likely before Jan 14th and the Fun Depot fundraiser.  This will cost $1,500.  The second will be buying the material needed for the foundation.  This will include concrete, re-bar, and block at a cost of $14,100.  The third will be labor to put these materials in place at a cost of $7,500.  We are planning to have the foundation completely finished so we can begin construction on the walls when we arrive in April.  Please come and play with a purpose on Jan 14th.  Please remember to ask for the Carpenters Heart special, that is the only way you will get the discount and the only way we will get the donation.  Please tell all your friends and family about this wonderful opportunity to help change the lives of the children of Honduras.