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.

Forgotten

Have ever thought about how much stuff we have forgotten.  From the trivial things of our youth like your favorite baseball players batting average, to the important dates like your spouses birthday.  We live in a time of knowledge and information to the point of overload.  We often consume enough information in a single conversation to fill a page worth of notes.  If you wish to you can pull information of the Internet at any moment on how to bake an apple pie or repair the toilet that wont stop running.  A single newscast today contains more information and statistics than most minds can comprehend.  The bad thing about all this information is that it distracts us from facts.  The fact is that there is a reality to knowing that today 6,000 people will die of hunger related issues.  There are no names to it.  There are no faces.  Until you know someone suffering of malnutrition or have looked into the eyes of the hungry, numbers are easily forgotten.  You see God didn't look at the overwhelming number of people that where sinning.  He looked into the eyes of the children He created.  He felt the burden for those condemned for there own actions and knew He had to do something to give hope.  He sent His son to make a way for you and me.  You see when we take time to look past stats and information we might find something in ourselves.  When we step into a nursing home and see the faces of the forgotten.  When we walk into the orphanage and smell the neglect for ourselves.  If you walk into the home and see the holes in the roof and the empty pantry something inside will change.  It is wonderful that there are so many programs here in America,  but while we plan and organize and have grand parties for fundraiser's.  People are starving, freezing, dying.  I herd it said that  all we talk about anymore is Honduras, and that may be true. The faces are all I can picture.  The people who have no food, no where to go work.  I have come to the point in my life where I am ashamed.  Ashamed of what I have, what I do.  In the book Radical by David Platt it talks about how as a whole Christianity has walked away from the truth of the Gospel.  We have watered it down to make us feel good and justify the American dream.  Reality is the American dream is all based on self and I.  If we read the Gospel we see that is in contradiction to what we are called to be.  When is it time to put aside the wealth of knowledge we have and get our hands dirty meeting needs.  Feed the hungry, cloth the naked, shelter the homeless, love the hurting, or just pray to the Father.  The truth and knowledge that we find in God and His word is not something to be read and stored away.  Let it be the compass of your life, spend less time on the blackberry and more time digging into the truth of the Word.  Find the forgotten around you and serve them.  The single mom who just needs a break.  The lady in the nursing home that never has a visitor.  The orphan laying in the crib that needs a bottle.  What did God design you for?  We are called to honor and praise Him, but above that you where masterfully designed for a specific purpose.  I pray that God reveals that to you this Christmas.  Seek Him in prayer and through His word. 

3 John 1:4 What brings Him joy?

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

John is writing to the church and speaks words straight from the heart of the Father.  What better joy than to see a child walking in truth.  Anyone who is a parent cannot explain the feeling of seeing there child honor God in there life and daily walk.  Yet sometimes we forget what it means to God to see us living our lives as examples of truth, and Gods word.  Its so easy this time of year to worry about making a lasting impression of what the Christmas season should be for our children.  It is honorable for parents to want this time of year to be memorable for there children.  We all want better for our children.  That is not something that comes from us, this is something that was first shown to us from God.  He wanted something better for us, therefore He sent his son to save us from our own sin.  He wishes and hopes for us to walk in His truth.  This Christmas the greatest gift you could give would be to walk in His truth.  This not only honors God but will show your children that you value what God has done for you.  We all learn best not only by hearing but seeing it done as well.  If you wish to place an importance on the things of God let your children see you live it.  Not only will this please God it will show your children, and the world Christ is not about just knowledge it is about relationship.  This Christmas give a gift to God, honor Him in all you do as you celebrate His sons birth.

Seeking to Serve: Mathew 14 : 13 When you thou makest a feast, cal...

Seeking to Serve:
Mathew 14 : 13
When you thou makest a feast, cal...: "Mathew 14 : 13 When you thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot re..."

Mathew 14 : 13
When you makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee.

Who have you invited to Christmas dinner?  It's nice to see your family.  It's fun to watch the kids open presents, but what about the forgotten.  What about those without a family or even those without hope.  We are very blessed to have been born into a society that is not in a fight for basic needs.  We have been placed here by God for one reason alone.  To mirror the example Christ set before us in His life, death, and words(Bible).  This Christmas think not of the cute baby in the manger but off the God who came into a sinful world by choice.  Think not of the wise men bringing gifts but of the gift Christ brought to us.  Think not of fireplace and and carols, but of those with no heat or without a voice.

Christmas is a time of great joy not because of what you get or who you might get to see.  It it significant because of the choice God made to come for you and me.  I pray that as you read this you don't get mad, or agree and walk away.  I  pray that as you read this you decide to give this Christmas away.

Whether it means to take food to the shelter.  Drop off a blanket to the homeless.  Bake some cookies for the forgotten neighbor.  Make a donation to a ministry.  Or maybe decide to go on that mission trip that God has been calling you to.  Let the season of celebrating Christ's birth be more than a party but a time of giving ourselves to His call.

The young lady pictured above is an example of how life is for many around the world.  A beautiful little girl with Cerebral Palsy.  In America it would be a sad story, however in Honduras it is more so.  No government aid for meds or even a wheelchair.  This little girl has been in this same stroller for over 3 years and as you can see has far outgrown it.  In April we hope to make her and her mothers life a little easier by giving her a wheelchair.  This Christmas be on the look out for needs around you.  When you see one you can help with let nothing get in your way.

Think about the final gifts you are buying as this week rushes through.  Have you considered a gift to The Carpenters Heart.  $5 can feed a family for 2 weeks.  $10 could buy 80 blocks for the orphanage.  $65 is one hour of work on the backhoe for the foundation.  What can you do this Christmas?