Myanmar…A couple of friends walking to work decided to take a different path along the railroad track. They were engaged in their usual early morning banter when a puzzling sound surfaced. It wasn’t a cry. It was more like a heavy wheezing. As they came around the bend in the road, they saw a small shape laying between a couple of railway ties. They quickly determined it was a child. Dirty and covered with insect bites, there was a little boy clinging to life.

They took turns carrying him as they made their way to the neighborhood clinic. As they entered the clinic, the wheezing stopped. They handed the little boy to the nurse fearing it was too late to save him. They went to work wondering how the little boy got to the railroad track.

They shared their morning’s experience with their co-workers and learned a sad truth about poverty in their country. They learned that sometimes parents would leave their children on the railroad track in hopes that their son or daughter would be killed quickly rather than experience the slow death of starvation because they didn’t have enough food for all the family.

The next day, they stopped by the clinic to learn about the condition of the little boy. They were surprised to learn that he was alive. A few days later, the little boy was taken by a director of one of our Christian orphanages. She had been contacted by the clinic staff who was aware of the good reputation of the orphanage, and knew it was the little boy’s only chance at long-term survival.

Through a combination of Christian-based nurturing and the food supplied by the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, our little boy, Samuel, continues to improve. Samuel is one of 17 orphans in this particular home. Although, one of our primary goals is to share and have them accept the wonderful news of Jesus, we must first meet their basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Through the generosity of the Hunger Offering, Samuel and many other orphans are fortunate to have enough to eat each day. More importantly, as he matures within a Christian environment, he will better understand the love behind the meals, the caring behind the giving, and the purpose behind the saved life of a little boy discovered on a railroad track.

OTHER RESOURCES

Helping the Hungry

Getting involved with the summer feeding programs ()

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.
Donate now!

5^th Sunday Hunger Offering Videos
Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger –January 29, 2012.  Prepare now.
Download 5th Sunday videos.

Speakers will be:

Field Personnel, North Africa

Mike Garman, Pastor, Eastridge Baptist Church, Amarillo, Food ministry to refugee families

Next Hunger Offering 5th Sunday, October 30, 2011.

OTHER RESOURCES

Helping the Hungry

Getting involved with the summer feeding programs

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.

Donate now!

5^th Sunday Hunger Offering Videos

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – October 30, 2011.  Prepare now.  Download 5th Sunday videos

“When I bring home food in m my backpack, I don’t get as many whippings.”

Owsley County Outreach in Booneville, Kentucky, distributes food to many county residents of all ages, with help from the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.  On a typical day, comments such as these have been noted while processing applicants:

• An elementary school-age child commented, “Thank you for the food.  I don’t get as many whippings as I used to, now that I have my own food in my backpack.”
• Spoken by a senior citizen, “I could not buy groceries this month because this is the month I buy my meds.  I buy food one month and meds the next.”
• Another family told us, “Without you, we would never get green beans.  We can’t afford them…we love them…and you always give us a few extra.”
• While unloading the student’s backpacks loaded with food, bought by Texas Baptists, children are jumping up and down and shouting, “YAY!”

When you give to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, you are showing the love of Christ to many people who need hope and encouragement.

Give single and/or recurring gifts online at www.texasbaptists.org/worldhunger.

Write a check payable to your church designated for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger/BGCT.

Contact us at worldhunger@texasbaptists.org or 214-828-5190.

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – July 31, 2011.
Show this NEW 5TH Sunday video, Helping the Hungry in Texas, and show your congregation how Michele, now living in Murphy, Texas, struggled with hunger as a child.

Are we making progress in the war on hunger and poverty? Is this a winnable war?

Voices from all parts of the U.S. and the globe are saying yes. At the Bread for the World National Gathering and Lobby Day earlier this month, over 300 advocates from around the world came together to affirm this fact.

We learned that there is significant progress being made to reduce hunger and poverty in our nation and around the world. God is calling out people of faith.  We must do more.  For true success, we must learn about and get involved in changing the politics of hunger.

In the last 30 years, at home and abroad, according to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

• 400 million fewer people are hungry.
• 114,000 infants are HIV-free.
• U.S. infant mortality went from 20 in 1,000 to 7 in 1,000.

This tremendous progress could be greatly jeopardized in the next two months, according to Bread for the World Institute, and could take another 30 years to recover.

Devastating legislation which seeks to cut the miniscule 0.6% now appropriated to help the hungry and poor is looming.

The truth is, this small amount, which needs to be more…but certainly not reduced, has not caused our large deficit.  We can reduce the deficit and reduce poverty…Congress must make the right choices.

Contact your U.S. Senators today at 1-800-826-3688 and the operator will connect you directly to their offices.  If you need to know your Senators’ names, go to http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/, click on Who Represents Me.

Ask them to build a circle of protection around funding for programs for hungry and poor people in the United States and abroad.

Additional points:

• Exempt programs for hungry and poor people from cuts. In the past 30 years under both party leaders, key domestic programs that affect hungry and poor have been exempted.  Congress must continue this precedent.
• Revenues and spending cuts must be on the table to achieve deficit reduction so we can continue our commitment to ending hunger and poverty at home and abroad.
• Funding these programs is good for the economy. Low-income families spend their benefits immediately and in their local communities.  Every additional dollar of SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps) leads to $1.73 in economic growth.  (CBPP)

When people of hope engage politically, effective and lasting change can happen.

If we don’t do it, who will?

In 2000, the eight most powerful countries in the world adopted what came to be known as the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.  The World Bank 2010 Global Monitoring Reports tells us that the top goal, to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, is right on track, with the second, to cut hunger in half, not far behind. Two additional goals on track are cutting the proportion of people without access to safe water in half and gender parity in primary school, with universal primary education close behind.

Getting involved with the summer feeding programs

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.

Donate now!

5^th Sunday Hunger Offering Videos

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – May 29, 2011.  Prepare now.  Download 5th Sunday videos

How you can help:
Helping the Hungry
Getting involved with the summer feeding programs

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.
Donate now!

5^th Sunday Hunger Offering Videos
Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – May 29, 2011.  Prepare now.
Download 5th Sunday videos

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.

Donate now!

5th Sunday Hunger Offering Videos

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – May 29, 2011.  Prepare now.  Download 5th Sunday videos…

Missouri Baptists join hands with Texas Baptists to meet hunger needs around the world.

Missouri Baptists have joined with Texas Baptists to meet world hunger needs. Churchnet (the Baptist General Convention of Missouri) will promote the same offering projects in Missouri that the Christian Life Commission promotes in Texas. This means Baptists in each state will be supporting ministries in the other state, as well as the many other national and international projects.

This is an important expansion of the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger, which will serve as the administrative framework for the Missouri offering.

Jim Hill, executive director of Churchnet, says it this way: “We are delighted to be partners with Texas Baptists in promoting our World Hunger Offering. Missouri Baptists, like our Texas friends, know our commitment to love God includes a commitment to love others, particularly the poor and vulnerable in our world.

“Our partnership with Texas Baptists is allowing us to provide information and resources to our churches as they help church members to learn about hunger needs and provide an opportunity for them to give to meet these needs. We would not be able to provide some of these resources without our partnership with Texas Baptists. …

“It is staggering to learn about the hunger that exists in our own communities. … We believe our partnership with Texas Baptists can be a very effective and efficient way for us to provide resources to our churches, channel our World Hunger offerings, and help provide food for the hungry in our world.”

Recalling Jesus’ encounter with a wealthy man who was unwilling to part with his material possessions, Hill noted: “We have to get our focus off ourselves and off our possessions. Jesus pointed the man to the needs of the poor.”

That’s good instruction for all of us. Texas and Missouri Baptists are now working together, taking our focus of ourselves and doing something about the needs of the poor.

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE

Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.

Donate now!

5^th Sunday Hunger Offering Video | Feeding the Hungry in Del Rio

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – March 27, 2011.  Prepare now. Download 5th Sunday video

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

It is a blessing… to witness God’s hand in the growth of hunger awareness in our state…to the point that the U,S. government is watching what is going on in Texas!

It is a blessing… that more than 350 everyday Texas Baptists have stated publicly that Texas hunger statistics are unacceptable and signed up to be a Hunger Advocate for the Hunger Offering.

It is a blessing… that many of you put your extra change in a Texas-shaped hunger bank, and God multiplies it into thousands to feed hungry people all over the world.

It is a blessing… to visit with missionaries and ministry providers of the Hunger Offering hearing about their tireless work 7 days a week to “bring good news to the poor”.

It is a blessing… to read the reports that come in everyday from these ministries and hear their stories.

I’ll pass one of those many blessings on to you. This report came in recently from Center of Hope in Mineral Wells:

“Small miracles happen every day as we help people who come in for groceries and assistance.  A woman came in for help, recently divorced and receiving no child support from her ex-husband.  She had desperately wanted her marriage to work but because of his drinking and violence, she had to flee for the safety of herself and children.  She was working, staying with her elderly mother and barely making enough to feed the family.  She wept and wept as we witnessed to her about the love Jesus had for her.”

“Sometimes we ask, how do people end up at places such as ours? For the same reasons this lady came…they need the love of Jesus shown by his followers.  Please pray for those who are hurting and in desperate need of a Savior.  If we don’t help them, who will?”

Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of ALL (not just some, but all) of the destitute.”

May God truly bless each of you during this time of year when we remember the birth of Jesus.

As we think of Him, may we also remember those all around us who are hurting and in desperate need of a Savior.  If we don’t help them, who will?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

from your Hunger Team of the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger,

Marilyn Davis, Alicia Enriquez, Ferrell Foster, Joyce Gilbreath, and Suzii Paynter

MAKE A DONATION IN MEMORY/HONOR OF SOMEONE
Would you like to remember or honor someone special this year? Instead of a gift that will just collect dust why not make a donation in their name to the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger. Let your gift go much further in doing good work for those who are less fortunate.
Donate now!

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – January 30, 2011.
Download 5th Sunday video, Feeding the Hungry in Del Rio.

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – October 31.  Prepare now.  Download 5th Sunday video, Meeting Needs, Changing Neighborhoods, a snapshot of World Hunger ministries transforming lives in New York City.

A Day in the Lives of the Families we serve in Oaxaca

The roads are dirt, the journeys are long and life is complicated. To have a better perspective of the situation that these families experience day after day, we visit so that we can share a day in the lives of families that Buckner Mexico serves in the municipalities of Xoxocotalan and Zaachila in Oaxaca where we have two feeding centers and community ministries.

The Economy
Most families live in extreme poverty and survive on an average of 800 pesos or $67 dollars a week. And if that seems like very little, consider that with this amount, they must sustain their families that average four children with clothing, food, school supplies, books, & uniforms. Seems difficult? Let me share a little more.

Our families generally live in shacks made of tin or sheet metal with dirt floors, no electrical service, no water, no sewer. The water is bought from water trucks that pass by their houses for 15 pesos or $1.25 a barrel, but this water is not fit for drinking water. In order to cook, they must buy propane tanks or cook with firewood. For most, the light from the sun is the only light they have.

Housing
The tin/sheet metal houses of our families usually do not have windows and are exposed to all the changing conditions of the weather. In a single room, they will have one or two beds where the entire family sleeps.

Do you know what an outdoor toilet is? They know exactly what it is – a hole in the ground that is utilized as their toilet because there is no plumbing or sewage. A daily bath or personal hygiene is not all that common for the families we serve in Oaxaca. Since water is scarce and expensive, a good bath only happens about once a week, which results in stomach viruses and skin diseases which are very common.

Education
A common factor that we have detected is the very low educational level of most parents. Most of them have only been to elementary school, which speaks to the educational deficiency that also affects their children who struggle to take advantage of any educational opportunities.

Without the help of tutoring through after school programs, the cycle of little education will continue to reproduce itself from one generation to the next.

Work
The vast majority of the parents work in the construction field as helpers, laborers, brick masons or recycling garbage – work that pays horribly low wages. When we consider that most families are rather large with an average of six per family, the situation is even worse. For most families, this means that the head of the family is away at work most of the time, leaving the mother in charge of caring for and seeing that children get their education. Most mothers do not have job skills and are limited to either child care or domestic work.

The social structure of the family is severely fragmented which causes dysfunction: the dads are the providers and the moms are the caretakers, educators and managers. The reality for most of the families we work with in Oaxaca is that they are simply struggling to survive from day to day without any expectations of improvement. If life for them merely consists of trying to meet the basic needs of today without any hope or vision for the future, do you think there is nothing we can do?

We dream as a team and we are doing what we can to feed hungry children in our feeding centers and create real Community Transformation Centers. The food that we provide to our families is the first step to begin to make an impact on these communities where God has given us the opportunity to work meeting needs such as education, healthcare, and job skill training.

We do not want projects that simply put a band aid on the problem; rather we want to be agents of change that foment growth, empowerment, and a community consciousness that results in an improved quality of life for our families.

Because you give, we are able to give back to those in need.

Donate now!

NEW DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO FOR YOUR 5TH SUNDAY PROMOTION

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.

Next 5th Sunday Emphasis for World Hunger – October 31.  Prepare now.  Download 5th Sunday video, Meeting Needs, Changing Neighborhoods, a snapshot of World Hunger ministries transforming lives in New York City.

HOUSTON – Jose Antonio Ramirez was born with a caring spirit.  Living at home with his mom and unemployed, Tony (a nickname given to him by his pastor) wanted to help out any way he could.  He realized he needed to seek help for the family from the food pantry at a local church, North Central Baptist, in northeast Houston.  Many families in his neighborhood were feeling the same economic hopelessness…no job, children at home during the summer…more mouths to feed with less.

The church food pantry became the brightest place of hope on the block for Tony and many others. The smiles that greeted them there made it worth it all.  “Not only do they give you some food, but the kind people there also offer a word of encouragement,” Tony would say.

North Central Baptist receives funds from the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger every month to buy food for their weekly distribution.  The doors open on Tuesday morning with a sign out front saying “A – G”.  The regulars know this means they are serving last names A through G that day.

“Of course, I never turn anyone away who really needs food,” says Nina Flores, Social Services Minister and Director of the Food Pantry at North Central.  “We pray that the food does not run out before everyone who truly needs it that day is served.”

The food does run out.  Nina and her staff must make a small amount stretch to feed 450-500 people every month.  She prays, and God stretches.

Nina noticed when Tony came to get food he would always hang back to see if someone else needed it worse than he did.  He would put others ahead of him in line.  Sometimes, even if the food ran out before he got any, Tony would offer to help.  Did the ladies need help cleaning up or loading the truck?  Tony was there to offer his assistance.

After awhile, Pastor Slagle and others noticed.  Tony was offered a job as a church custodian, helping Nina at the Food Pantry and is now one who serves rather than being served.

Tony was offered bread with love.  Now he passes it on.

Because you give, we are able to give back to those in need.

Donate now!

NEW DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO FOR YOUR 5TH SUNDAY PROMOTION

We value your input and suggestions.
Your comments and recommended resources are welcome in the comments box below.