Living the Life Together OCTOBER 2018 Newsletter, Volume 16, Issue 10 Hands of Honor: Where Everyone Learns Your Name February 8, 2016, CAMA Services blog, This article was originally published on the Alliance website. According to the International Labour Organization, sub-saharan Africa has the world s highest incidence of child labor (59 million more than 21 percent of the region s children). In West Africa hard manual labor is part of daily life. Most city families hire a domestic worker, often a young girl from a remote village. We see a lot of child laborers in our ministry to migrant household helpers, says Becky, whose team has partnered with local believers to form the Hands of Honor outreach to these at-risk girls. Poverty often is why parents send their girls into the workforce. A daughter s earnings will provide a large portion of the family s income. No Better Than Slaves Hands of Honor staff members have observed a majority of domestic helpers, sometimes as young as 11, arrive in their city under fraudulent circumstances. The girls are promised a decent wage and a fair work environment, but they end up in homes where they are exploited, treated no better than slaves in some cases, Becky observes. They eat only if there is food left over once everyone else has eaten. They are over-worked, with no days off, and they are beaten or verbally abused if they do something wrong. When it s time to be paid, the girls are told they were lazy or that they chipped a dish or dulled a knife, and they aren t given the money due them. They are young, naïve to the dangers of living in a big city, and easily seduced. Many end up pregnant and are turned out by their families because of the shame they have caused, Becky adds. In desperation, they abandon or murder their newborns. Hands of Honor provides training to these girls in three areas literacy, health, and life/job skills. Several classes focus on the skill sets needed to be good household helpers. Our local staff members feel it s important for the girls to understand their employers expectations and for the employers to see the value of allowing their girls time off each month to participate in the trainings, Becky adds.
Also, the team offers classes on how to make local products (soap, body lotion, peanut butter) so the girls can make these items for themselves and sell extras to earn some additional income. Each day of class, they also hear an oral Bible story, after which they break into smaller groups with staff members to talk about the story and pray together. Batoma I admit, says Becky, sometimes our work seems hopeless. What chances for a decent future do our girls have illiterate, with no job skills, of seemingly little worth to their families, often living with the consequences of choices they made in desperation? It s on the hard days, she says, that she reminds herself of Batoma. On a day when the monthly health class hadn t started yet, the girls were sitting around giggling and chatting like teenaged girls do everywhere. A new girl had shown up, and Batoma, one of our regulars, was telling her about our center, Becky recalls. A Bold Decision I overheard Batoma say, They ll learn your name in this place they ll learn your name in this place. All of a sudden, I understood what our girls wanted most to be loved, to have enough worth that someone will learn their name. Our training and advocacy work are important, but the girls desperately need to grasp how wide and long and how high and deep is the love of Christ for them! It came as no surprise to the team when several months later, while teaching from John 10 about the love of the Good Shepherd, Batoma made the bold decision to leave the majority religion of West Africa and become a follower of Jesus. She had found the perfect source of love, Becky says. Pray for victory in the spiritual battle involved in the Hands of Honor outreach. Pray also that many more of these young girls being served will find the perfect love and freedom found only in Christ. Women s Bible Study Jeremiah A Prophet of Hope The Book of Jeremiah covers forty of the most intriguing years in the history of God s people, the Jews. Jeremiah prophesied during the decaying decades of Israel as the Jews defected from God s ways. We will study their last five kings of Judah, the destruction of the temple, Jerusalem and the conquest of the Babylonians. One of God s greatest prophets kept his faith in his sovereign God intact through this turbulent period. Jeremiah will inspire you to endure turbulent times, while keeping your faith strong. Look for this study to begin in October. For more information, please speak to Kate Hackbarth
Wednesdays in October Pizza Supper @ 6 PM (lower level) Cafe is Open @ 6 PM (upper level) Awana for kids 3 years to 6 th grade @ 6:25 (Awana circle, lower level) MAC Youth, grades 6-12 @ 6:30 PM (room 5, lower level) Women s Study @ 6:30 PM (Upper level, youth office) Awana Calendar @ MAC October 31, 6-8 PM Trunk or Treat 6 PM Hot dogs for ALL! @ Parking lot of MAC LIFE Church Help us redeem the night for the Kingdom of God and be the brightest light around! Oct. 3, Dollars for Ron Glynn s gas fund. Kids can donate to help our Awana regional coordinator travel to help Awana clubs in Iowa. Oct. 10, B.A.R.F., Bring A Real Friend Oct. 17, Club picture night Oct. 24, Double Tokens, 2 tokens/section Oct. 31, Trunk or Treat- no classes Safe alternative to traditional Halloween festivities. Community outreach as Blairsburg trick or treat is from 5:30-7pm the same night. 3 ways to participate o Bring kids in fun, not scary costume. o Decorate a vehicle Sign up in foyer. Get your small group, family, or ministry group involved. Vehicle with the most votes wins the trophy! o Donate candy for the trunks by placing in container in foyer.
Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Gifts You can pack a box then bring it to MAC Sundays or Wednesdays, Nov. 4-18 Samaritan s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. Please do not include: Candy, toothpaste, used or damaged items, war related toys (guns, knives, military figures), chocolate, food, fruit rolls, fruit snacks, fruit drink mix (powdered or liquid), liquids, lotions, medicines, vitamins, breakable items, aerosol cans.
MAC Youth is Up & Running Wednesdays 6:30-8:00 PM Come at 6 PM to hang-out & have pizza MAC Youth is for Students grades 6-12 Bake Sale October 21 Fundraiser for LIFE Conference 2019
October 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 Leonard Moss Beth Ades *Dylan & Ashley Bosch Trey Seiser Doug Jacobsen *Brad & Wendi Dinsdale Ellie Weinschenk Ashtyn DeCoster 7 8 Men Exploring9 10 11 12 13 6 a.m. at MAC *Mark & Ashley Weisberg Jack Adams *Mat & Megan Ring Scott Renaud Rosalie Stark Paulette Andrews Dolores Schaa Alyssa Schwering Etter Watne MAC Youth Kick off 14 Doug Sogard Youth Spons. 6 P 15 16 Men Exploring 6 a.m. at MAC 17 Steve Vande Zande Rebecca Steig Matthew Perin 18 19 20 Judy Burton Zach Frey Youth Bake Sale *Tony & Jan Neubauer Courtney Nelson Allison Oswald 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 LIFE Conf. Parent/student info meeting, Youth room, after AM Youth Spons. 6 P Jim Stafford Elders, 6 PM Gov. Board, 7 Men Exploring 6 a.m. at MAC Elizabeth Lockwood 29 30 Men Exploring 6 a.m. at MAC Tenley Bentley Ben Grimshaw Lillian Dawson 31 Trunk or Treat Night Carol Harms Bob Brown Janice Greenfield Matt Jacobsen Don McKee Jeannie Vande Zande Sundays @ MAC The Cafe opens at 8:00 AM Sunday School - 9:00 AM Pre K to Adults, Nursery for infants and toddlers is available Sunday Morning Worship - 10:00 AM; Children Pre K through 2 nd grade dismissed prior to the message for Children s Church, NO Children s Church on Communion Sunday (first Sunday) Wednesday Night at MAC 6:00 PM, the Cafe is open; Pizza Supper 6:25 PM, AWANA for kids 3 years through grade 5 6:30 PM, MAC Youth grades 6-12 6:30 PM, Women s Bible Study in the Youth office