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in Curihue, ready for large garden and greenhouse
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Finished system
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installing Flora's rainwater harvesting system
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Pilinhue project with family and my helpers, Pastor Tomas and Raul
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site in Curihue
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Flora's garden
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Flora watering her garden
New Partnerships Will Expand Girls'
Clubs
Not too long ago, I had coffee with my friend, Nancy Duarte.
I love to have coffee with friends on a Saturday morning, but this coffee was
special, because we had it in Wheaton, IL.
Nancy is a dear Chilean friend of ours from Temuco. She is a
clinical psychologist specializing in family systems, and is now the Program
Director for Family Bridges, a faith-based organization helping
Spanish-speaking immigrant families transition well into life in the United
States.
Nancy began consulting with me on the Girls' Clubs project
when she lived in Temuco and was chair of the psychology department at the
Universidad Mayor. Now she will serve on a newly formed consulting team that is
helping me redesign the program so that it can be replicated, and the girls'
progress can be tracked.
Many of you asked me when I was speaking on home assignment
if it would be possible to expand the Talita Cumi Girls' Clubs Project to other
countries, including the U.S.
I believe God is opening doors for that, and probably for
things greater than I can imagine, to equip us and others to help girls and
young women grow to become "oaks of righteousness," the oft-stated
goal of our ministries here.
Thanks to a grant from One Grant Hour of Sharing, we have
formed a consulting team made up of psychologists from Fuller Seminary's Thrive
Center for Human Development, Nancy, and the psychology department head at
Temuco's Universidad Mayor.
We are engaged in a formal review of all the materials I
have written, and developing a mentor training program. Over the next year we
will begin interviewing participants and leaders of our current program and
measuring progress on developmental scales.
The goal is to see the Girls' Clubs project become an
evidence-based curriculum and program.
Oh my, my head hurts! Excuse me while I go hide under the
table.
Okay. My crises of panic do pass quickly, because God keeps
bringing wonderful, qualified, generous friends to accompany Dwight and me as
we pursue this vision that many of you have supported for years.
So as Nancy and I sat down to work, we mapped out a plan to
develop our mentor training. We reviewed some curriculum, shared notes, and
sketched out a work plan for the next few months.
So much remains to be done, but for the first time I can see
that it really is possible. I can't do it alone. But God provides the help I
need.
Thank you, dear friends, for being the voice that called
this ministry into existence. Please pray for us more fervently than ever as we
climb this steep road. Rejoice with us, too, as we welcome our new partners
from Fuller Seminary's Thrive Center (www.thethrivecenter.org) and Family
Bridges to walk alongside us.
Rainwater Harvesting Project
"These tanks saved
my garden"
"I wasn't going
to plant this year because there's not going to be enough water."
These are typical comments from people, like Flora here,
with new rainwater harvesting systems.
Thanks, again, to a grant from One Great Hour of Sharing we
have been installing simple systems that use rainwater to alleviate a severe
water crisis in southern Chile.
Climate change is real
Rural families that used to depend on springs and shallow
wells, and sporadic rain throughout the summer now find themselves without
water from January to June.
Our average rainfall compares with Seattle, but most rural
houses do not have gutters, and storing rainwater is a novel idea, until
recently.
Municipalities are trucking in 1,000 liters a week to rural
households, which is not enough.
So the purpose of the Rainwater Harvesting project is to
demonstrate a viable solution for rural households.
Our systems can provide water for household gardens, and
other non-potable uses during the summer.
We can't provide all the tanks they really need. So this
project is meant to stimulate the use of this simple technology for conserving
water.
Participating families provide their own kind of "sweat
equity" and they will come up with ways to expand their systems.
City of Temuco asks us to set up a
demonstration project
Rainwater harvesting is catching on in Chile.
The city of Temuco asked us to set up a demonstration site
serving the needs of a cluster of rural households.
Before they consider installations on a massive scale, they
recognize the need first of all to educate and convince the rural population
that rainwater harvesting can play a big role in alleviating their water
problems. We look forward to this opportunity to support Temuco's vision of a
sustainable community, starting in November.
Did you know?
This year, your annual World Mission Offering gift can do
twice as much.
If you give to I am IM - WMO between now and
September 30, you will be not only supporting crucial ministries around the
world, but also encouraging others to join in and do the same!
Here's how it works: I am IM is a challenge opportunity to
kick off our 2016 World Mission Offering. From now until September 30, gifts
from generous partners like you will be set aside as "seed money" to
create the I am IM Challenge Fund.
Your generosity will enable every undesignated dollar
donated for the WMO after September 30 to be DOUBLED up to the total of the
Challenge Fund you help to create.
This challenge opportunity is for the support of all of IM's
global servants and all the work of IM and is not intended for support of
specific projects or global servants.
How to give:
·
To give online, go to: http://internationalministries.org/drives/41
·
To donate by check, write I am IM - WMO on the
memo line and mail to International Ministries, PO Box 851, Valley Forge, PA
19482- 0851.
·
To give by phone, call 610-768-2323.
International Ministries