Another Operation Education Opportunity

I have had people tell me they did not see this post last week so I am sending it again. I now have 32 kids that need a sponsor instead of the original 20 - 25 listed below and so far I have 11 sponsored. I need these kids sponsored as soon as possible so if you are interested let me know by email, ASAP.

Here was last weeks post.

This past week I was told of a huge need in Somotillo where we minister and I would like to share it with you.

The man who works for me there (Evert) brought to my attention a need for 20 to 25 kids to go to school.

In Somotillo there are many people with HIV or AIDS. Sadly they do not have access to all the needed medicines and they are treated horribly by their families and the community. Some people have been ostracized by their communities and forced to move out.

Because of this treatment people in Somotillo don't get the medical care they need and most die an early death simply because they won't ask for help in fear of what will happen to their families if people find out.

Evert has been blessed to find a way "into" this group of people that exist. He, a nurse and one other person has been working with a small group of people helping them deal with this disease. Teaching them how to stay healthy and supporting them spiritually.

In January alone 4 woman died from AIDS leaving their children behind to be taken care of by who ever would take them. Many of the patients with HIV/AIDS are children also. Some of the children have both mom and dad dieing from AIDS.

I would like to help these families by helping their children to live as normal as possible. Due to the illness the parent/parents can not work and provide for their children, thus causing them to go hungry and not attending school.

For example, the children of the woman who died in January have been living with neighbors, neighbors who financially can't afford to take care of themselves much less another mouth to feed.

I have contacted an organization to help them get food on a consistent basis. It will be provided to each child and any parent that is currently suffering from this horrid disease. Now I just need sponsors to help send the kids to school.

Tuesday is the first day of school for Nicaragua. I have been told by Evert that he can go to the schools and ask permission for them to attend without the uniform for a period of time giving us a chance to get them sponsored.

In November when we purchased the uniforms I got them at a discount because I purchased so many sets. I can't get them at this price for these kids. I need $28 per child this time. Prices are very high right now.

Evert is working through the list to determine how many kids will need the uniforms. We estimate at least 20 - 25 kids.

Because of thier concern about others finding out they have HIV/AIDS parents are reluctant in giving their permission to take photos of their children. I hope to have some photos for you to choose from but can't guarantee this as I have in the past.

I need each child sponsored ASAP.. If you are willing to sponsor a child please email me and let me know and then send your check to :

The Power of One Ministry 198 Mellwood Drive Charlotte, NC 28214

Let's come together and make a difference in a child's life. These children are even more special than the others. They are faced with a deadly disease that will soon kill their parents or themselves.

Will you sponsor a child and change their life this year?

God Bless,

Angie

Operation Education Update

For the past two days my kids have been out of school due to the wonderful snow we got and all night they have been asking me if there is school tomorrow, not because they just can't wait to get there but because they don't want school to be in session. I remember those days.. It was exciting to get an unexpected day off. I can honestly say that the kids in Ceibita don't feel this way at all. They are currently on their summer vacation now. School in Nicaragua runs from the first week of February to Thanksgiving Day. When I was there several kids told me they wished school started back that day. They are enjoying going to school more than my kids have ever but the difference is my kids have been in school since age 4 and are tired of it already. These kids have not had that privilege and would not have if not for some of your reading this email.

We were blessed this year to send 82 kids to school and I have another 4 kids we are getting uniforms for by the first of February making it a total of 86 kids. That's almost double from last year.. I'm just so excited knowing these kids not only desire to go but truly WANT to go. There's a difference, I promise you.

If you sponsored a child/children this year please pray for them. They have many struggles throughout the day. Some don't have food to eat some days and others may struggle between working to help feed the other family members versus going to school. The children have to live very grown up lives in Nicaragua sometimes.

This year we did not get to take them shopping. The cost of uniforms is going up each year and so we had to shop around and found them cheaper in Managua which is 3 hours away so this year we went to the community and gave each child their specific backpacks and bags full of all the goodies and enjoyed their company more.

I purchased several school supply items this year here in the states and took them down which saved a lot of money but next year I can foresee an increase in the sponsorship by a couple of dollars. I really didn't have enough this year per child for the $25 but God supplied.

Would you please consider sponsoring your child again next year? Maybe you didn't get involved this year and realize you should have? You can this next school year. Start planning now.. I'll be looking for sponsors in September  & October.

The words I hear over and over in Ceibita is that they just can't believe total strangers would love them enough to send them to school. It's heartbreaking to hear their comments some time. You guys are really showing them Jesus. Trust me.

I am proud to announce that all of the 49 kids sponsored last year passed to the next grade. This is a huge accomplishment. The leader of the community had every child's report card copied and gave them to me to show accountability and to show how proud they were of the kids. I would be happy to give you a copy of your child's report card upon request.

Please pray for these kids as you pray for yours. They struggle in many different ways, ways you would never believe.

Please continue praying for this ministry as God has great plans for me in 2011. I never know what they are but they are always bigger and better than the year before and since last year was so huge I can't imagine what he has planned for this coming year.

As always Thank you so much for the support and prayers you give me. Together we are World Changers. Together we are changing many lives in Nicaragua.

God Bless,

Angie

To see photos of the kids click on this link:

http://www.thepowerofoneministry.org/photogallery/schoolkids2010/index.html

To watch videos of the kids saying Thank You click here and choose the videos started on the second row.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ahoneycutt0929

A Wedding for 25 Couples

I have finally found some time to work on pictures and videos and wanted to share with you a report from the December trip. Before I begin sharing about the wedding let me explain something to you.

Nicaraguans live together for life times because they can't afford a wedding. They have been told that their wedding won't last if they don't go through the entire process. If they only get the marriage licenses and not have the actual wedding their marriage will be cursed. For this reason and the simple fact no one can afford a full wedding most Nicaraguans never get married.

We wanted that to change. We want the "curses" to be stopped and for them to be taught that marriage is a part of God's plan for us and to not be married and to live together is sin and is not the ways of God.

In order to get married each couple paid $30 for the license (this was their choice actually, I had agreed to pay for it but they wanted to do their part, this was a huge sacrifice for most) and they had to have a witness to agree that they had a good relationship with each other, either a pastor or someone who was a Christian that would vouch for them.

The rest we  provided for them. Even a framed photograph for each couple.

The most amazing part of the wedding for me was when an elderly couple arrived at the seminar. I immediately thought they are at the wrong place. They must think we are having church today, boy was I wrong. They had come to get married. They were on a mission. The bride told me they had been together for 50 years and that 3 years ago she had accepted the Lord and that they were old and would die soon and did not want to go and see Jesus not married because he would not be happy with them. Needless to say it made us the Americans cry and feel so thankful we were able to provide such an opportunity for them. In the pictures you will see this couple. The bride has white hair and is wearing very thick glasses. Look for them.

We left with plans to help 30 couples tie the knot legally but only had 25. The couples attended a seminar on Saturday morning with team members Mary and George and Marje and Chuck. Mary and George have written a marriage curriculum and was blessed to share it internationally. It was a huge success and couples received the Word of God, the curriculum in Spanish, a book on marriage by Derek Prince and recipes on how to keep their marriage going. After the seminar they were fed a great meal and then we all prepared for the big moment.

As the couples arrived they were met with hand made wedding veils for each bride, a beautiful bouquet for the brides and boutonnieres for the grooms. Each couple had their wedding pictures taken by Terry and wedding rings were distributed for each couple. All had come together like clock work. It was amazing..

Our little girl Karen led the wedding as the flower girl and then each couple was introduced and together they walked down the isle. It was  truly a sight to see.

We had 16 beautiful wedding cakes that were served after the attendees received a traditional Nicaraguan meal and before we knew it our team along with a local pastor had legally married 25 couples.

It was a blessing to me because out of those 25 two were very special to me. My driver Antonio who has been a huge blessing to me and I love him like my own child was one of them and the other was the man who works for me and was responsible for making all the wedding plans take place. You will see Antonio in the pictures and his wife who are both dressed in black and Evert and his wife were the last couple to walk down the isle and they had the privilege of cutting the cake.

Other than leading people to the Lord this event tops the charts for me. It not only changed the lives of the 25 couples, it changes the families of those 25. The knowledge they now have is power and that power can be shared with many others in this community. Several couples accepted the Lord during the marriage seminar which make their marriage even more special.

Thanks to everyone who sewed into this event. It was truly amazing. Words can't describe how these families were blessed only the pictures can show you.

Check them out by clicking here.

More to come about the other events that happen on this trip.

Thanks again and God Bless,

Angie

Merry Christmas To All

It's been a while since I have written and I do apologize for that. The month of November I was working non-stop, then had to prepare for the December mission trip only to return and have one week to prepare for Christmas with my family and traveling to Virginia where I am today. I have so much to share with all of you about the December trip. Pictures are being processed so I can share because only photos will show you all I saw. God was amazing this trip. He showed up and showed off in a mighty way.

For now I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I expect 2011 to be another amazing year for my family as I know it will be for you as well.

Each year at this time I look back at all that God has done and I stand in awe wondering how in the world he can do more the coming year and every single time he does more than I could ever imagined. I can't wait to see what he is going to do in 2011.

I have so much more to share and I will as soon as I get home and can upload the pictures, until then I ask for prayer as I will be visiting my mother and brother in the morning and if you remember these relationships are very rocky and I know my mom is very stressed this time of year any way so it does not take much to cause an explosion.

God Bless all of you and keep your eyes open for more stories, pictures and videos of the kids to come.

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and support this year.

Merry Christmas to All...

Angie, Terry and the Boys

Only weeks away..

Can you believe that November is hear and Christmas is just a month and a week away? Time is flying by and this year has gone by so fast and my December trip is just around the corner. My team and I have been working hard getting ready for the upcoming trip. Terry and I will be going along with 5 people. We will have a wedding seminar, a wedding for 30 couples, sending 83 kids to school, ministering at a home for child slaves and blessing kids at an orphanage. It's going to be a great week.

I have been raising money every way possible. I am currently writing a program in Access for a company and working an event on Thanksgiving day which will help pay for the wedding and all the extras.

I have been blessed to have people donate toward the wedding and toward other much needed items which has helped my planning a lot.

All the kids in Ceibita have been sponsored. Thanks so much to all of you who sponsored one. 83 kids will go to school next year all because of people like you.

I have been blessed to have a youth group from North Point Community Church make Christmas gift bags for each child at the orphanage and I'm getting new shoes for them also. Can't wait to bless them for Christmas.

We have purchased all the uniforms for kids in Ceibita and their backpacks. All are ready for us to distribute when we get there in December. I'm so excited and can't wait to see their faces.

Please pray for all the logistics to be worked out. I have many issues we are facing. It's hard planning a wedding for 30 couples across and ocean and with the language barrier. Not to mention the person helping me in Nicaragua is a man. Sorry guys but not many of you are wedding planning kind of people.

Please keep me in prayer as I am working extremely long hours 6 to 7 days a week and I'm wore out. It just happens to be a busy time in my life and this time will pass but until it does I need the strength to get through it.

Thanks so much for all the continued prayers. This upcoming trip is one of the biggest of the 21 I have taken. The bigger it gets the hard the enemy works and right now he is working pretty hard on all of our team.

Thanks so much, keep praying.

I am still in need of some remaining school supplies. If you have any you need to give me, let me know. If you would like to pick up some I need pencils, colored pencils, erasers and pencil sharpeners.

Thank you for helping me change the world one child, one family, one community at a time.

Angie

The Power of One Ministry 198 Mellwood Drive Charlotte, NC  282814 7-4-236-5550