Cwillz Spills

(continued from previous post)

I’ll let the students tell  you the rest story.  Again, may contain language not suitable for some audiences (this is real life so don’t report me to Plugged In or anything, pls).

Thanks for watching.  Thank you also for your support.  I’m hoping to get some more serious posts up soon.  The move and adjustment to life out here has kep me from blogging that much.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

I forgot to do the Giving Highlight last month.  I chose another micro-finance related organization to give to.  I really like this concept.  Before I tell you about Five Talents, I should give an update on the loans I made through Kiva a few months ago.  All of the loans have gone into repayment, which means that I am starting to get money back.  So basically the people who needed it have used it and have started to make enough money to support themselves/their families and repay me.  The money they have paid back I have re-loaned, which will hopefully create another sustainable job for someone else.  The cycle continues.

I chose to give to Five Talents because of they address more than the economic/systemic issues of poverty by wokring also for spiritual development. Also, they make online giving easy via credit card!

From thier website:

Five Talents’ mission is to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development.

Also, a YouTube Special for you:

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

To give is both a privilege and a duty, and it is downright fun to point attention to people who are doing great things and then play a role.

This month we decided to give to New Life International, an organization that is spreading the Gospel while and by providing the basic necessity of clean water. 

The rationale for giving here is easy: About a sixth of our neighbors in the world do not have access to clean water. 

You should know that Jesus says this in Matthew 25:

4″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

 41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

 44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

 45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

 46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

If you are looking for a trustworthy place to do things for the “least of these”, New Life International is a solid choice.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Yesterday I aksed for input about where I should give money. One of the joys of having a budget is being able to give.

Since Adam was the only one to comment so far, and I need to take care of July’s giving before the end of July, I took one of his suggestions and headed over to Kiva.org and chekced out what they do. Basically, they are a place that lets people lend money to others who need it to develop themselves personally or professionally. This is called microfinancing.

Microfinancing is all about helping people that banks either cannot (too risky, not enough money to be worth it) or will not (it’s in thier interest to keep people only partially successful). A small loan helps people “prime the well”.

So I am using my “giving” money to microfinance through Kiva. When they pay me back I will either reinvest in someone else, or donate it to another cause.

I got a job. Now I can / should give away some money.

Where should it go? Where do you give to? How do I get there? What are the biggest needs?

Comment so we can spotlight some places that could use it.

While in Montego Bay, Jamaica I met a man named Michael. The first time we interacted with him he was yelling at us something about how white missionaries come to the island, use the beach every day and never clean it up. He continued on his way spouting off something about colonization and how there can be no peace without justice.

I went back to where we saw him first and waited. Eventually he came back and we started a real conversation. That led to a few of our students becoming his friends and sharing time, clothes, and food with him.

Michael and I talked and sat along the Hip Strip during our short week on the island. One topic was violence and how the rasta fight with words instead of weapons. He reminded me over and over of the prophesy of weapons being pounded into plowshares.

“A knife is better than a gun because it can be used to peel fruit.”

Faithful Readers,
My summer has not been conducive to blogging so far. I miss you. In the morning I will be travelling to Jamaica with the church my fiance and I are interning at this summer. We will spend part of the time doing physical work and part of the time interacting with the children.

I am also going to try and get a hold of some green Blue mountain coffee to have AWC roast.

Pictures and stories are coming. I promise.

When I get back I will start a full time job for Cummins Engine Company through a contractor. The job is part customer service and part IT type work. We are considating purchasing databases. I hope that everyone’s summer is off to a good start.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

I found this on PreachingToday.com’s Series about money.  There is more research out there suggesting similar conclusions.  We should tithe out of both obedience and love.  

Tithing Christians Would Meet Global Need
A husband and wife team of researchers, the founders of Empty Tomb, Inc., in Champaign, Illinois, have tracked American and American Christian expenditures as well as global needs. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world. “Projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts are among the activities that could help overcome the poverty conditions that now kill and maim so many children and adults.”

The Ronsvalles go on to write: “That figure of $70-$80 billion may sound like anything but good news. God may be generous, you may agree, but has he been that generous? Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $94 billion available for overseas missions.”

In addition to providing the $80 billion a year needed to eliminate world poverty, tithing Christians would also provide the $7 billion needed to provide primary education for all children, and the $5 billion needed to end the preventable deaths of children under 5.