Heifer Update July & August 2023
Through the months of July and August we will still be in the “Flock Sale #3” segment of donations of the above four poverty and hunger eliminators. Hundreds of small farmers and their families will be given a new direction in life. Isn’t it exciting that we (LUMC) are making such a positive impact in the lives of many, here in the U.S. and around the world?
Each year the Lakeview Men’s Ministries has supported the Heifer Project. This year, as in previous years, the men presented the “Heifer Project” with a check of $1000. The first donation from that check is a Heifer. She is appropriately named “Miss Grace – 2023.”
This gift of $1000 was made possible from the proceeds of the “Men’s Pancake Breakfast,” plus other donations by the Men’s Ministries this year were “StreetLights USA, Habitat for Humanity and LUMC”. Thank you, Lakeview Men’s Ministries.
Now, a story that had an impact because of a donation like “Miss Grace – 2023” from the tiny village of Oaxaca, Mexico. Many of the girls living there never received an education. Most of the girls were taught that their job was to take care of the home and children. That was not in Mayra’s thinking.
Before Heifer, her family sold cattle for income. They sold them through a middleman. Therefore, at prices that lost them thousands of dollars, and living in poverty and hunger because of it. And Mayra was told her whole life that caring for a cattle farm, much less running a business, was not a woman’s job. But Heifer International and Mayra proved them wrong. She now makes enough to support her mom, siblings, nieces and nephews, and she is only 26 years old.
Will “Miss Grace-2023” make such an impact on someone’s life? We trust and pray that she will. Then, there is the impact that the many flocks are creating. Be sure to read the Men’s Ministries stories in the Lakeviewer on line. To date, 55 flocks have been donated. Add to that the 20 flock orders that have been doubled. Also, in the mix is a good supply of Bunnies – nine trios of them. I want to thank everyone who is making this all possible. God’s Blessings!
July 8, 2023 - Update
Today’s Bible verse is found in Psalm 91: 4 “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings—His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”
So, what happened last month. First our “Passing the Basket” brought in $70.83.
We started June with a balance of $8.00
Deposits were $1,671.00
Donations made was $1,670.00
July 1 Balance $9.00
Donations for the month were 29 Flocks of Chicks, 12 Flocks of Ducks, 5 Flocks of Geese, 3 Hope Baskets and 1 Heifer.
The Heifer was made available from the $1,000.00 gift from the United Men’s Ministries of Lakeview. She was aptly named “Miss Grace-2023”.
Matching funds from Heifer were applied to 8 Flocks of Chicks, 2 Flocks of Ducks, 2 Flocks of Geese and 2 Hope Baskets. What an outstanding month – Praise God.
This article was written by Christy Moore—Senior VP of Marketing:
One country where your generous monthly gifts are having a powerful impact is Cambodia, where Heifer has worked alongside women farmers since 1999. Through self-help groups—mostly powered by women —Heifer provides training and funding to 52 farming cooperatives nationwide, benefitting more than 333,000 Cambodian families.
While more than half (51%) of all Cambodians make their living through agriculture—only 10% of the country’s agricultural products are produced by farmers. This massive gap between supply and demand provides an opportunity for Cambodian chicken farmers to sell an additional 30 million pounds of chicken a year!
With support from Friends of Heifer like you, we’ve helped chicken farmers meet this demand by launching Poultry Project of National Pride, which includes training, supplies, assistance, and access to capital and markets to help small-scale farmers claim a larger stake in Cambodia’s poultry production system.
Poultry Project of National Pride works directly with 53,300 households.
Farmer Set Hach, who lives in the Siem Reap Province, is nurturing an even bigger dream: that one day she will own and operate a chicken processing facility to serve her community
Hach raised chickens before she joined Poultry Project of National Pride, but concedes she didn’t really know how to care for them. “The chickens got sick and died,” she says. After joining this Heifer project, she received a loan to build a proper chicken coop and buy a hatchery that can handle more than 1,000 eggs at a time. She learned how to vaccinate and protect her chickens from predators.
Hach currently has 165 Hens, 35 Roosters, and 700 Chicks. She breeds chicks in her hatchery, then sells them for $1.25 each (coop members get a slight discount). With your continued support, she can scale up her operation and bring her dreams of creating a local chicken processing facility to fruition.
I hope as you hear this, you’ll take a moment to pray for Set and many like her. Your generosity and compassion is making dreams come true. Amen?
In closing, let’s pray the prayer for our church.
Loving God, We pray for our church in this important time, to do your will and to be a faithful witness in our troubled world. We pray for each other and all that we need from you. We pray that you would strengthen our ministries and the ways we may be for our community a living reminder of Jesus Christ. Lord, stir in us a desire to serve you, to care for others, to relieve suffering, to be your light in any place of darkness. We pray for our financial needs and our ministries that we would be able to do all that you ask of us. Mold us, fill us and use us, O God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
