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April 1991 Newsletter
COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia
Volume 19, Issue 4 April, 1991
SCHOOL TIME IN COLOMBIA
The school year is nearing an end here in the States. But for those of you who are long time readers of this newsletter know that the school year has just gotten under way in Colombia. Our Christian day school continues to operate under Colombian leadership. Martin Sanders, son of our departed co-worker Warren Sanders, is now in Villavicencio and is helping out with the school. The classrooms are packed and the school is a boisterous and busy place.
The school has always been self-supporting. Due to our indigenous policy in planting churches, neither churches nor their supporting institutions are developed faster than the local Christians can support them. This prevents economic addiction and dependence on American money for continued existence.
The only drawback to this plan is that many children can not afford to pay the tuition. In the past, we have had a policy of providing scholarships for needy students. Since public education is scarce in Colombia, few children could receive an education. Private schools take up the slack but are a financial drain on the typical Colombian worker, who makes only a hundred dollars or so each month. The poorer people simply cannot send their children to school.
In an effort to meet this need without violating our indigenous principles, we offer scholarships to the students of the poorest parents. In this way, should the American money and the scholarships cease, we would lose a few students, some children would go without an education, but the school and its outreach ministry would continue.
This year is no exception. Based on previous years experience and our optimistic nature, we have offered scholarships to ten needy children. Without this help, these children would simply not be able to go to school. Now we offer you a chance to share. Since you live in the United States, you probably did not have to worry about being able to attend school. Sending your children never cost you any significant part of your income, as it does for the average Colombian. Why not express your gratitude by sponsoring a Colombian child this year?
Due to the increased value of the US dollar in Colombia, the cost is lower this year than in previous years. It will cost only $90 for the entire year, or ten dollars each month. Included in this newsletter is a list of the ten needy students. We even have photos of most of them. Every dollar of your scholarship money will go for the students' tuition. We do not even take one cent for administration expenses. You may pick the child you wish to support. (Please select a first and second choice, in case someone has already selected your first choice student.) You may choose to simply support "any needy student", in which case we will award the scholarship based on need. You can write to your student and even request a copy of his/her grade card if you wish.
If you have been moved by these touching photographs in the magazine ads that encourage you to support a child, but have wondered about the legitimacy of those pleas, here is the opportunity to help. You will not receive a "generic child" and even then have only a small portion of your donation actually reach the child. Instead you and only you will be providing a specific child's education. You can send $90 in one check, or $10 per month for the next nine months. In the event that you would like to help out with the school, but cannot afford to sponsor a student, any designated contribution will be channeled into this ministry.
Along with the names and photographs you will find a coupon that you can fill out. This will help us channel your love offering to the right child. The Bible tells us that when we help "the least of these", it is as if we were doing it for Christ Himself. Another old proverb states that a person never stands so tall as when stooping to help a child. Here is an opportunity to stand tall by being a living example of your Christian faith.
ALMOST
Last month brought several more contributions to our laser printer fund. In fact, we now have enough money to purchase the printer itself. We have slightly over $2,400 in the fund. We still lack the money to buy the software though. As you probably know, computer equipment is worthless without the software to drive it. As a result, we still have not purchased the laser printer.
The Aldus PageMaker program will enable us to do desktop publishing. With it we can produce camera ready masters for books and pamphlets. The software costs $550. As soon as we have the money for it, we will be purchasing the software and the laser printer as a package. We had hoped to have it for this month's newsletter, but we did not quite make it. With your continued help, we will reach our goal by next month.
With the continued violence in Colombia, it is urgent that we produce literature faithful to the New Testament. A book can go where no missionary would dare travel. At present we are forced to be sending out literature of inferior quality. No one in our brotherhood is producing the didactic material we need. Help us change that by contributing to the printer fund.
(PHOTOS)
Here are the names of some of the needy Colombian children you can help educate this year.
THE NATIONAL MISSIONARY FUND
Plans for the National Missionary Convention are coming along great. This year should offer you a chance to greatly improve your churches' mission program by attending. All of the excitement of previous years will be evident. But this year we have added many new things.
There will be the scores of missionaries with their exciting stories to share. The carnival atmosphere of the display area will be better than ever. On top of this we have added programs for all ages, including teens. Since the convention will meet on a weekend, it can be family outing.
One big new feature will be our "Mini-College for Missions Committees." In our brotherhood, we have minister's retreats, elder's and deacon's clinics and Sunday school teacher's workshops. But nobody has offered anything for the members of the missions committees. This year that will change. If you are a member of your churches' missions committee and have been wondering what you are supposed to be doing, we will prepare you to do your best. Our series will train you for one of the most important jobs in the church. These classes will be so important that every church should require at least one member of their missions committee to attend.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been on the road a great deal. The Missionary Convention is a format under which we can shape the missionary outreach of New Testament Christianity. I have been given the rare opportunity of helping in that process. Plan now to be a part of this exciting Convention as we begin the last decade of the second millennium, and as we try to make this "the Decade of Missions." Mark your calendar for the 1-3 of November and plan on being in Springfield, Illinois for the World Evangelism Conference sponsored by the National Missionary Convention.