Gift catalog helps kids

You can help a needy child today.

USA (MNN) ― You're familiar with the story of Christmas . . . it started with a child.

As a newborn, Jesus came first to the poorest and humblest people of His day: shepherds.

Today, Jesus still ministers to the poor, humble, and broken. God reaches out with your hands and transforms the lives of people broken and trapped in poverty. These gifts reach them in practical as well as spiritual ways.

Kids Alive International says orphaned and abandoned children desperately need to know our Heavenly Father cares for them. Bibles, Christian Story books, and Bible camp will share the life-changing message of Jesus with a needy girl or boy.

Second to the Gospel, a good education is the best way to learn truth, gain freedom, and end the cycle of poverty. Tuition, books, and uniforms will give children the tools needed to change their world and serve others.

Without the right food, children suffer. This Christmas, food, livestock, and seeds will help lay a foundation for healing and health.

You can help today. The Kids Alive 2011 Gift Catalog invites you to fulfill Christ's calling with gifts to transform a poor child's life. You can help bring health, healing, and hope to an orphaned and vulnerable child today.

You can find a whole list of gift items that will make a profound impact in the lives of people in needy areas of the world. Click here to see the list.

5 orphan camps served, seeds planted

Russia (MNN) ― The Orphan Outreach / Mission Network News mission trip to Russia is coming to a close. 29 Mission Network News listeners traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia on August 12 to reach out to orphaned children in the region. The outreach took place not at orphanages, but at summer camps.

MNN's anchor and executive Greg Yoder is there. He says, "There are over 700,000 orphaned children in Russia alone. This week we visited five orphan camps in five days."

The first camp was a replacement camp, says Yoder. "Since we weren't able to go to Crisis Center 15 because of a chickenpox outbreak, we were able to go to another camp which was hosting Orphanage 60. It was a beautiful camp, and the caregivers loved the kids."

That particular camp hadn't had any visitors this summer. "While it wasn't our plan for chickenpox, God's plan was to have us with Orphanage 60 kids. The skit we did had an impact, too."

Team member Robin Tomkins says it was a play depicting Jesus' love for sinners and had a significant impact. "The 'Everything' skit that we did left a big impact on kids, just watching their expressions. A lot of questions have come up from it, such as who Jesus is."

According to Yoder, another camp was displaced by fire and cold spiritually. "That camp appears to be run by a dictator, so I won't tell you which one it was. But the caregivers were cold, and the kids were cold. They hardly interacted with us. It was discouraging at first, but God allowed us to present the skit, and a few seemed interested."

The skit wasn't a stand-alone presentation; it was followed by team member testimonies. "I was able to tell them exactly what the skit was about and talk about the fact that they're either a slave to sin or Christ and that in reality, we have NO freedom," says Yoder. "I told them that Christ died for the unlovely sinners. He gave His life for people that are actually His enemy and it didn't matter the sin, it was paid for at the cross for those who know Him."

That presentation prompted one of the interpreters to share Christ with a girl who's set to leave the orphanage in the fall.
At that same camp, another girl asked many questions. While no professions of faith were made, seeds were planted and watered," says Yoder.

Pray for the kids as they return to the orphanages next week.

If you'd like to join Orphan Outreach on a trip, they have a medical mission trip to Guatemala coming in the fall. Nurses are needed. Click here for more information.

Kenyans Help Kenya, More Help Needed

Kids Alive International "Kenyans
 for Kenya" prayer effort.

Kenya (MNN) ― It's called "Kenyans for Kenya" -- a nationwide effort to help the plight of Kenya's famine victims in the north. According to the United Nations, more than 12 million people are affected by the drought that plagues Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. Two weeks, ago the UN officially declared "famine" conditions in parts of Somalia, as victims pour across the borders from that nation.

Kids Alive International works in the region. Sponsorship coordinator Jane Mugure says Kenyans are facing tragedy. "Currently we have 3.5 million Kenyans affected by the drought, facing starvation. The UN describes the current famine as the worst to hit Kenya and the Horn of Africa in 60 years."

As part of the "Kenyans for Kenya" initiative, Mugure says children in their Kids Alive homes participated. "We just prayed for the situation, and we gave the money we would have paid for lunch toward this initiative."

Mugure says they were able to give 3,000 Kenyan shillings ($32 U.S.) by skipping one meal. The goal of "Kenyans for Kenya" is to raise $5.4 million. 

According to Mugure, it hasn't been easy for them financially. "Over the last couple of years, food prices have really gone up from 75 shillings to now, we're buying the cheapest food at 165 shillings -- almost double what we used to buy."

On top of that, the lack of food is increasing demand at Kids Alive feeding and residential centers, says Mugure. "People don't have enough food, so they come into our clinic for medical check-ups because of lack of food. We have more in terms of the feeding programs that we have -- more of our community members, Families Together Program, coming into our residential care just to ask for food."

According to Mugure, the government is not able to help. "Currently, as we speak, even the government's food program is running dry."

The irony is that while there is drought and famine in the north, other areas of Kenya have plenty of food. "But the infrastructure and the cost of transporting this food to the northeastern part of Kenya is so expensive, so farmers don't want to transport the food to where the drought has hit," says Mugure.

However, Mugure is praying that God will use this to bring many people to Christ. "We were just praying about the situation and how we can get Bibles to them. Yes, we have fed them, so now we need something else, on top of feeding them. So we're looking at Bibles and any spiritual material we can get."

If you'd like to help Kids Alive in the region, click here. 

Backpacks Bring Hope to Haitian Kids

Kids in Haiti need good schooling.
 But in order to get good schooling,
 they need good backpacks and
 supplies.

Haiti (MNN) ― For kids in Haiti, a backpack is more just a fashion statement. A backpack means they can finally go to school. A backpack means they have a way to carry literally all their belongings. A backpack means they have hope.

Orphan Outreach is launching Mission Backpack to bring donated backpacks and the Gospel to the children in Haiti. Backpacks will also be distributed to local kids in Florida and in the Navajo Nation of Arizona. They are partnering with Moody Radio Florida, Moody Radio South Florida and WAY radio for this evangelistic outreach.

Amy Norton with Orphan Outreach says, "We have found, in all of our work internationally, that children have to have a backpack to go to school just like they do [in the U.S.]. And they need school supplies to be able to put in it. [In] so many countries, if they do not have a backpack, they can't go to school."

The children in Haiti are no exception. Mission Backpack is working with World Harvest Missions established in Haiti to distribute donated backpacks. Norton says, "[World Harvest Missions] was so grateful to have the backpacks this past year--after we did the drive in Florida--for the children."

In the wake of tragedy, hope is hard to come by, especially for the kids in Haiti. "Things are desperate there," Norton explains. "People thought that things were so bad after the [earthquake]. But it's gotten so much worse that so many children are suffering from sickness and illness and have no place to sleep, and no parents."

The hope of the Gospel can change lives. While providing backpacks to the needy kids in Haiti, Orphan Outreach is also opening doors for the message of Christ. Backpacks will be equipped with hygiene kits, a Bible, and a stuffed bear from Family Christian Stores.

The team distributing the backpacks, as well as the staff with World Harvest Missions, keeps the focus on Christ as they minister to kids in Haiti. "All of their ministry is done with an evangelical focus as well as humanitarian aid and assistance. So the Gospel message is definitely shared with each backpack that is delivered," says Norton.

There are collections going on both in Texas and Florida. Texas drive sites are already collecting between now and July 31; Florida sites will be collecting between July 25 and August 14. They have an overall goal to have 3,500 backpacks donated by the end of the drives.

You don't have to directly donate a backpack to a collection center in order to get involved. You can go online to the Orphan Outreach Web site and purchase a backpack to donate. The cost of providing one fully equipped backpack is $20.

All backpacks will be collected by the end of August and sent down by container with a team from Florida Baptist Children's Home. The kids in Haiti will get their donated backpacks and supplies by the start of school in the Fall.

Please pray for successful backpack drives for Orphan Outreach. Pray also for the kids in Haiti who will be hearing the Gospel message as they receive their supplies. Pray that God's love would change the hearts of these kids and draw many into His kingdom.

Kids discover Christ with KidsDiscover

As The Seed Company partners
 with the Duggar family in their
Kids Discover program, their prayer
 is that seeds of the Gospel will be
planted in the hearts of many children,

USA (MNN) ― As parents of 19 kids, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar know a thing or two about parenting. And as devoted Christians with a love for God, they know the importance of passing this knowledge and love for Christ on to their children. That's why they opened up their lives to the world in the TLC reality show "19 Kids and Counting."It is also why the Duggars linked arms with The Seed Company to promote the KidsDiscover program.

The opportunity for the KidsDiscover program to partner with the Duggar family is truly a blessing. Jonathan Kern with The Seed Company says, "The Duggar family, they have a very significant audience. They have a number of visitors to their Web site, some of them seeking guidance for parenting issues... So the Duggar family [is] partnering with ministries that can provide some quality content for the people who come to their Web site."

The KidsDiscover program is a free, interactive and online resource for parents. They can sign up for 10 weeks of either the Old Testament or New Testament program. Each week features a Bible story and fun activities: the perfect way to spend summer days while learning about God.

In addition to Bible stories and activities, along the way kids will learn about people in other countries who don't have God's Word in print. Some people hear about God through story-telling.

This partnership with The Seed Company allows the Duggar family to put a link on their popular TV show Web site, connecting people to the KidsDiscover page. In this way, parents who visit the Duggar's Web site for parenting advice or ideas can easily find this wonderful resource to help teach the Bible to their kids.

Kern states, "[The Duggars] want to instill in families--especially in the younger generation--a love for God's word and a compassion for those in the rest of the world who don't have the Word."

This incorporates the passion of The Seed Company and their OneVerse program which works to translate the Bible into the heart languages of all people groups. In this way, children can also learn to have compassion for others who have no printed Scriptures.

One 9-year-old who was doing the KidsDiscover program with her dad got excited about The Seed Company and how they teach people around the world about God. She asked her dad, and they drove up to The Seed Company's location in Dallas, Texas to volunteer for a day.

Kern says, "These young people--their hearts are being moved to have compassion for the lost. So we're very excited about that."

Many have gotten involved already. Entire Sunday school classes have signed up for the KidsDiscover program. To get involved, you can sign up and get involved in promotion through Facebook. Or simply tell other parents about it. If you want to learn more about the program, click here.