We're in our second week of feeding underprivileged at-risk foster kids at Lonesome Dove Ranch in Texas. Mercy Chefs has been part of this annual outreach for four years, and this year we helped complete the permanent kitchen that will enable this ministry to reach even more hurting kids.
+ + "These kids wrecked me"
But the kids aren't the only ones touched by our efforts to feed body and soul. This is also a life-changing experience for the workers on site. Here's what one of our volunteers shared about her experience:
I had the honor of helping prepare and serve the meals that fed a camp of foster children. These kids wrecked me in a way that was so humbling. As the joy upon each activity would shine in their sweet faces, I couldn't help but weep at all I knew they carried.
This week, these beautiful little beings learned that God is with them, even in them, and loves them so much. They were encouraged to leave whatever it may be that they no longer sought to carry at the cross. As I read over stones that were placed at the cross, I wept.
I was broken because I realized that the moment that I left my idea of what ministry looked like in my mind at the cross, I was set free. I was free to serve, to live, to give, to teach, to impart, to go, to be used for HIS glory. ... He knew I would one day be able to feed body and soul.
+ + We're serving meals all week and need your help!
Mercy Chefs is in our second week of preparing and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for dozens of special campers and the people who care for them. All of the girls and boys attending this camp in Texas are in foster care. They're either orphaned or waiting to find a loving, supportive family.
We've already provided hundreds of meals to "The Roundup" campers and hundreds more to the staff caring for them. But we have thousands more to go! Will you partner with us to serve twenty meals for foster children this week at a cost of just $50?. Your financial and prayer support now will empower us to make an eternal impact by feeding little bodies and souls. Click here to give now:
Amazing encounters for hurting kids...
Lonesome Dove isn't an ordinary summer camp. Each weekly camp brings about 50 children to Lonesome Dove. The camps are kept intentionally small to allow for the most personal attention possible (there are two staff for every one camper!). The goal is to meet these kids at their point of need and create an opportunity for an encounter with the God who loves them.
Time and time again, amazing things happen. For example, each camp concludes with the children taking a rock and writing on it the worst thing that ever happened to them. They then place that stone at the foot of a large cross that sits prominently on the ranch. For many, it's an unforgettable step in their healing and recovery.
Being at Lonesome Dove Ranch for a week can be a life-changing experience. That's why we're so glad to be a part of it. I hope you will join us in transforming these young lives this week by partnering with Mercy Chefs to feed body and soul. Please prayerfully consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount to help us complete this important, life-changing work.
Thanks, in advance, for your support.
Blessings,
Gary
P.S. It costs Mercy Chefs about $2.50 to prepare and serve a hot, nutritious meal for a camper or volunteer. That means your gift of $50 can feed 20 foster kids this month. Perhaps you can give more to help us reach more kids. Go here:
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