Not Without You

March 9, 2010

Not Without You Fueled The Micah Project

By Tahni Cullen, Promotional Director

Eagle Brook just came through an amazing month of February geared toward compassion. Based on Micah 6:8, The Micah Project challenged us to love, mercy and action in this world. In case you didn’t catch the connection, did you know that The Micah Project initiatives were driven and funded through Not Without You dollars? If you give to Not Without You, you can know that you played a great role in building into the hearts of thousands of Eagle Brookers. And, I’m willing to bet you were stretched and challenged through the experience personally, as well.

We don’t want the experiences of The Micah Project and the inspiring teaching of “The 6:8 Challenge” to just be a great memory. It’s about momentum for new perspectives that will engage action as a lifestyle. It’s considering love as a verb.

Here’s a quick recap of what happened in February 2010:

Nearly 11,000 volunteers from our church and community packed 2,325,888 meals for Feed My Starving Children—a state record! Remember, our plan was to pack 2 million meals, but response was so great that we boosted our amount. Our cost for the food itself was $390,000. Just about $100,000 was underwritten by businesses, and the rest came from Not Without You funds (paired with a portion of the Jan. 16/17 weekend offering that was entirely dedicated to helping four partnering organizations on the ground in Haiti).

You sponsored 1,482 more kids in Mozambique! EBC hosted the World Vision Experience: AIDS exhibit at the White Bear Lake campus. Nearly 2,500 people came to “Step Into Africa,” and get close to the personal stories of those deeply affected by poverty—and see where hope is prevailing. Not Without You funds are funneled into Mozambique through World Vision regularly, AND personal child sponsorships boost that effectiveness. Combine the number of kids that were already being sponsored with the new tally, and nearly 2,500 kids are now sponsored at $35/month. That’s more than $1 million a year just through sponsorship!

Hundreds of people became interested in short-term missions. In 2010 so far, Global Impact has had nearly 500 people express interest in going on a short-term mission trip, and with the addition of the ORPHANetwork in Nicaragua and Healing Haiti organizations as partners, we have significantly increased opportunities to send out larger groups. Check out more info about Global Impact and Local Impact serving opportunities.

The 5-Day Meal Challenge made real hunger personal. It’s hard to know just how many attenders engaged in our challenge to eat like the world’s poor, but we got dozens of emails about the impression it made. Here’s what just a few people said:

“It has definitely made me think about the people that live this way every day.”—T. du’Monceaux

“We have learned that we are a society of convenience. The food is terribly bland. I never thought I would look at cornbread as a dessert!”–P. Herda

“I cannot believe what an awakening it has been. My empathy level has risen, and I know that I am going to become a stronger steward and servant of God.”–G. Schafer

Suzanne Lee wrote an insightful blog post on her family’s experience (including her kids ages 6, 4 and 1 who participated) with the 5 Day Meal Challenge: go there.

Patty Wynn summed it up well, “I don’t ever remember a week where I’ve felt so generous.” In fact, up through Easter she said she and her friend will try to do the meal challenge every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. “I’m a changed person,” she said.

After February, I think we’ve all been changed and challenged to respond in some way.

>>>Enjoy watching a couple of local news stories on Feed My Starving Children and Step Into Africa.

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