Do You Shop At Kroger??? Then we need your help!!

Please Read and see if you can help us by doing what you may already do so often... shop at Kroger!!!!!

One of the ways we are raising support for our mission is with the help of Kroger charitable giving program. It is simple and very beneficial it will not cost you anything just a minute of your time to recharge a gift card when you shop. So if you already shop at Kroger for your Groceries, Fuel, or Prescriptions then ask us for a card and use it at the time of purchase and we receive 4% of all recharged on your gift card. This can quickly add up for our family and the Mekong Evangelical Mission team.

The Easiest Way to Earn Money

In 2007, Kroger paid out over $4.1 million in charitable contributions. Out of this total over $2.3 million was for school organizations.

Kroger Gift Cards - The EASY Way To Earn Money For Our Non-Profit Organization & Team

Below are the simple instructions & Frequently asked questions:

Instructions:

1. Ask us for a gift card you can't get them at the store that are linked to us.
2. Simple Recharge your card . . .
• You can recharge your card for ANY amount up to $500.
• Pay for the recharged card with cash, check or major credit card. It's That Easy!
3. We earn 4% on everything you recharge.

Questions

1. How much of a profit is made with the Kroger Gift Cards?

When cards are recharged at the store, organizations earn a 4% rebate from Kroger. This needs to be emphasized with the participants since most people throw away cards after the value is depleted. Non-profit organizations need to encourage their supporters to continually recharge (or add value to) their cards each time they go to Kroger. Gift Cards may be recharged in any amount up to $500.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is important to keep activity on gift cards for organizations to earn their rebate. A gift card with a zero balance for 90 days will be voided out of the system.


2. How convenient is it to recharge the card? Do the supporters need to go to Customer Service to recharge before they start their grocery shopping?

We have made it very convenient for the organizations to recharge their card. Gift cards may be recharged up to $100 at ANY REGISTER. To recharge for more than $100, gift cards will have to be recharged at the Customer Service desk prior to doing their grocery shopping. IMPORTANT NOTE: If the supporter wishes to use the gift card to pay for his or her groceries, the gift card must be recharged AND PAID FOR prior to being used as payment for the groceries. In other words, the supporter must tell the cashier that he wishes to recharge his/her gift card before the groceries are rung. IF the gift card is recharged within the grocery order, it cannot be used to pay for them. The gift card recharge must be done as a SEPARATE TRANSACTION first.


3. What if a supporter loses or throws away their card?

Just like with the gift cards for sale at your store, we cannot be responsible for the card value if someone loses or throws away their card. If someone throws away their card they will need to purchase another card from their organization in order to have it linked to that organization. Gift cards for fund-raising CANNOT be purchased at stores.


4. What can be purchased with gift cards?

You can purchase anything, including fuel and prescriptions, in a Kroger store with the exception of services. Services include: money orders, Western Union, lottery tickets, hunting/fishing license, Ticket Master.

Money does come from heaven!!!!

So we were eating breakfast out this morning and the kids were being friendly with everyone around as usual. Anyway, a long story short we began talking to this sweet old couple about the mission and journey we are on to the mission field. They were asking a lot of questions and we were able to share honestly all that is going on with the Issan people and we were able to share our hearts and the small part we get to play in Gods grand plan there. We sent our son to the car to get them a pray card because they wanted to take a picture of us and we told them we had a better on they could have. So after we were all done eating and talking he came up to our table and asked if Lacy was the secretary of the family and she said "yes I guess I am". he then preceded to put $100 bill in her hand and said put this in your treasury. See God is not only good but He keeps His promises to never leave us or forsake us. He knows our every need and when we make His priorities ours, He takes care of everything...What an amazing God we have....

The Unfinished Task of the "Great Commission"

I am astounded that most Christians in this part of the world take for granted where we live and the freedoms afforded us. I also think that those who do care dont really concern themselves with the real honest facts of the awesome responsibility of the "Great Commission".

Here are some astonishing facts:
1. Spiritual Challenge (Satan does not give up ground without a battle)
-There may be up to 160,000 martyrdoms per year in 50 countries.
-More Christians have been martyred in the 20th century than in the previous 19 centuries combined.
2.Political & National Challenge
-Countries with the highest % of unreached tend to be the most closed to Christianity & persecuted peoples.
-Government severely represses all religious activity and there is systematic oppression, imprisonment and execution of Christians.
-Physical and spiritual starvation of millions of people.
3.People Group Challenge (Remaining people groups are the most difficult to penetrate)
- GEOGRAPHIC BARRIERS: remote, harsh climate, difficult access, or nomadic.
- LINGUISTIC BARRIERS: illiteracy, no scripture in their language, unwritten language, terminology confusion.
- CULTURAL BARRIERS: persecution, closed to change, Christianity viewed as a “foreign” religion.
4.THE CHURCHES CHALLENGE (Here in lies the real problem)
-Imbalance in Missionary Distribution
1. 95% of Christian ministers spend most of their time focused on their own people
2. Of the 5% of Christians who become missionaries 80-90% focus on ethne which are majority already Christian or Evangelized
3. Only 2.5 – 4% of missionaries are focused on the 25 - 28% of the world who are unreached

-Imbalance in Missions Finances
1. Average Christian gives 1.8% of their income to the church
2. 5% of Christian giving goes to missions (15 billion)
3. More is lost to embezzlement (16 billion) than is given to missions each year
4. Of mission funds -- ONLY-- 0.1% - 1.66% is focused on unreached Peoples

All of this to say that if we stay on the same course as "the Church" in general, then the statistics will not change because populations will grow and out grow the number of missionaries and monies going to the unreached.

Example: This is where we should Focus to complete the Task at Hand!!!!













Christian Islam Hindu Buddist Non-Religious