Dec 2013 Update

Dear partners and friends of Mission Emanuel,

I suspect this is one of way too many emails arriving at the end of the year and am thankful that you have opened this one and read it this far already. I hope you will stay with me all the way through as it contains critical information concerning the present and future of Mission Emanuel. So called professional fund raisers teach that a short letter is more likely to be read, but this one is too important to limit it to the Reader’s Digest condensed version.

You have stood alongside us as co-laborers in the war against spiritual and physical poverty in the world. Your personal participation, contributions and prayers have sustained our work. As a result of your partnership you and Mission Emanuel has delivered hope to the hopeless; lives have been radically changed, both Dominican nationals and American short-term missionaries alike; whole families have been blessed and drawn closer to our Loving Father and to each other; literally thousands of children especially have heard of God’s love for the first time and seen it in action in oh so many ways. I know God has blessed you as well as them because of your past support.

The end of 2013 brings us to a point where the organization desperately needs your help again. As of October 1, we took a huge step of faith and set out as an independent Board-governed, non-profit organization. We have established or headquarters in Winston-Salem, NC. Our staff is working diligently to inform all of our partner individuals, families, churches, and organizations to transition into our independence. Most of our donor-partners have made the move with us, but we still have not successfully gotten the word out to everyone. The transition has been costly and time intensive: attorneys and accountants had to be contracted with to guide through the maze and get us set up properly; not-for-profit accounting software needed to be purchased and our data needed to be converted; and so many other things had to be thought of, prioritized and completed that it is mind boggling to look back and see how far we have come.

And, of course, all the while we had payrolls to make in the DR and here in the US. Mission Emanuel’s staff has worked diligently continuing their normal ministry assignments as well as shouldering a portion each of the transition burden.

Our immediate future and long term prospectus is solid! God continues to bless our ministry and is opening even more new doors and providing more avenues for being a part of changing lives in the year to come. Before I get to the point of asking for your financial help, may I share a few examples of what I am talking about:

• Provisión del Cielo – our water purification ministry – has exceeded their goals for increasing distribution in 2013! Seven new distribution points have successfully launched, each of which is providing healthy pure water And income for the families who sell the water from their homes.

• Cielo Preschool and Nazaret grammar schools are full to capacity, providing a quality Christ-centered education to nearly 500 children. American sponsors underwrite the cost of between 80% and 90% of each child’s private educational costs.
• Chariots of Cielo – our new therapeutic wheel chair production and distribution ministry was just begun last month and has already been able to provide custom fitted wheelchairs to over fifty children.
• The Short-Term Mission Program is experiencing exponential growth as the word gets around about the effectiveness and permanence of Mission Emanuel’s ministry. Nearly 550 young people and whole families served with us in 2013 and already we have topped 650 perspective short term missionaries holding space for 2014.
• The Medical Center Pediatric Clinic continues to treat 100s of children each week and the Dental Clinic is on the verge of a major expansion of scope and services.

As it stands right now we will fall short in December by at least $100,000 and perhaps by as much as $150,000 in a worst case scenario. If I were you I’d be asking a serious question having just heard of this critical situation: “Jack, if I can and do send in a donation to help right now, will it really make a difference? How are you going to get through 2014 and not have another deficit next year?”

And I would answer my own question: “Almost to a person, every donor we have finally been able to reach and share our news with has pledged to catch up on their arrears pledges of support. Our budget is balanced for next year. The added growth in each of our ministry areas is being underwritten and becoming less and less dependent upon our general budget. Mission Emanuel is well governed. We are deeply appreciative of The Gathering and their excellent Board for overseeing us for these past 17 years, but it is also wonderful to now have our very own Board of dedicated men and women. Our problem was caused by the transition to independence – one that was entirely necessary and well planned out. We just didn’t foresee the difficulty in communicating the changes to our partners. Mission Emanuel is solid – more so than ever! We just have to get through this rough patch.”

So it comes down to the question: are you able and are you willing to help us end 2013 out of the red? I know you have many others asking for an end of the year gift, but frankly (though I am certainly swayed by being personally involved in this one) I cannot think of a better place to invest! You’ve been a part of this phenomenon called Mission Emanuel and know firsthand too that it indeed is a responsible and worthy ministry.

Please stop right now and pray about this and if you then sense God’s leading, please send your contribution to our new office in Winston-Salem, NC, using the word DONATE below. Also, a reminder that should you wish to donate appreciated stock, you can avoid all capital gains tax resulting in all of the proceeds going directly to the ministry of Mission Emanuel. Please call, email or write Holly or Lindsay at the office for further details on how to go about donating stock.

Quoting Paul as he wrote to his brothers and sisters in Christ who were part of the church at Philippi, ” I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

May God Bless and keep you and guide you to a closer walk with Him through this coming Christmas season and into and through the New Year of 2014.

~ Jack

Together we can continue to make a huge CHANGE in the communities of Cielo and Nazaret! If you feel led to make a contribution today, simply click on “DONATE” and you will be switched to the page that will help you complete your donation.”