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A heartfelt salute to our Betikara sponsors.
Living and working
in Madagascar is not easy, and there are days when for a fleeting second
we wish for a bit of relief. But, on the other hand, sometimes you
do all the work and we get to have all the fun.
Last week, I walked
into the Betikara center with a large padded envelope in my hand.
It had come many miles across three continents and over an ocean.
It was wrinkled, dirty, and taped back together where it had ripped open
during the journey. Some astute and caring postal worker along the
way had taped it back together.
Immediately,
every child in sight was at my side with a hopeful look in his or her eyes.
All of them had huge smiles on their faces. Every mouth had a greeting
but the questions were all in their eyes. I prolonged the fun for
as long as I could, ignoring the package in my hands.
“Hello.
How are all of you today? What’s new? (Every eye went to the package.)
And where are the rest of you? Who’s behaving and who’s being stubborn?
Who’s having a good day today? And who’s having a bad day?”
Still all eyes
were glued to the package and every little body rigid with expectation.
Enough is enough, I thought. Fun is fun, but torture is not fun.
“It’s Robert’s
day today!” I exclaimed, but that didn’t dampen the fun one bit.
Still all eyes remained glued to the package and smiles remained on every
face. Even when one gets a special package, all enjoy the fun and
anticipation because each of these lambs has at least one special friend
outside of Madagascar, who not only sends funds for food or clothing for
their lamb, but also sends bits of love in the form of special packages
for birthdays, holidays, and even for no reason at all except love.
That’s why we
are saluting our Betikara sponsors, and the best salute of all is one you
can’t even see. Robert’s face gets a bigger smile than ever.
His eyes get wider, and he walks a little straighter with a little bounce
in his step. He reaches carefully for the package, never forgetting
to say thank you (Why does he always thank me, I wonder.) He turns
away from me quickly and races to a place where he can open it, usually
with eighteen other lambs in close pursuit, and it’s sure to be quite awhile
before I ever get to see what was inside.
I wait patiently
on the sidelines while fun abounds and oohs and aahs of admiration fill
the air, knowing that eventually Robert will come back to me and tell me
that he will have a note of thank you to send off to his friend the next
day. It’s more predictable than the weather. This day, though, had
a little twist. Robert promised a thank you and he had a question
for me too.
“When is Leecia’s
(Robert’s sponsor) birthday?” Tante (Auntie), “I want to do something special
for her on her birthday.”
Thank You, Betikara
sponsors. You not only feed, clothe and educate them. Your
bits of love that come from far away also teach these lambs how to love
and for that we are deeply grateful!
How do we operate here at Betikara?
Betikara operates
entirely off of free will donations. We try not to ask anyone but
the Father above for our needs. We tell about what we are doing here
in Madagascar, and He is the One who puts it in your hearts to serve and
love by helping Betikara. We are thankful so many of you are willing
to love and to serve. Your love touches Malagasy lives in a very
special way.
Betikara receives
donations from church groups, small groups such as Bible classes, and from
individuals. Some donations are one time donations for a present
need, and some are monthly donations given for a specific purpose.
We could not
operate Betikara without our Betikara sponsors who take on the responsibility
for helping one particular lamb at Betikara. These sponsors give
much more than money. They send cards and letters, they send special
packages for birthdays or holidays, or just to brighten any day.
They send photos of themselves and develop a relationship with a lamb even
from a long distance. Some of them have even come to visit their
Betikara lamb.
Currently, we
use $75.00 US per month to properly care for a Betikara lamb. This
amount covers food, and partial clothing and education. Monthly or
special donations cover medical needs, salaries for caregivers, and rent.
Some sponsors give the entire $75.00 to support their lamb. Others
give $50.00 or $25.00 per month and share the sponsorship of a lamb with
another person. Twelve of our current Betikara lambs are only partially
supported at present. There is a need for sponsors.
Here’s how it
works. Someone of you who loves and wants to serve reads our newsletter,
accesses our website, or hears about us by word of mouth and inquires about
the possibility of sponsoring a Betikara child. They contact us using
email or regular mail and let us know of their desire. We welcome
them by return letter to the Betikara family, introduce them to the lamb
they will sponsor with a photo and some information about that child, and
they begin sending support checks of $25.00, $50.00, or $75.00 to the church
in Indiana, PA, (see address below) which oversees the donations given
to Betikara. Periodically, Betikara sends sponsors an updated photo
of their lamb and a progress report. At that point, it is up to each
sponsor how much they want to be involved. Some put much effort into
developing a relationship with their particular child, some are minimally
involved, and some make an effort to touch the lives of all the children
as well as the particular lamb they sponsor.
In any case,
we deeply appreciate our Betikara child sponsors and every person who has
ever made any effort at all to get to know us and support us with love,
donations, and prayers. You are all very special to us.
Special donations were given
to Betikara this month
In Memory of
Dale Craig
Hilton Terry
Betikara is keeping the families of these men in prayer.
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