A Time for Giving

Christmas is a time of year when most of us take special notice of the needs of those less fortunate, and there are so many great organizations out there that you may or may not have heard of. So we asked some of the Homecoming artists to tell us about their favorite charities. Here is information on two great charities from Mark Lowry and Lily Isaacs!

MARK LOWRY...
My favorite charity, at Christmas or any other time of year, is www.AllAboutCare.org. Cynthia Karraker runs the ministry. They do summer camps for children infected and affected by AIDS. Cynthia is a modern day Mother Theresa.

LILY ISAACS…
Three years ago, I had an experience that changed my life forever. In 2007, The Isaacs teamed up with World Vision. It is the most wonderful ministry I have ever been associated with. They are a worldwide relief organization. We decided as a family and a group to broaden our mission work and sponsor an entire village. We prayed about it and picked one of the most remote areas in the world… Musele, Zambia.

The Isaacs now sponsor 9 children in Musele. This sponsorship program allows these children to eat 3 meals a day, supplies necessary medicine when they need it and makes it possible for them to attend school regularly, which most of them cannot afford. Thousands of children in this part of the world have NOTHING! I mean, not enough food to live on, no proper clothing or shoes, nowhere to sleep and no one to care for them. Many of these kids are raised by friends or relatives because their parents died from AIDS. We started presenting this project to all of our friends out on the road during our concerts and I’m thrilled that we currently have partners that help us sponsor 1600 children in Musele.  

In December 2008, we wanted to do something special for all our business associates. It was nearing Christmas, so we purchased 200 chickens for some of the needy families in Musele and sent them the gift “In behalf of our business partners.” Our friends received a card that said they just gave a chicken to a family in Musele, Zambia. It was so special and gratifying to give that gift to someone less fortunate than we are. I believe those chickens were the most rewarding gifts we have ever given to anyone.

In May of 2009, we had the privilege of visiting Musele, with World Vision and Michael Bianchi (our WV representative) and seeing first-hand what our finances and gifts were giving these beautiful people. We stayed in Musele for 4 days with the village people and met our own sponsored children along with many others. It has truly changed my life! I was thrilled to meet my little girl, Mosoli. We were invited to walk into the little hut, where she lives with her family of 7. It is a one room hut with a dirt floor. As I picked her up and held her close to me, my heart just melted. I wanted to embrace her and protect her. Really, I was tempted to just bring her home with me!! Of course, that was not an option, but I do continue to sponsor my 2 children, Mosoli  and a little boy named Isaac.  I especially love sending extra gifts them. They need clothing and school supplies. I also like to give an extra gift through World Vision at Christmas to help these people who are so dear to me.

Yes, Christmas is a time of giving and I will never forget our little village — Musele, Zambia! This place has truly changed my life and I pray for all the kind people we met there and especially the World Vision staff that gives selflessly to help others. I pray for them daily and also pray you have a blessed holiday season!