Polk-Haralson Baptist Association
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Partners in Missions and Ministry

Opportunities to Support Missions

 

 

 

"Buckets of Hope" - Feeding the People of Haiti one Family at a Time 

 

 
Click link for a video with instructions on filling the Bucket of Hope
 
 

 

The "Buckets of Hope" ministry is just one means by which Baptists can fulfill the mandate of Jesus Christ to feed the hungry in the name of Jesus. As we are reminded in Matthew 25:45, Jesus tells us, "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." (KJV)

A "Bucket of Hope" consists of a plastic five-gallon bucket packed with selected foodstuffs. For approximately $30 anyone can purchase the materials and assemble a "Bucket of Hope." The food contained in a single bucket will feed a Haitian family for a week. You are also requested to include a $10 cash contribution, placed in an envelope and attached to the lid of the bucket, to offset the cost of transporting the relief buckets to Haiti.

 

Every bucket must be exactly alike with a specific list of items inside. Please follow the detailed instructions  carefully. This will ensure that every bucket quickly passes through customs and into the hands of the Haitian people.

Put a bucket together and you can be a part in touching the loves of tens of thousands of Haitians. Please bring all buckets  to the Associational Office before March 8th, 2010.  

Instructions on How to Assemble "Buckets of Hope"

IMPORTANT!

New guidelines have been added because of the difficulty experienced in the required white bucket.

The Bucket

The 5-gallon, white, plastic bucket with handle and form-fitting lid, which must be new and unused, can be purchased at Wal-Mart (sku# 00982650640) or Ace Hardware (Ace# 17714). Apparently Georgia Baptists are not the only ones have difficulty finding white buckets for the Buckets of Hope project for Haiti.  In a conference call from NAMB, it was determined that ANY new bucket, of ANY color with a form-fitting lid will be acceptable.   

It is not necessary to "tape" the $10 to the top of the bucket.  If you prefer, you can collect the $10 per bucket and write one check to GBC.  We will then send one check to NAMB for the shipping for all buckets that we send to Miami for transport to Haiti.  The bucket must not have a logo or other commercial imprint.

The Food Items

The food items can be generic, store brand items. Do not substitute any items listed and do not add additional items.

2 - 5-pound bags long grain enriched rice
1 - 48-ounce plastic bottle cooking oil
2 - 2-pound bags dry black beans (can substitute with red beans)
1 - 5-pound bag of all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
1 - 20-ounce cylinder container of granulated white sugar (coffee service size)
2 - 1-pound boxes of spaghetti noodles
1 - 2-pound 8-ounce (40 oz) plastic jar of smooth peanut butter
1 - 2-gallon plastic ziplock storage bag (used to wrap the bottle of cooking oil)

Packaging Instructions 

1. Before you begin to pack the bucket, pray for the Haitian family that will receive the food. 

2. Lay the bucket on its side
3. Place rice packages in the bucket. Lay bags side-by-side, flat, running in the direction from top to bottom in the bucket. Gently compress the bags (without breaking them) as flat as possible to create room for other items
4. Place the bottle of oil inside a clean, unused 2-gallon storage bag
5. Compress the air, wrap the excess portion of the bag tightly around the bottle, and close the bag. (This is a precaution to protect the foodstuffs should there be leakage or a break in the bottle during transport.)
6. Lay the bottle of oil on top of the rice bags. Lay the wrapped oil container so that the bottom of the bottle is at the bottom of the bucket and approximately in the center of the bucket. Place the peanut butter jar on one side of the oil
7. Place the cylinder of sugar on top of the wrapped oil bottle
8. Place boxes of spaghetti noodles on the other side of the oil bottle
9. While holding the sugar and peanut butter containers in place, stand the bucket upright
10. Place one bag of black beans down along the side of the bucket next to the peanut butter
11. Place the bag of flour on its side on top of the peanut butter, gently packing down the flour bag to clear the rim of the bucket
12. Place second bag of black beans next to the flour
13. Close the lid on the bucket and make sure it is securely closed
14. Place $10 cash (bills only) into a business size (#10) or smaller envelope. Seal the envelope
15. Securely tape the envelope to the lid of the bucket or write one check to the GBC (see information above).
16. Take the Bucket of Hope to the Associational Office before March 8th, 2010.
 

 

How You and Your Church can get more connected to the Missionaries you support

  • Be a Missionary Encourager. Your church can adopt a missionary family, providing prayer support, notes of encouragement, care packages, partnership opportunities, speaking invitations and just about any other type of connection you can imagine.
  • Write. You can look up missionaries and chaplains from any state at www.namb.net/missionaries and find contact information. Individuals can look up missionaries with their birthday – an instant point of connection.
  • Pray. Our main Missionary Prayer Requests page offers a daily request from a missionary, and other resources are available here. After you’ve prayed, let the missionaries know you’re in their corner.
  • Go. Visit The Bridge to find missionaries who need volunteer mission teams for specific projects, and watch the lasting relationships that form as a result.
  • Attend a Missionary Commissioning Celebration. This is a little tough unless the service is in your area, but when one is nearby this is a great way to hear testimonies and meet missionaries soon after they’ve begun their ministry. 

 

Your donation + WMU = Pure Water
 

for communities who have no clean water(women and girls must walk sometimes up to four hours a day to bring home water that will make them sick.), our missionaries, and their families.
Can you turn on the faucet in your home and have a high expectation that the quality of the water that comes out will not be harmful to you, your family, or your guests? If you can, then you are more fortunate than many missionaries!
Since 1997 WMU® has been meeting one of the most basic human needs of communities without water and missionaries through Pure Water, Pure LoveSM. The goal of this ministry is to provide missionaries and the people they serve with clean drinking water, free from disease-causing microorganisms, at no cost to them.
 Anyone can be a part of Pure Water, Pure Love. For more information, go to http://www.wmu.com/volunteerconnection/pwpl/ .
 
 
 
Southern Baptist World Hunger Funds
Help to Feed People in Polk County
 
 Please give to the World Hunger Fund not only will you be helping to feed
people around the world but you will be helping to feed people in Polk County.
To see how you can help go to www.worldhungerfund.com
 
 
 
LifeBox
 
A Ministry to the Men and Women of the United States Military Services
 
Southern Baptist churches, working through Southern Baptist associations, are invited to participate in a special ministry to military personnel. This ministry will be focused on those fighting in combat zones in the global war on terrorism, but it is not limited to those areas.
 
This ministry is voluntary and has no official connection with or approval by any of the United States Military Services. LifeBox is organized and promoted by Southern Baptist associations and LifeWay Christian Resources and has key input from Christians serving in our Armed Forces and a Southern Baptist associational missionary Advisory Team. 
 
The goal: to begin a ministry of mailing special packages to personnel in our Armed Forces (members of Southern Baptist churches, relatives, friends, or military personnel who have requested to receive mail through a web site and chaplains who have requested to receive materials for distribution).
 
The target: to have packages arrive to military personnel by July 4, 2008 (Independence Day). Other suggested mailing targets: Valentine’s Day, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas.
 
contents:
  • At least one LifeWay magazine as the primary focus of the box—HomeLife, Christian Single, Journey (for females), or Stand Firm (for males)—requested by a Southern Baptist Army officer in Clarksville, TN and originator of the LifeBox idea
  • Dan Meyers Acoustic MRE LifeBox CD
  • snacks
  • comfort items
  • personal notes
  • other appropriate gifts
 
Click on the following links for lists of suggested contents, recommended by Christians serving in our Armed Forces:  
Flat rate shoe box for a team of service members to share
 
Who to send to: Get names and addresses from church members and relatives or people in the community. Also, you can get
names from the following organizations: