ruthanndoane-blog

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I have passion but is that enough?

I have passion and have a serving heart because Jesus loves me.

However, that doesn't mean I know how to help girls in Uganda, I am just an average person with no mission experience. 

Well our Amazing God works in marvelous ways and he always has a bigger plan then we can imagine or hope for. I am currently taking a class on Missions at the local college here so I can learn better how to help and assist in missions specifically for the lovely girls participating in a program in Uganda, called The Gift Of A Girl Foundation.

During this learning process, I am hoping that I will gain an understanding of the girls needs and what I can do.  I want to meet them but to go to Uganda for just that seems fruitless.  

   I am going to work on a process so long term I can benefit these girls now and in their future. I am praying and asking others to pray for guidance and resources. When God is on our side, all things are possible!

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I just entered for a chance to win a FIAT® 500! Visit Pop-In@Nordstrom: GIFT & GO to enter. #NordstromPOP

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Change-Just Ahead

I feel like I have been at a standstill with this ministry for some time.  Do I become a non-profit?  Do I start an online store?  Should I continue even doing this?  Am I following what I want or what I feel God wants me to do?  

God keeps placing people in my path that assures me this is what I should be doing.  People are finding me and reaching out for various reasons.  I am so excited with each new contact.  These are just affirmations for me.

I have great strong Christian people in my life who have guided me along this journey.  Sometimes they have come up with advice or answers before I thought of the questions.  

So I have decided for now that I need to concentrate on what I do best, selling the wonderful hand crafted goods made by those who are coming out of human trafficking, keeping them from trafficking, or just to provide them with means to provide for their families.  

God gave me a wonderful gift of service and that is what I love to do.  So going to make a name change that better reflects why this ministry was started.  The name will be revealed soon.  I need to work on changing some paperwork first to reflect the change along with a new logo.  

Thank you for your support and God Bless

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My daughter was about 10 and we were talking about music.  She said, “Music is like a sport for your soul.”  I thought that is very profound and that would be great on a t-shirt.  So why not incorporate this with a fundraising opportunity?!  Manna Global Goods Ministry http://mannaglobalgoods.com/ helps support a group of girls in Uganda through an organization called The Gift of a Girl Foundation.  We have donated funds for the girls educational fees.  Also, we have provided Mosquito nets for them since Malaria is a big problem there.  We are hoping to raise more funds so we can continue fund their schooling and their needs. 

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My daughter was about 10 and we were talking about music.  She said, "Music is like a sport for your soul."  I thought that is very profound and that would be great on a t-shirt.  So why not incorporate this with a fundraising opportunity?!  Manna Global Goods Ministry http://mannaglobalgoods.com/ helps support a group of girls in Uganda through an organization called The Gift of a Girl Foundation.  We have donated funds for the girls educational fees.  Also, we have provided Mosquito nets for them since Malaria is a big problem there.  We are hoping to raise more funds so we can continue fund their schooling and their needs. 

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Life for a girl in Uganda

I want to show you a picture of one of the girls in The Gift of a Girl program in Uganda.  We were able to donate mosquito nets for the girls a while back.  As you can see for this girl and her family they all sleep on a rug under the net.  We have found that in all the homes the whole family which can be at least 5 people sleep under this net to protect themselves.  We will be trying to raise some money for another mosquito net for each girl/family since we see the importance to them.  We have been told that the Malaria cases have drastically been reduced since they received the nets.

  Please consider helping us in future fundraising events or by purchasing some of the hand crafted items that we sell.

  Thank you,

Ruth 

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Nice way to start the day! (at Travel Leaders)

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Link this picture while we were invited to Judith's Hut, one of the bracelet makers for Threads of Hope.  

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One of my favorites of us in one of the villages in Puerto Galera.  

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Thank you for empowering farmers & workers around the world to improve their lives through Fair Trade.  

Every purchase matters.

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Bracelet makers of Threads of Hope sitting at their daily spot on the Tamaraw Beach of Puerto Galera of the Philippines.  This gives them an income so they do not have to find other means!  

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Bracelet makers on the beach

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My will or Thy will?

I have been struggling since I came back from my trip to the Philippines.  I was sure I was seeing doors open and thought God was calling me to possibly quit my job do the ministry eventually full time and find a part-time job for steady income.  I started researching this and asking advice on what direction I could take this ministry and what would that involve.  I thought I had my decision made.  

So on another front I have a full time job currently.  I had been hoping a position would be created for a certain support position.  I was sure it would happen.  After a long time period I gave up on this position which made the above option even all that more enticing.  

So hear I am all excited ready to plow ahead and overwhelmed on what that means and suddenly three things happen.  My daughter tells me she is getting married and I am going to be a Grandma!  What?  This was not in my plans.  

Then I seem to be wore out, tired, sore, and one thing after another seems to be happening far as my physical health goes.  

Last, that job....the one that I thought would never happen, it got handed to me on a silver platter.  

So rather than question what is happening, I decided to embrace everything and feel God is telling me now just might not be the right time to plow ahead with this ministry.  Do I know for sure?  No, I don't.  I didn't feel God talking to me in a cloud, showing me the light in a dream, or anything else.  

I think he may be just telling me now is not yet the right time.  I am going to be a Grandma and need to focus on my daughter and new grandchild when that happens.  My physical health and mental well being also are telling me I am stretched myself too thin.  Also feel I have to give this new position that I wanted a try.  

If you don't know already know me, I tend to do all I can to help and rarely say "no."  However, I think God is trying to tell me that what I am doing right now is enough for his kingdom and to keep the pace and maybe even find a way to give up the torch on some things and concentrate more on others. 

Where this road leads I am not sure.  God will hopefully keep showing me the way with little hints here and there.  Manna Global Goods will continue doing what it does and look for more opportunities to help women out of sex trafficking and disadvantaged children!  

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Lulu and Ming my new Filipino friends!

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These are Fair Trade Crafts that Manna Global Goods sells to support women and children around the world.

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Give Me Your Eyes......

Time is starting to slip away as I am back from my trip and I want to share my thoughts at the end.

The rest of our days we spent times sitting with the bracelet makers that were at the resort. We let them know that we pray for them and what we do when we sell the bracelets. We shared about our lives and they did about theirs.

We talked to a lot of the vendors that were also out there trying to sell us their goods. Many of them were Muslim. We told them they were invited to the Chapel. When the one gentleman told us he was Muslim, we told him that God loved Muslims too!

I thought it was interesting when I came to say goodbye on Thursday morning to the bracelet makers, several of the vendors gave me hugs and the one gentleman said God Bless you. I think they felt the love we had for these women and Jesus shone through us on that beach.

We spent time at the Ministry Center and saw the women come and turn in their bracelets and receive their wages for their work. Then they pick out their thread to make more bracelets. We realized that some ladies make certain styles and the women know who braids which ones.

Once the bracelets were brought in then they are scattered into a huge pile made up of thousands. Several women were counting out 100 and then putting the rubber bands on both end. The reason they scatter the bracelets of everyone is so that when they bundle them they have a good variety of the different styles.

We had a little down time and went to White Beach which is just down the road. It is kind of the party area. We went there for all the vendors. They have t-shirts, jewelry, sandals, etc. The prices are very reasonable.

Wednesday was our last day (March 27) and Alex took us to see a few sights on our last day. We went up to a very high elevation on a mountain which is called the Ponderosa. We went up to the look out and had breath taking views of the area!

Then we went to Tamaraw Falls which was a little bit of drive. Especially since the road to it was very curvy and made almost all of us a touch car sick. The falls were awesome though! It was a great time to bond together in the back of Alex’s Kia also. ;-)

Wednesday night was Prayer service again at the Chapel. We watched a movie and then had to say our goodbyes. I cannot say how much The Matienzo family feels like my Filipino family! They have such a dedication to the church, to the congregation, and to God!

We got up on time on Thursday and headed out to get on the Ferry back with Alex and the Kia to Manila. We headed back and Alex dropped us off at Crystal’s place (Marilyn’s daughter.)

They decided to head out and meet up with some people from Faith Academy, where Crystal works. We went to go see The Pilgrimage. Millions of Filipinos walk to a church in Manila. The church has some special meaning to them. They believe that they are suffering like Christ and that is how they can make themselves right with God. There were millions of people! Streams of people kept coming some walk from their homes which can be 6 miles or more away. However, I could tell that many do this walk, just to do it and it has no spiritual meaning to them. I say that because many of the young people had lighted bunny ears on their heads and were goofing around and not appearing to take it serious. I thought to myself that they do not have to suffer this long journey because Jesus already was crucified to death and took our sin upon himself.

We then went back to Faith Academy which is in a higher elevation than the city of Manila. We sat and watched the lights of the city for awhile.

We headed back to Crystals and got ready to be on the way to the airport at 3 a.m. Our trip back home went smooth!

Brandon Heath has a popular song right now that just seems to sum up my feelings about my trip. Here is the chorus which is the heart of the song:

Give me your eyes for just one second Give me your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me your love for humanity Give me your arms for the brokenhearted Ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me your heart for the ones forgotten Give me your eyes so I can see Yeah, Yeah….

I need God’s eyes to help me see the way he would see people. The Filipino people were so friendly and it was easy to bond with them. I left a part of my heart in Puerto Galera but in the bigger picture, the Philippines. Salamat (thank you in tagalog) for your support and I was so enriched for this experience. I will be back, God willing!