TEN DOLLARS CAN HELP ALLEVIATE POVERTY - "50 States" Update

One of the three ways you can provide monthly support for the children and families of La Limonada is by simply making a commitment to give TEN DOLLARS a month - through "TEN2END" - our campaign to end poverty, injustice, hunger, hopelessness and despair in the largest urban slum in Central America.

TEN DOLLARS

Many here in the US easily spend $10 a week on fast food or specialty coffee drinks. We spend three times that or more on pizza for our families on a Friday night.

$10 is also equal to what it costs to feed one child at our schools in La Limonada - FOR ONE MONTH

Join TEN2END today... or encourage your friends and family members to join... and help put your state on the map as part of our "50 States in 50 Days" campaign! To sign up for TEN2END now, click on the Donate button below and select "TEN2END" from the fund drop-down menu on our secure online Donation Page.

Group Schedule For 2010

The group schedule is shaping up for 2010. We are very excited about each of the groups who will be traveling to Guatemala to spend at least a week in La Limonada!

We have already hosted a medical/dental team from Pennsylvania and a dental/construction team from North Carolina so far this year. Our groups range from four to twenty people and are from 8 different states in the US.

Here is what the schedule looks like for the remainder of the year:

March 15-17: Life of Hope - Joplin, MO
March 21-28: Origins Community - Boulder, CO
March 22-25: One Day's Wages - Seattle, WA
March 23-24: Life of Hope - Joplin, MO
March 25-27: Estrategia de Transformación - Guatemala
April 18-24: Life of Hope - Joplin, MO
May 2-8: Lifepointe - Raleigh, NC
June 13-19: Bridgepoint - Houston, TX
June 20-26: The Well - Philadelphia, PA
July 11-17: Trinity Baptist - Mentor, OH
July 14-16: Life Of Hope - Joplin, MO
July 18-24: Lifepointe - Raleigh, NC
July 25-31: Rivers Crossing - Kings Mills, OH
August 1-7: University Baptist - Houston, TX
August 8-14: Rivers Crossing - Kings Mills, OH
October 3-9: Chapel Pointe - Hudsonville, MI

If you are interested in leading a group to serve in La Limonada this year please send an email to bill@lemonadeinternational.org or call 919.848.1553.

Teachers Meeting - Rejuvenation

Our teachers and staff are the most amazing group of people that I have ever worked with. They pour their lives into the children and community every day, fighting to give them more opportunities and choosing to walk beside them, love them, and encourage them through good and very difficult times.

Once a month we meet together with the staff from both schools. Last month we went bowling. Today we went to a local park to play basketball, and had an absolute blast!

Dealing with the reality of life in La Limonada every day (the poverty, brokenness, and despair), it's wonderful for us to get away for a little bit and enjoy being together, being silly, laughing, playing, etc.

It helps to refuel us, and to bring rejuvenation to some of the weary parts of our hearts.

-Tita Evertsz

Sam's 11th Birthday - Dedicated to Helping The Children of La Limonada

One of our child sponsors, Nona, from the Cincinnati, OH area, has been to La Limonada two times in the past six months and has passionately shared with her friends about what God is doing in the community and in the lives of the children there.

Nona's experience in La Limonada inspired her friend, Susan, and her family to sponsor a child... and Susan's son, Sam, was inspired to dedicate his birthday to helping the children in La Limonada.


Here's the story of Sam's birthday party from Susan...

"A couple of months before Sam's 11th birthday we were talking about what he might want as a gift and about party ideas. We had thought about sponsoring some type of organization the previous birthday and it just didn't work out. After our friend, Nona, had made her visit the Guatemala we really felt led to sponsor a child. Sam is the only brother to 4 sisters and wanted brother! So, the decision to sponsor then turned into 'what more could we do'.  There was our party idea!

We had the party at our church gym and Sam invited all of his friends and classmates. We played dodgeball, basketball, and had all kinds of contests. The kids had an awesome time! We set-up a Lemonade Int'l table at the entrance to the gym. I had included pictures from Nona's trips and made a notebook with information about La Limonada. We had lots of questions and a lot of interest from the parents and kids about La Limonada.

One mom said that when her son received the invitation he was very puzzled by the fact that it said 'no gifts'. She later said 'thanks for showing that everything doesn't always have to be about us'."

With the help of his friends, Sam raised $360 from his birthday party for our work with the children of La Limonada!


Sometime in the spring we'll be sharing a new initiative to empower people all over the country to create networks and "tribes" within their communities to advocate for the children of La Limonada... and Sam's birthday party is a perfect example of just that!

Sam, thank you for following your heart and for dedicating your birthday to the children of La Limonada!

64 Children In La Limonada Need Sponsors - "50 States" Update

As we reach the 14-day mark in our "50 States In 50 Days" campaign we are focusing on our Child Sponsorship program.

The children of La Limonada live every day under the effects of extreme poverty. Hunger, physical and sexual abuse, drugs, neglect, horrible living conditions, gang activity, violence, and prostitution surround them.

We believe this is an issue of injustice. We believe every child has a right to grow up in an environment where they are loved unconditionally, nurtured, educated, provided with proper nutrition and protected. And this is what every child experiences at our two schools in La Limonada.

Over the past two years, 301 children in the community have been sponsored by individuals and families here in the US. The impact this has had on the children is immeasurable. People here in the Sates have an opportunity to be connected with a child in La Limonada through prayer and through a personal relationship established through correspondence (and in some cases through personal visits).

Right now there are 64 children at the two schools in La Limonada who are not sponsored. One of those children is Jaquelin Polanco.

Jaquelin is 13 years old and she lives with her grandparents, father, aunt, and cousins. She is extremely timid and shy. She is in 3rd grade, and school is hard for her. She is surrounded by extended family, but her dad is addicted to drugs (we always see him on the street walking near one of the schools and he is almost always strung out on drugs). Her mom lives within the community as well but in another barrio.

Kate, one of our team members in Guatemala, said of Jaquelin,

"She is just so sweet and I think she could really use the support, love and prayers that come with being sponsered. I honestly think it could be life changing for her to know that someone picked her and committed to love and pray for her. Her cousin is sponsored, and I think it would make a huge differnece for Jaquelin to be sponsored."

In Matthew 25 Jesus painted a picture of himself being hungry, thirsty, treated as a stranger, naked, sick and imprisoned. He said there would be those who would ask 'when were you all those things and when did we help you?' (paraphrased). He said his reply would be,

'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' - Matthew 25:40

To sponsor a child now, go to our website and click on the "Sponsor A Child" icon and follow the instructions provided.

Help spread the word to your friends and family members in your state and other states around the country by forwarding this email along with a personal note, or send them a link to this blog post, update your Facebook status with a link to the Lemonade Website or make a good old fashioned phone call to encourage someone you know to sponsor a child.

Thanks for all you do to make a difference in the lives of the children of La Limonada!

Donnie Long - Living & Working In Guatemala

Yesterday our friend and team member, Donnie Long, arrived in Guatemala and now begins the process of settling into his new role as Director of The Lemonade House and Group Coordinator. His responsibilities will include leading a house full of interns and being the point person and host for groups traveling to Guatemala to serve in La Limonada.

Donnie had been a friend for several years and has been an instrumental part of helping to establish Lemonade International as an organization. He has spent countless hours volunteering his time over the past two years developing our website and capturing our work on film. He has devoted the past several years of his life to serving internationally - traveling to Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

He is a life-long learner of other cultures and has worked very closely with Ramon Crespo in several of those countries, the Missions Director at his home church, Lifechurch in Allentown, PA - gaining invaluable international experience.

Donnie absolutely loves children and has a passion to see them freed from injustice. The children in the La Limonada community beam with smiles when they are with him. He has dedicated his life to doing whatever God wants him to do - wherever that may be. He lives very simply and has a humble heart. He adds value to our work through his organizational and business skills. And you can't spend ten minutes with him without laughing!

We are very excited that he will now be giving his full-time to serving the La Limonada community.

More about Donnie...

Interests and Passions: musician - guitar, snowboarding, travel, fighting injustice of any kind

Family: Mom, Dad and brothers Mark and Ryan

International Experience: Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala. Experience includes everything from helping to lead orphanages to installing water systems, building walls, digging foundations, painting schools, video documentation of trips, co-leading teams with Missions Director

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Minor in Business from Temple University (2004), Concentration Certificate in New Media, Certified for the Living Waters for the World Clean Water System for Field Surveying and Water Testing, Managed band through high school and college

Donnie's role with Lemonade International relies on the financial support of family and friends of his and of our organization. To provide him with regular monthly support - click on the Donate Button below - then select the "Support A Team Member" Fund and "Donnie Long" in the drop-down menus.

Thanks so much for your support of Donnie as he moves forward with this big step in his life to serve in La Limonada!

Sponsor A Teacher - "50 States In 50 Days"

We are 7 days into our "50 States In 50 Days" Campaign and with 43 days to go it's exciting to see people spread the word about ways their family and friends can support the work in La Limonada. One new child sponsor shared a post titled, "Lemonade? Yes, please!" on her "Handmade Musings" Blog. Thanks so much, Angela!

Here is our "50 States" map as it stands today:

To provide some motivation for states with current partners (in light green), we are only going to change the state color to dark green once there are three new partners for that state! The states in white where we do not currently have partners will change to dark green as soon as we add one new partner in that state. Currently, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas are close to being turned to dark green!

So, continue to help us get the word out to people you know in your home state and those who live in other parts of the country!

This week we are focusing on our "Sponsor A Teacher" program. The teachers and other staff members at the schools in La Limonada currently make approximately $7 a day. The average worker in Guatemala City makes $14 a day. For $50 a month you can help to provide one of the teachers with a fair wage while building a personal relationship in the process.

We'd like you to meet a couple of the staff members at the schools...

Gloria started working for us last summer. She had asked Tita earlier for work, but at the time there were no openings. Soon after her husband and some other gang members robbed delivery truck drivers who were bringing us construction supplies, we had an opening for cleaning. And by the grace that only God can give, it was clear that she was the person for the job. Gloria is an extremely hard worker and always willing to do whatever is asked. She's fun, playful, and loves to joke. She also loves to play sports, especially basketball. She has 3 children, and her husband has been in the drug and alcohol rehab that Shorty leads for almost a month now.

China (pronounced "Chee-nah") just started working for us this year. In the past she had been robbing people on the streets with her sister, but was really convicted in her heart about doing so. She also had been asking Tita for work for some time. After China spent some time praying to God about her situation, she learned that there was a job opening. Soon after she joined the staff as a cleaning person at one of the schools. China is also an amazing worker, and is just as much fun as Gloria. She's been a quick learner, and has become an invaluable part of our staff. She has 3 little children and just recently took in her niece and nephew after their mom left them. So now she's responsible for 5 children.

To sponsor one of these staff members or another one of the incredible teachers and staff members at the schools who give their lives to serve the children and families of La Limonada go to our website and click on the "Sponsor A Teacher" icon (just like the one to the left) for instructions.

Thanks again for helping to spread the word about this movement across the United States!