My Nonprofit Reviews

I’m a shy person who doesn’t enjoy being the center of attention. As such, I have always dreaded events like fathers day and my birthday - until this year.

A couple of months before those “special” days, the Missions Coordinator at our church showed me a brochure from the International Disaster Emergency Service (I.D.E.S.) It was titled “Choose Gifts That Change Lives!”. The catalogue addressed vividly, with words and pictures, the desperate needs of struggling people through out the world and, most importantly, offered opportunities to help them in the name of Christ. For example:

For as little as one dollar, one could provide a fish that a poor family could raise and
ultimately use to provide a meal for their family.

For the cost of a cup of barista coffee one could purchase a coffee plant that would
grow and provide income for an entire family in need.

$50.00 would help a missionary assist someone in starting a pig farm.

And then I found the solution for my “special” days dilemma - A water buffalo. I told family and friends that instead of parties and gifts, I wanted all gift money to be collected and sent to I.D.E.S. for the purchase of a water buffalo for needy folks in Myanmar. The buffalo would be used on farms, in place of a John Deere, to clear fields and till the ground.

My wife collected the gift money and I.D.E.S. did the rest. Money was sent to a local missionary who purchased the water buffalo and delivered it to a struggling village where he is used to help others and as a very effective conversation starter about the love of Jesus Christ.

Thank you I.D.E.S. for making my last birthday the best I have ever had. I can’t wait till Christmas.