Making a difference with your small group

"Thank you sir for what you did for my family"
The note was simple and to the point, and a surprise for me. The return address was from a name that sounded vaguely familiar. As I opened the mysterious brown package that the card had been attached to, I was greeted with four large bags of homemade pretzels.
That's when I remembered.
A few months before I received my package I remember reading an article in my local newspaper "Local Vendor Assaulted and Robbed." The story was bad enough but not only did some young hoodlums beat this poor man and left him for dead, but they stole all of his money and his watch. This man who had been saving money for a long time had his rent and his grandchildren's Christmas gift money stolen a few weeks before Christmas.
Now I was not normally one to feel sorry for people, and back then even if I did feel sorry for people I didn't normally go out of my way to help people. Though reading that this man might lose his home and would possibly spend the holidays in a hospital bed got to me, and it tugged the strings on my heart. I looked his address up in the listings and sent him the twenty dollars that I had not spent of my paycheck.
I actually forgot all about it until I saw the note I read. Not only did I find out that the vendor received my gift, but he didn't just take my money he sent me his great pretzels. I talked to a few other friends, and found out that they also read the article and sent money to him. To us it was our leftover cash, to him it was a great miracle.
With a few people giving a little here and there, we were able to create a miracle for this man who was dealt a terrible situation beyond his control. It has been almost ten years since that rainy March day when I received those delicious pretzels. I have never forgotten it, and I am pretty sure neither has he.
I would like to talk to you about Global Family Rescue a little. You probably hear alot about organizations that help people all over the world, and this group focuses on helping people in Rwanda. What impressed me about Global Family Rescue is that they don't just throw money at the problem like so many charities tend to do. They have a plan to meet families basic needs and work to make them self sufficient in three years.
Do they have results? Yes! The lead pastor of our church Dave Ferguson and his family has sponsored one of these families through Global Family Rescue. (You can read about Faustin and his family here , just scroll down and read the travel entries.) Not only can Dave tell you that this programs works, but he went there and got to meet the family that he sponsored.
Where does this all fit in? Well one of the best things to help a person grow and make lasting friendships is small groups. The church that I attend has many small groups that meet weekly. One of the best things a small group can do together is work together, much like a group of us helping the snack food vendor.
The $60 dollars a month to sponsor a family is not just a little change for the average person, but a small group of with ten or more people in it could raise $60 to sponsor a family a great deal easier. For the benefit of those of you that hate math, that is about $6 dollars a month for a person.
So for one person in a group working together for the cost of an extra value meal at Mcdonald's or an appetizer at a theme restaurant, you and your small group can change a family's life forever.
So talk to your small group about it and think about this. You may not get pretzels if you do this, but you can make a difference in peoples lives. It is one of the greatest things you can do for them, but also it is great for yourself.