Pampanal Island

One week from today, Julie and I with Jon and Kelly, will be heading up Mount Whitney.  Julie told me this morning that in the early morning hours she had a bit of an anxiety attack about the climb.  “What if I don’t make it to the top?  What if I don’t get to kiss you on the summit on your 50th birthday?”  “You’ll make it,” I assured her.  Truth be told, I’ve awakened a few times in the middle of the night with similar concerns.

So why Whitney?  Why climb?  Why plant a church? Why care for children?

This past January I was in Ecuador with Wess Stafford and a group of church leaders who were visiting new church plants that Stadia and Compassion had partnered together to launch.  The results?  Overwhelming.  Community transformation.  Children fed.  Eternities changed.  One of the most dramatic works of God I have ever witnessed.

Tom Jones, the Executive Director of Stadia, made us aware of an island off the coast of Ecuador–Pampanal–that needed a church.  An island on which several thousand people live in homes built on stilts because the island is covered with water at least two days a month as a result of shifting tides.  An island where disease, alcoholism, unemployment and despair run rampant.  An island where Compassion International cannot care for children because there is no local church.  An island that desperately needs the hope of Jesus.

Already there are a group of Christians traveling to the island of Pampanal every week.  A group of Christians loving the children of the island.  A group of Christians ready to launch a new church.

What will it take?  $80,000.

$80,000 will provide the structure, the salaries, the ministries for children for years to come.  $80,000 will change the future . . .

Why Whitney?  Why climb?  Why plant a church?  Why care for children?

I pray God speaks to your heart as he spoke into mine . . . I simply could not ignore the need.

I am asking you to partner with us.  Would you please consider sponsoring Julie and me on this climb with a donation for every foot ascended? The summit of Whitney is 14,505 feet.

1 cent per foot equals $145.05.

2 cents per foot equals $290.10.

3 cents per foot equals $435.15.

4 cents per foot equals $580.20.

5 cents per foot equals $725.25

10 cents per foot equals $1,450.50.

1 dollar per foot equals $14,505.00.

Please respond in the comment section below with the commitment you are making.

100% of the monies will be invested in children at risk!

All investments are 100% tax deductible.  A receipt will be provided by RiverTree Christian Church.  Please make all checks or money orders payable to RiverTree Christian Church (7373 Portage St NW, Massillon, Ohio 44646), and write Climbing4Kids on the memo line.

Julie and I will do our very best to make it to the top of the mountain.  Thank-you for partnering with us, Stadia, Compassion, Climbing4Kids,  and for the children in Jesus’ name.

You can follow our climb here at www.gregnettle.com.

For further information about Compassion International visit www.compassion.com.

For further information about Stadia visit www.stadia.cc.