We're all in this together.

I was recently challenged by a good friend of mine to write out my life goals.  I didn't realize just how good this was going to be for me, until I did it.  I not only ended up writing out my life goals (for now at least), but I also ended up writing out some influential things people have said to me, as well as some things that people have asked me to be a part of.  It was great to sit back and reflect on all of this.  If you have never done that, I would highly recommend it.

I took many things away from my writing and reflecting but what I want to talk about now is one of my favorite things about this world, we weren't meant to do it alone.  By reflecting on some of the influential things that people have said to me, I realized just how much God uses us all to encourage, teach, speak truth, and keep each other accountable.  I can't thank those people enough that have loved me enough to be there for me.  I don't know where I would be without them.  

God has recently been using people's words as well as his own (the Bible) to teach me about myself and the man He has called me to be.  I feel as if God is calling me to step it up in a lot of areas in my life and to be honest, I don't always think that I can.  I don't always think that I can do everything God is calling me to do, but here's the best part, I don't have to do it by myself.  Not only do I have other people to help me along the way, I have the God of the universe on my side!  It's such a relief to know that I don't have to do everything on my own.

I want to take a second to say thank you to all of you that have been a part of my life, it means so much to me and I value all the time I've had with each one of you.  I am also trying to make it a large part of my life to be there for others as much as I can (this is one of the first life goals I wrote down).  Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you, even if you just need someone to talk to.

I want to leave you all with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that I love.  "I may not yet be the man I should be or the man, with Christ's help, I someday will be--but thank God I'm not the man I used to be!" 

An amazing video for your viewing pleasure.

Here is a video that Jon Strong, a good friend of mine, made for Summit Church.  It is a video from a trip that he took to Malawi, Africa with Children of the Nations.  Jon is very talented and the video is definitely worth watching.  The video talks about his trip and shows how the trip changed him and his heart.  It is one of my favorite videos ever.

Malaria in Africa.

Below are some facts about malaria that I have recently been reading about in a book called "The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey D. Sachs.

I thought I would give you some facts about malaria and why it is so bad in Africa.  Malaria is a potentially fatal protozoan disease transmitted by a certain type of mosquito, the genus anopheles.  Malaria is completely treatable, yet still claims up to 3 million lives each year, mostly young children, about 90% of whom live in Africa.  Malaria causes an estimated 5 billion (yes, billion not million) clinical cases per year.  Almost everyone that lives in tropical Africa contracts malaria at least once a year.  Low cost treatments exist but often do not reach the poor.

Many people just attribute malaria in Africa as something that is their fault or something that they could easily just get rid of, in reality it is a lot more complicated.  They have found that there is a two-way correlation between poverty and malaria.  In other words, malaria somewhat helps to cause poverty and in areas with poverty, it is easier for malaria to thrive.  But there is a lot more to it and Africa has a lot of things stacked up against them when it comes to malaria.

First of all, there are 4 types of human malaria.  Malaria caused by the pathogen Plasmodium falciparum is by far the most lethal and is responsible for most malaria cases in Africa.  Malaria caused by P. vivax is widely distributed outside of Africa and is far less lethal.  

Second, malaria is transmitted when a female anopheles mosquito bites a human that is already infected with malaria.  Once the mosquito ingests the parasite, it takes two weeks till the mosquito can pass on the disease, which is also roughly the life span of the mosquito itself.  Within those two weeks, the parasite goes into the mosquito's gut, undergoes a life-cycle transformation, and makes its way to the mosquito's salivary glands.  You may be asking what does this have to do with anything.  Well in warmer weather, which Africa has plenty of, this process is sped up making it easier for mosquitos to pass malaria from human to human.

Finally, some mosquitos prefer to bite humans and some mosquitos prefer to bite cattle.  This is a huge factor in the spread of malaria, seeing how malaria must consist of two human bites about two weeks apart.  Africa unfortunately has mosquitos that prefer humans nearly 100% of the time.  India, on the other hand, has mosquitos that prefer to bite humans only about a third of the time.  This means that mathematically, it is nine times easier for malaria to spread in Africa than it is in India just due to the difference of mosquito species.

With all that being said, there is still much that can be done about malaria in Africa.  It is not a hopeless situation.  Household spraying, bed nets, and antimalarial medicines can all be used to make leaps and bounds in the right direction.  The problem lies in the fact that African citizens don't have the money that would be needed to make all that happen.  With the proper funding and supplies, we could drastically reduce the amount of deaths caused by malaria in Africa.

I hope this has been informative and interesting to you all.

What does it mean to be on support?

I realize that not everyone understands the term "on support."  Many of you may have questions such as am I just fundraising for the ministry, am I raising my own expenses, etc. 

What does it mean?  To be a missionary on support means that you raise your yearly salary and all ministry expenses.  This isn't done by car washes or selling candy bars.  It is done by forming a partnership with people who are interested in the ministry or just plain care about the person.  The partnership consists of financial giving.  It's typical to give a certain amount monthly.  One can also donate a one time gift.  I use the term partnership because it is important to me that those who have given, no matter how big or small, know that they are an important part of the work that is being done.  I can't do it without them.  I send out regular updates on what is happening and how your gift is benefiting thousands of people around the globe.

Where exactly does the money go?  Many people wonder if just a portion of their donation is actually going to the staff member of choice.  In some organizations, the ministry does take a percentage of it.  However, in COTN 100% of the money goes to who or what you choose.  So, when you decide to support a staff member, it goes directly into their account.  Once 75% of the amount needed that year is committed, and 3 months are actually in the account, the staff member is able to start full time.  Then they are paid by the organization just like a regular pay check out of their account.  The donated money, and much prayer, is what makes all of the life-changing things happen.

How can I give?  There are two main ways to give.  The first is online.  The direct link is http://www.cotni.org/opportunities/9 or you can go to www.COTNI.org, click on "Make a Donation," and then scroll down and click on "Support a Staff Member/Missionary."  You then fill out the amount, my name (Andrew Neal), and the frequency (how often you want to donate that amount), and then click "Add to Basket" and follow the instructions from there.  The other way is by check.  Make checks payable to Children of the Nations or COTN.  Mail it into the Florida office.  P.O. Box 948339 Maitland, FL 32794.  Include a note with who it is for or write the name of the staff member on the envelope.  If you choose to give monthly by check, you will get a receipt mailed to you with another envelope that you can use for the next month.  You also may send in a voided check with a note stating you wish for $XX to be taken out for donation each month.    

Will I be given a receipt?  Yes.  With any method used, a receipt will be mailed to you.  Since it is made out to COTN and COTN is a 501c3, meaning it is a tax-deductible non-profit organization.

I hope this helps you to understand support more, let me know if you still have any questions about it.

What I get to do.

I know that some people may have questions about what I do for Children of the Nations.  As you may know, I am the Florida Intern Coordinator, but what does that mean exactly?  What does a Florida Intern Coordinator do?  In short, I get to connect college-aged students to what God is doing in all of our countries.  This allows them to experience God's work first-hand as well as help the mission accomplish many things that they wouldn't be able to do otherwise.

Let's first talk about what all falls under the internship department.  The internship department consists of 3 programs.  It includes 2 month interns, year-long interns, and local interns that will work in our America offices.  2 month interns are generally college-aged students that we send into our countries for 2 months each summer.  These interns get an experience of a life-time while being able to accomplish things such as teaching english, teaching God's truth, running camps, playing sports, loving on the kids, running small groups, helping with AIDS awareness, etc.  Year-long interns are interns that we send into our countries for a year.  They are generally recent college grads but don't have to be.  We don't send year-long interns unless they have a specific job that they are going to do.  An example of this is that we currently have a special education teacher in Malawi who is working to set up and help run a special education program for the students in Malawi with special needs.  Local interns are college-aged students that want to do an internship in our local offices.  Local interns can help in many ways such as helping with out yearly banquet, setting up coin-banks, helping administratively, etc.  Local interns are not just volunteers, they can not only get college credit, they also have a mentor throughout the whole process that is helping they to grow in their knowledge and skills.  

As you can see, the intern department involves many exciting programs.  As the Florida Intern Coordinator, I get to be a part of all of these programs.  I am involved at every stage in the programs including recruiting, training, leading groups, following up with the students, and helping the interns figure out what they may be able to do to help once they return.

So that's what I do in short.  I hope this helps you understand a little more of what I do and as always, please feel free to ask me any questions that you may have.  There is a lot more that I could talk about but I didn't want this post to turn into a novel.

I feel so lucky to be able to be a part of all that God is doing through COTN.  I really can't think of a single thing that I would rather be doing.

Me and COTN.

I have been given the opportunity to go on staff full-time with Children of the Nations (COTN), a non-profit organization that works with orphaned and destitute children in Africa and the Caribbean.  The mission of COTN is to raise children who transform nations.

Below is an excerpt from the first letter I wrote explaining more about what I am doing.  I wrote this letter in June of 2008.

Dear friends and family,

I hope you are doing well!  I am.  I am excited to let you know about what is new in my life.  I am finishing up my run at UCF with a major in Business Management and a minor in Non-profit Organizations.  It took a few tries to get there, but fortunately I landed on a major that suited my passions.  I knew I either wanted to work with kids, help build things such as homes for people in need, or work with global issues.  To my enjoyment, God has presented me with an opportunity that includes all three.  I am joining the staff of a non-profit organization called Children of the Nations (COTN), which is the one that I went to Malawi, Africa with this past summer.  I became more and more impressed with COTN's work each day that I was in Malawi.  With that being said, I would love your partnership in this.

COTN is a non-profit organization that works in the Dominican Republic, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda to help orphaned and destitute children by providing meals, clothing, healthcare, education, discipleship, and aid.  COTN currently cares for over 8,000 children on a daily basis.  The AIDS pandemic, war, racism, and extreme poverty have horribly affected the children of these countries.  In each country COTN has missions primarily staffed by nationals.  Their goal is to not only aid these children, but to empower them to become the future leaders of their communities and even their countries.

My position will be the Florida Intern Coordinator.  The intern department works to train, equip, and empower college students to mentor and develop generations of children into leaders who transform their nations.  My position will include recruiting, training, and leading the interns to help them use their passions within COTN.  I will also be working with COTN on some program development projects.  The first project that I hope to develop will enable high school students to get more involved with our mission.  It has been incredible for me to see the hearts that some high school students have, and I hope to give them a way to use their passions to care for these individuals.  I am excited to see how God will use these interns and students.

For those of you wondering if this means that I will be overseas or if I'm still going to be in America, the answer is yes.  I will be working out of COTN's Florida office for most of the year.  However, I will travel overseas once or twice a year to lead interns and gain valuable knowledge for my job.  I am going to the Dominican Republic for a month this summer as an intern leader.  This trip will help me to understand the department inside and out.  I look forward to experiencing and getting more fired up about what COTN is doing.

Staff members of Children of the Nations are on support.  This means that they raise their salaries, benefits, and ministry expenses through the support and contributions of friends, family, and other organizations.  I am raising $40,ooo for my first year.  My goal is to raise this by the 1st of July so that I can focus more on the work ahead.  I am asking you to prayerfully consider partnering with me in this effort.  All of your support will be greatly appreciated.  Since you are a part of my team, I would love to keep you informed.  I will be sending out regular updates to tell you how everything is going and to share stories of how lives are being changed.  Thank you for all that you do.