We're excited this year to be supporting IDES--International Disaster Emergency Service--as our missionary!

Offering Help, and Hope to a Hurting World is the purpose of IDES. Since 1973 IDES has served as a channel through which Christian churches meet the needs of suffering people around the world. Their purpose is to provide benevolent evangelism. IDES literally provided thousands of people in 34 different countries that were the beneficiaries of 244 projects in 2003.

Their major projects are development, disaster, hunger and medical, but especially evangelism. In 2003, IDES was able to assist with 244 projects in 34 countries through 121 different missionaries, churches and organizations.

IDES celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2003. Some of the projects they have provided--digging wells in Thailand; displaced victims of tribal war in India received food, blankets and medicine; the Pokot tribe in Kenya received hybrid seed corn and reaped a bountiful harvest; cows with calves so the families would have milk and butter for their families; and hundreds of other projects.

We'll be filling fish banks during the week to support IDES, and we'll hear a little about their work each day during our music time! Each fish holds about $5 when filled with pennies, and our goal is to bring in 250 of them!

Click here to visit their website and find out more.