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JANUARY 2002

(1 John 3:16-18,NKJV):  By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
This is the scripture that compels us.

January, 2002
Greetings from Vietnam,

I can only praise His wonderful name! In addition to our usual work last month, which is enabling almost 100 children to go to school, and provided financial assistance for medical care for many others, we have added four more families to our feeding program, have delivered the 20 sewing machines to Tien Phuoc, provided Christmas gifts to over 600 street children (another organization helped with half of this), 42 handicapped children, and 200 children in the church. For most of the street children, it was the first Christmas they had ever celebrated. We even had Santa come from Alaska (see below)!

We are asking God to provide funds ($500 a month) to keep Family Home #3 open. This is a special family consisting of many special-needs young boys. Thanh is one of these boys. He is a pickpocket, and would be in jail if not for the Street Children's Program. In addition, we believe God is leading us to expand our scholarship program in Da Nang by adding 15-30 vocational training scholarships, and to do additional work in Tien Phuoc, Quang Nam. Please pray with us about this, and for God to provide the funds.

    Here you see the re- ceiving ceremony and the sewing class in Tien Phuoc. Most of these live in the high- lands and travel over 40 km. They are provided room and board during the week and return home on the weekend.    
       

Above are the delighted faces of just a few of over 600 street children. "Santa Claus" is Rex Scharp of Alaska and "This I Know Family Builders" ministry who came for a visit. Rex is the husband of Janet Scharp who was here in the spring. See newsletter. And, yes girls, the beard is real! If any of you would like to visit us, please email me at reggiecoward@hotmail.com.

PLEASE SHARE THIS PAGE WITH 10 OR MORE PEOPLE AND ASK THEM TO PRAY FOR VIET NAM


God bless you, Reggie


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January 2002 News Bulletin

Subject: Vietnam's population growing by a million a year.

HANOI, July 12 (Reuters) - Vietnam's population is forecast to increase by more than a million a year over the next decade, despite efforts to cut the birth rate, state media reported on Thursday. The Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper quoted the director of the Committee for Population and Family Planning, Tran Thi Trung Chien, as saying Vietnam had tried to cut the birth rate over the past 10 years, but it was still around 2.3 percent. Vietnam has targeted a reduction in the birth rate to 1.1 percent by 2010 and in the child malnutrition rate to 25 percent. Chien told a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday to mark World Population Day that more than 33 percent of children younger than five are now malnourished.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a report last month that Vietnamese children were among Asia's most malnourished, even though the country is one of the world's largest rice exporters. UNICEF said up to 45.4 percent of ethnic minority children in Vietnam's Central Highlands suffer from malnutrition.

Deputy Prine Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the same Hanoi meeting that Vietnam has a 10-year national population strategy which seeks to raise people's knowledge and health and boost vocational training to match job requirements. Vietnam's population now stands at around 80 million, against about 47 million at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975

The government now faces the task of creating jobs for an estimated 1.3 million to 1.4 million people entering the work force each year.

Note: L.O.V.E. in no way endorses any kind of forced or coerced population program, and is always strongly opposed to abortion (Vietnam has one of the highest abortion rates in the world). The main point of this article for us is that Vietnam's children are in overwhelming need of nutritious foods, education, and other of life's necessities. We are reaching out to as many as the Lord will use us - through your support - to provide for. If you can help in any way, financially, or in much needed prayer support, please contact us.
Thank you.