Reminder: Meme invited you to join Facebook...

2009-07-18T14:58:00.001-07:00

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Hi Microseeds,

The following person recently invited you to be their friend on Facebook:

Meme Stephens
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Other people you may know on Facebook:

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Facebook is a great place to keep in touch with friends, post photos, videos and create events. But first you need to join! Sign up today to create a profile and connect with the people you know.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

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#083, Caritas MUKAGASANA

2008-09-20T06:58:00.001-07:00

#083, Caritas MUKAGASANA, originally uploaded by stephensfamilyflickr.

Caritas MUKAGASANA is 26 years old and has 1 child. With a loan she will be able to start a small business selling tomatoes.

Fall 2008 Cycle

2008-09-08T04:31:00.002-07:00

Yes, you can make a difference!

What can you do to help children and families living on less than $1 per day? Last spring we found out. Thanks to your generous support we provided 78 loans to hard working women and men in Rwanda!

$50 to many people in the United States means very little, its a meal out, a pair sneakers...it won't even fill our cars with a tank of gas anymore.

But to mothers and fathers, young men and women, boys and girls in rural Rwanda it can mean the difference between hope and despair.

microseeds.org 2.0 - The Fall 2008 Cycle

This fall we are starting our second loan cycle in Rwanda (microseeds.org 2.0). Our goal is to empower these hard working entrepreneurs with the capital they need to break the grip of poverty. By providing a small loan of $50, you are empowering your neighbor in Rwanda to buy fish, charcoal or flour to bring to market, helping them to build small businesses that they can use to feed their children and families.

Meet Rose (picture left). Rose sells charcoal. Someone just like you supported her with a loan during the last cycle. And this is what Rose said:
"I cannot find words to explain my thanks for the people who have given me the money to start my business....May God bless them; they have done a great thing for my family...."

What's New in 2.0?
We spent the month of August reviewing the first cycle and came up with a number of improvements that help increase the effectiveness of the work and decrease operational costs.

Here are just a few:
* We have already sent 54 loans back to Rwanda to be used in the Fall Cycle! (Thanks to everyone who donated loans during the last cycle!)
* 5 to 1 you preferred to donate the loans to the entrepreneurs verses lending the money. Since it is much more time and cost effective for us to operate with donated loans and since most of you preferred to support the ministry this way, we are going to focus on requesting donated loans this cycle.
* We hope to make the donation process easier. There will be one button for loan donations. Press the button and then choose the number of loans you wish to donate. After you make a donation, we will send you a picture(s) of the entrepreneur(s) you have funded for the cycle and a brief description about them. If you have any particular request about the type of entrepreneurs you wish to fund (younger, older, women, men, etc.), just note this with your payment and we will do our best to match your requests.
* You will receive at least one picture and quote back from every funded entrepreneur you fund for the cycle. (It may not sound like much, but this is challenging to do from rural Rwanda :)
* Shorter cycle just for this fall. We are going to try a 3 month cycle just to see how managing a shorter time frame works and to make sure we are ready to launch the third cycle in the beginning of the new year. What will remain the same? [Photo] Basically everything else....
* We will continue to provide ZERO interest loans to people making less than $1 per day.
* We are a distinctively Christian ministry that works with the Church in the developing world to serve and empower the poor in Jesus name. Entrepreneurs hear the gospel and receive Christian teaching and support.
* Solidarity groups are formed among the entrepreneurs. They meet in these weekly "small groups" for the purpose of mutual support, prayer, instruction on how to develop their businesses and loan repayment. If someone defaults on their payment, the group covenants to repay the loan.
* The joy of serving Jesus in this very unique and life giving way!!!! Fall 2008 Goal = 100 Loans! We have 54 loans in Rwanda today. We have another 13 loans worth of funds in the bank ready to go over from those of you who did not want your Spring '08 loans returned (You guys are awesome!). That means that we only need 33 loans to reach 100 people this fall!
God can do this through us! Be part of it! Please fund a loan today.

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"Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely..."(Ps 112:5)
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How do I fund a Loan?

Click on the button below. It will guide you through the process:

Donate [https://www.paypal.com/cgibin/webscr?first_name=Meme&last_name=Stephens&undefined_quantity=1&business=stephensfamilyemail@yahoo.com&image_url=&return=&cancel_return=&item_name=Donate%20a%20Loan%20-%20Fall%202008&amount=60.00&shipping=0&currency_code=USD&item_number=DONLF08&cmd=_xclick]

$60 per loan.
($50 principal, $10 administration fee)
All donations are fully tax deductible.
If you prefer to donate by check. Please send the check to the following address:

Microseeds
P.O. Box 4007
Manchester, NH 03108
If you prefer to be a loaner instead of a donor (and get your $50 back at the end
of the loan cycle), click here: I want my principal returned at the end of the
cycle. [https://www.paypal.com/cgibin/webscr?first_name=Meme&last_name=Stephens&undefined_quantity=1&business=stephensfamilyemail@yahoo.com&image_url=&return=&cancel_return=&item_name=Fund%20a%20Loan%28s%29%20%28%2450%20loan%20plus%20%2410%20Admin%20fee%29.%20%20%2450%20returned%20at%20end%20of%20cycle.%20&amount=60.00&shipping=0&currency_code=USD&item_number=LOANF08&cmd=_xclick]
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How do I become a Sustaining Member of microseeds.org?
Your contribution of $10 or more per month will help to cover the ongoing costs
of this ministry. There are many costs involved in placing loans effectively on
the ground in Rwanda: Technology costs (websites, communications, etc), transfer
costs (PayPal fees, bank fees, etc.) and program costs (staffing the program in
Rwanda and here in the US).

Your tax deductible, monthly donation of $10 or more will help to empower
this ministry, so that together, we can empower the poor in Rwanda to break the
grip of poverty in Jesus name. To set up an automatic donation of $10 or more per
month to microseeds please click here:

Subscribe [https://www.paypal.com/cgibin/webscr?first_name=Meme&last_name=Stephens&undefined_quantity=1&business=stephensfamilyemail@yahoo.com&image_url=&return=&cancel_return=&item_name=Monthly%20gift%20to%20Sustain%20Microseeds%20-%20%28To%20increase%20monthly%20value%20increase%20the%20%22quantity%22%29&amount=10&shipping=0&currency_code=USD&item_number=SubF08&cmd=_xclick]

For a one time gift to sustain the ministry please click here:

One Time Gift [https://www.paypal.com/cgibin/webscr?first_name=Meme&last_name=Stephens&undefined_quantity=1&business=stephensfamilyemail@yahoo.com&image_url=&return=&cancel_return=&item_name=One%20time%20gift%20to%20Microseeds.%20%20%28To%20increase%20gift%20value%20increase%20the%20%22quantity%22%29&amount=50.00&shipping=0&currency_code=USD&item_number=OneTimeGiftF08&cmd=_xclick]
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"...I thank my God every time I remember you." (Philippians 1:3)
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Questions? Please contact:
maggie@microseeds.org [mailto:maggie@microseeds.org] or scott@microseeds.org
[mailto:scott@microseeds.org]
Warmly,

Scott, Meme, Maggie, John and Jenna
microseeds.org

"If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that
the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your
poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs." (Deuteronomy
15:7-8)

Give the Gift of Hope this Christmas!

2007-11-04T04:54:00.000-08:00

microseeds.org
“Planting Seeds of Hope, One Person at a Time.”

“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done.” (Proverbs 19:17 NIV)

Dear Friends,

Give the gift of hope this Christmas! Did you know that 60% of the people in Rwanda live on less than $1 a day? Imagine trying to raise your children on less than $1 a day. Imagine if there were no jobs to find and your children were hungry…. What would you do? There are literally millions of people in Rwanda in this situation right now. But this Christmas you can make at difference! You can plant a seed of hope.

What is Microseeds?

Microseeds.org is a Christian microcredit ministry that gives small loans to people trying to break out of the grip of poverty.

1) You lend $50 to a specific person in Rwanda for six months.
2) They use that money to help build their family business.
3) At the end of the six months the money is returned to you or you can lend the money again.

What is distinctively Christian about Microseeds?

1) Lenders pay the interest ($50 principal +$10 admin cost = $60 total).
2) A Christian fellowship is formed with the borrowers. The borrowers meet weekly in small groups and regularly in large group prayer meetings.
3) Microseeds works with the Church in the developing world, empowering the witness and ministry of the Church by caring for the poor.

How Can I Plant a seed of Hope?

1) Go to http://www.microseeds.org/
2) Pick a person you would like to lend to for six months
3) After six months your money is returned to you, less $10 administrative costs.

Yes, that is right…at the end of the six months it will have only cost $10 to make a significant change in the life of a family trying to break out of the grip of poverty. And God will take that small seed of faith, that microseed, and multiply its impact.

Like Jesus said, a wise steward will want to multiply the impact of his Talents. By investing in the life of your neighbor in Rwanda through Microseeds.org, you will be a wise steward (see: Matthew 25:14-30).

For more information, please contact us at the email below.

Please, give the gift of hope this Christmas.

Warmly,

microseeds.org
info@microseeds.org

microseeds.org blog

Reminder: Meme invited you to join Facebook...

#083, Caritas MUKAGASANA

Fall 2008 Cycle

Give the Gift of Hope this Christmas!