Join Five Talents at re:mix March 27-29!

If you’re looking for something to do in late March, I have a suggestion…

The re:mix young adult conference will be March 27-29, in Asheville, NC. This conference is for anyone age 14-30 and is offered by Rock the World, an evangelical ministry that focuses on multiplying young Christian leaders.

re:mix 2009 will be led by worship band and national recording artists Shane & Shane, and the keynote speaker will be Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, who was considered one of the "Best Speakers” at Urbana 2006. These are leaders who will inspire and shepherd young adults to consider following Jesus with total abandon: whatever the cost, wherever the place, whenever He calls.

As an added bonus, you can opt to come to my workshop, “Christian Microenterprise Development: Small loans. Big impact.” during two afternoon sessions. ;) For more information and to register online, visit www.rocktheworld.org/remix .

Hope to see you there!
Kelli

Inauguration Day

Sunday night I was driving back fromour church home group on Interstate 66 headed east from Haymarket to Fairfax, VA. The big neon traffic signs reminded all drivers that there would be delays on Tuesday because of the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, Barak Obama. On Tuesday all the bridges from Northern Virginia into the District will be closed and security will be tight. There is an exciting buzz of anticipation for change.

Living near Washington, D.C., there is this ever present aura of self-importance and power. In the end this can be a self-fulfilling delusion or illusion that keeps real change from happening. As individuals we become our own personal saviors. We believe we can make things happen on our own power. We make decisions based on measurable goals and become blind with ambition as we network with other high-powered people convincing them our plan is the best one. In this area of the world, we sometimes look at the government as an entity that bestows salvation. The government will fix the economic crisis, health care and education. With a few consultants and a lot of money, we start to believe the federal government will save us. Technology becomes another savior. A faster computer, a more energy efficient car, robots to clean the house and all will be well with the world.

As Christians we can’t replace God with these false idols. Only God can save us. And it is through individuals that God performs this miracle using flawed sinners like Moses, King David, and in our time, Martin Luther King, Jr. In Acts 4, the Apostles are called uneducated and ordinary. Yet they changed the world!

The theme of Episcopalians for Reconciliation is What Can One Person Do? The reason I serve on the EGR board is that question is powerfully liberating. The follow up question is, “What is God Calling me to do?” It is a question we must ask ourselves this inauguration day.

Are you being called to be the next Moses, the next Martin Luther King, Jr.? Or are you called to be the person who makes sure the elderly neighbors have enough to eat and heat in their homes on a cold wintry day.

This inauguration day is about change and a new future. Use this day to inaugurate change in your own life. Ask God through prayer and reading the scriptures to set a call on your life. So you may find out what you can do to further God’s mission and to change lives for the better.

Craig Cole is the president and CEO of Five Talents International, a member of Diocese of Virginia's Mission Commission and an EGR board member.

Your Life is Busy. Let Five Talents Make it Simpler.

This year, you can make a life-changing impact on poor entrepreneurs, like Salome from Tanzania, and their families through the gift of a small loan.

By becoming a Five Talents Faithful Servant Giving Partner, your monthly donation is automatically deducted from your bank account or charged to your credit card for as long as you desire. You don't need to make a phone call or mail a check to contribute to Five Talents.

These recurring gifts will provide Five Talents with the funds necessary to respond to the ravages of poverty on the world's poor by providing deserving entrepreneurs with small loans to start a business. As these loans are repaid, your contribution will be reinvested and given to other poor entrepreneurs!

What are the Benefits of Becoming a Faithful Servant Giving Partner?
* Saves You Time and Trouble. Your gift arrives at Five Talents monthly, even if you are on vacation or busy.

* Offers You Options. You can be a Faithful Servant Giving Partner either through your checking account or with your credit card.

* Keeps You in Control. Simply by sending a written notice to Five Talents, you can change the amount of your gift, change which bank, bank account or credit card is being charged, or cancel your monthly gift.

* Gives You Joy. You know you are providing immediate help through small loans and business training to deserving entrepreneurs ... every month of the year.

What is the Annual Impact of Your Monthly Gift?

$5/month: Help a poor man start a shoe repair business.

$10/month: Give a working mom the hope of educating her children.

$15/month: Provide business training for six people through a community loan program.

$25/month: Give life-transforming loans to two people in a developing country.

$50/month: Help a poor woman purchase a cow and become self-sufficient.

$100/month: Create jobs that will transform the lives of 200 people.

YOU can Fight Poverty by empowering the poor, Create Jobs through small loans and business training and Transform Lives by giving hard-working entrepreneurs the dignity of supporting their families and providing economic opportunities for their communities.

Become a Faithful Servant Giving Partner today!
Click here to make a monthly gift through your credit card.
Click here to make a monthly gift through your bank account.

Got Talents? Five Talents Launches Fellows Program

Business professionals, graduate students, seminarians and clergy can now lend their talents in a unique way to Five Talents International as a Five Talents Fellow.

Dedicated individuals with an interest in serving the poor through Christian microenterprise development can now apply to work as a volunteer fellow with a Five Talents partner in Africa, Asia or Latin America for six months to one year. Fellowships will start during Summer 2009. Applications are due Monday, March 2, 2009.

The Five Talents Fellows program was created as a response to the demand from both partners asking for assistance with specific projects and from volunteers desiring to lend their talents to serve the poor through microfinance. The program is designed to strengthen the work and mission of Five Talents to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by advancing the goals of its local partner institutions with meaningful projects or research.

Given the high demand for involvement in the rapidly growing field of microfinance, this program offers significant benefits for interested candidates, including substantial exposure to the unique mission of Five Talents.

For more information or to apply, visit www.FiveTalents.org.

Established in 1999, Five Talents International has provided funding for business training and thousands of loans, ranging from $50 to $300, in 15 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Each loan finances a microbusiness that, in turn, supports up to six other people. A majority of the loan recipients are women.

Five Talents’ ongoing work is supported by a staff based in Vienna, Va., an office in London, England, and a program office in Kampala, Uganda. Hundreds of volunteers across the United States and United Kingdom participate in the ministry.