THE SACRED PORTION CHILDREN’S OUTREACH A Child Caring Ministry Fall 2011 “And you...shall rejoice in all the good which the Lord your god has given you and your household. And you...shall say before the Lord your God. I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and have given it to...the orphan according to all thy commandments which thou has commanded me...I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God.” Deuteronomy 26: 11, 12, & 14 Our Mission In Memory of Bonnie By Jan Druckenmiller I did not know Bonnie Burgard as a child, nor as a teenager or even as a young adult. My personal acquaintance with Bonnie spanned only a segment of the 49 years of her life, beginning with a The Sacred Portion Children’s relationship through church Outreach is a non-profit and later expanding into a organization dedicated to providing common interest in for the needy children of the world adoption and orphan care. who are without homes or families. As we moved in this realm with Bonnie and her Formerly known in our community husband, Mike, I came to as Southwood Child and Family know Bonnie for the woman Education Center, the organization that she was. Her passion was directly involved for 22 years in for children needing families the development and operation of was profound and played an early childhood program. In 1997 the organization passed the out in her own life through care and continuation of that the adoption of seven program into another’s hands and children. When she passed away in June 2006 from cancer, a the founders, Craig and Jan sizable memorial gift gave rise to the vision of a new baby home Druckenmiller, turned their hearts built in Bonnie’s memory as an expansion of the Rehoboth to serving a more needy population Children’s Home. That gift combined with other contributions of the world’s children. made it possible to acquire a piece of ground in Sampaloc, Philippines as a first step towards the realization of a larger and With a new name and a new more adequate facility to care for the infants and toddlers at mission, the organization seeks to Rehoboth. Memorial gifts designated for Bonnie’s Heart Baby provide better environments for Home trickled in over the next few years, but it seemed that it children living in orphanages and to would be forever in raising the $100,000 needed for the ultimately move them on to brighter construction of this facility. futures through adoption. Continued on page 2 total amount needed for the Baby Home! We are amazed at what God has brought forth through the Hill’s determination to see Bonnie’s Heart Baby Home become a reality. Now that we are almost guaranteed to have the $100,000 necessary for construction, the Hills have shifted their focus towards equipping the Baby Home and raising funds for operating costs. To assure construction of an excellent building as designed by Engineering Ministries International (eMi), they also want to have an additional $10,000 available as a construction contingency. In response to the love and generosity that has been shown in the first eight months of what began as a 24-month campaign, the Hills have now lifted their objective to $125,000 which will provide $110,000 for construction and $15,000 for furnishings. All funds raised above $125,000 will Bonnie’s parents, Dick and be applied to the operating budget of the Baby Home. Muriel Hill, and her sister, Betty Hill, must have felt the same way and decided to get serious about raising the money. The Hills from Virginia launched a Family and Friends Campaign on February 14, 2011. Five immediate family members pledged $20,000 with hopes that other relatives and old friends of Bonnie’s would join them in raising an additional $20,000. That amount combined with the $10,000 in gifts that had been received since 2006 would take us halfway to the goal of $100,000. The hope was that the money raised would then bring forth a matching grant to complete the funding needed for the construction of the The Burgard Family in June 2004 Baby Home. We are so very grateful to the Hills for taking this project to heart People responded and, as and are astounded at how God has expanded their timid goal each month went by, the of $40,000 beyond what any of us ever imagined. We are spreadsheet tracking thankful for the people who knew and loved Bonnie and have donations and pledges inched given so generously from their personal resources. We are closer to the Hill’s goal. By May equally thankful to those people who perhaps did not know this 2011, the total had crossed amazing woman, but whose hearts have been touched by this over the $50,000 mark and project and have responded accordingly. The Rehoboth continued to increase in June Children’s Home is constantly full to capacity. Bonnie’s Heart and July. Then, in August, we Baby Home will meet a great need in allowing us to serve more received a “mystery check” children and to care for the youngest of these children in a more that bumped the funds up to adequately designed facility. How exciting that it is actually $95,000, just $5,000 short of the going to happen! 2 What’s Next? With the success of Bonnie’s Heart Baby Home Family and Friends Campaign, construction of the Baby Home is scheduled to begin in the early part of 2012. We, the Druckenmillers, have plans to move our family to the Philippines in June of 2012 for a nine-month stay to oversee the construction of the Baby Home. There are so many day-to-day decisions that have to be made during the construction process and it is very important to us that the Baby Home be built in a way that will make it an excellent facility for caring for infants and toddlers. This upcoming adventure is very daunting to us as a family. Yet, we know that it will be a rich experience and have long looked to the day when we could become a part of the daily heartbeat of the Rehoboth Children’s Home rather than just travelers coming and going. I have posted the following inspirational words by my desk in the office and look at them whenever the thought of transporting a family of six overseas feels too crazy and overwhelming! Fear not the risks of braving the wilds and unknown in your service for God. Fear more the regret of never having the opportunity to serve Him in that special way again. Rehoboth Expansion Project Time Table Finalization of blueprints for Baby Home December 2011 Druckenmillers travel to Philippines to finish details of Medical Clinic January 2012 Spring break work team March 9 - 17, 2012 Break ground on Baby Home March 2012 Grand opening of Medical Clinic April 1, 2012 Druckenmillers move to Philippines for nine months June 2012 Construction of Baby Home March 2012 to April 2013 3 Bonnie’s Heart Baby Home Contributors From November 2006 to November 2011 Robert & Cheryl Darling Karel Foti Dr. Christian & Elizabeth Knudsen Beatrice Tourtellotte Ron & Micki Huisenga Bruce & Donna Betts Paul & Arlene Wylie Paul & Mary Darling Michael & Kathy Danielson Claire Kimm Arthur Darken Robert Hoyt & Ann Yoshihashi Jack & Tana Devine Frederick & Barbara Kenney Ruth Yoshihashi Judith Worley Thomas & Lori Vassar George & Deborah Haynes Brian & Peggy Swanson Andy Yousko Berryville Baptist Church Ken & Corrine Zichovich Carl & Helen Shuster Jack & M. Jane Bentley Robert & Kathleen Braaksma Phyliss Wolff Matt & Kathy Black Diane Johnson Ken & Brenda Easton Stephen Plays Diane & Edwin Wolf David & Evelyn Dicky Wade & Julie Louthan Harris & Weiel Financial Group Nancy Hall Barbara Plays John & Kathleen Allen Robert & Sharron Hill Betty Hill (in memory of her sister Richard & Muriel Hill Thomas & Glory Sullivan Bonnie’s birthday on Nov. 17; in Rick & Carla Radovich Beverly Zbryowski memory of Phyllis Clark; in honor Joseph Ahern Doug & Linda Nydam of parents Dick and Muriel Hill’s Vernon & Ruth Ann Tourtellotte Capt. USN/Ret. Hal & Doris MIller anniversary; in honor of Bob and John & Beverly Tromsness Steven & Christine Carpenter Sharron Hill on the occasion of Stanley & Lois Burgard Craig & Valerie Deeney their birthdays) Michael Burgard Mary MacFarlane Margery Hill Miriam Rasmussen If you would like to make a contribution to Bonnie’s Heart Baby Home Family and Friends Campaign, please make your check out to the Sacred Portion Children’s Outreach with a notation that it is for Bonnie’s Heart Baby Home. Making a pledge of an amount to be gifted over the next few years is another option that some people find easier on their finances. Thank you so much! Spring Break Mission Trip 2012 A work team to the Rehoboth Children’s Home is being planned for March 9 - 17, 2012. This short-term mission trip is open to people of all ages who would like to serve in some capacity. Manual labor will definitely be involved for those who are able to help with the beginning stages of construction of Bonnie’s Heart Baby Home. This will involve a lot of digging, hauling buckets of concrete, shoveling gravel and sand, and laying concrete block. People who are not able to do manual labor can serve in other ways such as holding babies, providing activities for the older children at Rehoboth, or helping to solve technological problems with computers. There is something for everyone! People who are interested in participating in a mission trip but need to raise the money to go can do deputized fundraising through The Sacred Portion Children’s Outreach.