Beautiful Announcement

Friends,

I am so overjoyed to be able to announce to you that we, Beautiful Feet Global Outreach, Inc. (aka Beautiful Feet G.O.) were notified by mail today that the IRS has awarded us official exemption.  We are now a 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Non-Profit organization.

This confirms that all of our donors since 9/29/2010 will be able to claim a tax deduction for every dime donated to our organization.  We are so honored and overjoyed!  Please praise the sweet Lord with us.  We know this is all from Him.  (We received our status in record time...just 6 months!).

Humbly before Christ,

Melissa Irwin,
Executive Director

Updates & Angels

Because of some generous funds received over the past few days we will be wiring at least 1 months rent for each house in Zim on Tuesday of next week.  That will cover May.  We desire to also raise enough to cover June and July....of course...but we are so grateful that God used a precious handful of people to come up with one month so far.  God bless each and every....and the greatest thanks to God the Father who is working in our hearts and teaching us about bits and pieces.  (I love you Lord!)


We are grateful to Chiropractic Nashville who is partnering with us in a fundraiser for the month of July.  We are ecstatic that they will be offering a very special deal to new patients, as well as to existing patients..just for making donations.  They are a GREAT small business who serve the Lord with their hearts, finances and other resources.  God bless your business!


We are grateful to 2 Nashville/Franklin based antique business operators who have pledged 10% of their monthly profits (ongoing) to Beautiful Feet G.O.  This chokes me up on the highest levels.  They are both women of God who serve with FIRE and PASSION and have immeasurable levels of hope.  One of them stated to me on the phone this morning that they dream of being our biggest donor someday.  Well, hallelujah, praise the King!  I pray that too!  LOVE YOU SO MUCH.  You can visit their new blog and find their locations at Vintage Shabby Chicks.  


Mark Mabry - Mark is a web developer, graphic designer, marketing specialist...extraordinaire!  I cannot thank Mark enough for all he has done to launch our web presence and various graphic needs.  He recently designed this incredible poster to be displayed at Chiropractic Nashville for their July fundraiser!  And ProGraphics of Nashville donated the printing, mounting, laminating and framing at Mark's request.  Seriously y'all...... blessings coming together...it rocks my world!

**please click on poster to enlarge it for easy readability.  

And lastly but far from least....  to my friends Kim & Bryan who have just recently launched their business and charitable organization...  Eraselets and Erase World Hunger.  They have pledged for Erase World Hunger to serve Beautiful Feet Global Outreach as soon as they can be funded.  Their product, Eraselets....is a fantabulous eraser bracelet with incredible designs so fun for kids.  Some of their designs include scriptures.  They are currently close to getting their product sold in a MAJOR Christian retail store as well as a MAJOR mainstream retail outlet.  God has already worked some heavy miracles in their lives and we are believing Him for greater miracles to come.  Some day (maybe soon)...they will be able to help Beautiful Feet G.O. do incredible work for the Kingdom in serving these precious orphans globally.


Everyone who impacts us big and small is an angel to us.  We understand how God works....one of His favorite ways to bless us is through other people.  When we say you are a blessing...we really mean that. God used you......

My humble appreciation goes out to all,

Melissa Irwin

Orphans....EVICTED!

Ok - I kinda need you to "get this"...whoever you are.  Please share on facebook and retweet on Twitter.  PLEASE (humbly begging).  We have a crisis.

Like you, I am tired of (me) being in the business of crisis aversion....but this seems to be our track for the time.  Just when we think we are about to get ahead of the curve and course about a reasonable ebb and flow of receiving/giving....something bigger than us falls into the middle of the plate and shatters it into bits.

Here is the short nitty gritty.  Our partner and orphanage director in Zimbabwe has been using 3 houses in Zim as orphanage homes for almost 6 years.  In all of this time they have never had to pay rent.  That's right....kind generous people who didn't need the houses (and couldn't really sell them for much)...just decided to let Fatima use them until further notice.  Well.....further notice is now.  Fatima CAN continue to use these 3 houses and the 4th house that she is using as a "transitional" home right now for some of the older kids.....BUT....she must start paying rent.  And well, she was supposed to start paying rent in May.  She hasn't.  If she doesn't (and how can she?)..... then they have to all vacate and go....nowhere.

So, to add to the expenses of food, electricity, water, school fees, clothing, etc.....there is now the added monthly expense of rent.  We (BFGO) would be honored to cover this for them (worthy, beautiful, precious, deserving children).... but we do not have the funds.  We were aiming for being able to pay for food and school fees for the entire year....but obviously without a roof....we can do nothing.  I am going to copy and paste the email exchange between Fatima and myself.  I asked her what she needs right away....(if) there was anything at all...since the next round of school fees are not due until September).

In OTHER news....we have been communicating with the IRS and I think we are getting so so close to good news (and praying for it!)

We are so grateful for our monthly donors....and we do not want to ask you for more...so that is not what this is about.  If you have never given to Beautiful Feet GO OR if you could help us spread the word we would be forever grateful.  There are 55+ incredibly hopeful and loving children (orphans) on the other side of the world that we are praying will not lose the only home they know.  You can be a blessing!  Please help if you can.  We are so humbly grateful!

{email from Fatima}  -----I had specifically asked her in a previous email what their greatest needs are besides school fees.

Dear Precious Melissa,

Thank you for the exciting news that you want to visit the children once more. You are more than welcome. The best time to do this visit would be the 1st of December up to the time when you want to leave. This will give children a nice break especially after a hectic week of exams. Let me know about your schedule for the intended visits.

We desperately need GOD's intervention regarding finances to settle our rentals and water and electricity.  we have gone for two months without paying rentals and if GOD does not intervene we can be evicted. The rentals payable for four properties are US$ 2300 per month and we would need about US$ 2 500 to settle our water and electricity bills[ these have gone unpaid for sometime now] but the normal for all our properties would be us$ 500.

we thank GOD for a gift from Larissa. she informed me and Phillip that she had collected a few laptops that she could give to someone coming to Zimbabwe. Please could you bring them for us? these will go a long way by assisting the various units to do a continous update of the children's bio data.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU OUR CHAMPION.

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

fatima for all




PLEASE VISIT OUR OFFICIAL WEBSITE TO MAKE DONATIONS.  www.beautifulfeetgo.org

Updates and Needs

Hi friends,

Thank you for regularly visiting our blog and our facebook page.  Believe it or not we are blessed just by you showing up here and there.  Knowing that there are peeps who care about this ministry and the kiddos being served just helps us to keep moving on.  So, thank you!

You might recall that last month we were so incredibly blessed to send the balance of the school fees that were due right then.  At that same time the truck being used in Zim to carry out the ministry errands/deliveries broke down.  After discussion, we permitted the organization leader in Zim to use money from those funds to fix the truck.  The truck is repaired now, thank God!  So, yesterday we were able to wire $1,400 more to cover the school fees.  Some of that money will also be used to pay the driver who was kind enough to drive me all over Zim while I was there recently.  ALSO, approx $200 will be used to pay for Pastor Phillip to take some exams that he needs to take in order to try to come to the USA for some further education.  You may recall that Pastor Phillip is an adult orphan.  He lost his parents when he was young, as they died in a car accident.  He is a very special man and an INCREDIBLE PREACHER!  I wish I could hear him preach every week....the special messages that God placed on his heart and spoke out of Phillips mouth while I was there were fresh and new and inspiring.  I am praying that he will get to share the word of God to many many many more in his lifetime.

The director there is sending me acquittals this week so that we can log her expenditures.  I am forever grateful to have a partner there who is leading with the Spirit of the Lord and who accounts for every penny.  It is her relentless pursuit of Christ and devotion to His ministry in loving these orphans, and accountability to us that keeps this process fun, hopeful and worth every tear.

Beautiful Feet Global Outreach needs many many many many more financial partners.  We would love to find at least 75 more people who are willing to donate $25 per month to continue to feed the children, send them to school, provide their food, clothing and shelter....and pay for those unexpected things like broken-down trucks.  Please consider.

Also please pray for the ministry director in Zim, Fatima.  She fell very ill with an infected boil.  She is feeling much better.  Fever is gone, but the boil is still opened and it is hurting her.

As always, please visit our official website to learn more about us and to set up donations.  Thank you so much and God bless every sweet soul that lands on this page.  www.beautifulfeetgo.org

Photos of our sweet Fatima!

Videos

I had originally posted about riding in the back of the blessed blue truck while I was in Zim.  I have some footage of one of those rides.  In this video you will see Boaz in the red shirt.  Pan to the left and that is Richman.  To my right are Bestman and Emelie.  Emelie at one point redirects the camera in my hand onto myself...in an effort to make me feel as awkward as she felt.  She's a funny girl.  We were humming to the vibration of the truck (poor truck...).  It made our voices sound funny.  Notice some of the Zim life on the sides of the road.  Enjoy.

Where Am I?

I have been on USA soil again for 10 days.  When I am busy, I am okay.  When I have down time, like this morning, I am really not okay.  I have 508 photos of my most recent time in Zim that are worth keeping.  I tend to look at them over and over on my computer screen.  It is a grieving process that I just suppose I have to go through.

But as an organization, we are not grieving.  We are so very hopeful.  Today we are wiring enough money to cover school fees due next week.  For that I am so ecstatic.  I praise God Almighty for that provision.  We do have one problem however, and that is that the truck (primary vehicle for the orphanage director) broke down and needs repair.  It will cost approx $600 for that repair and it is needed asap.  Furthermore....the kids do have an abundance of grain right now and some potatoes as well....but they do not have ANY protein.  We are still praying for donations to help put some healthy proteins on their table as well as to fix the truck.

In the very near future I am going to do a fundraiser.  I have some great authentic handmade goods from the area that I visited in Africa , that I will offer in exchange for donations.  I will share that info soon, along with pictures.  Also, I am making jasper necklaces.  Per Revelation 21:18 "The wall was made of jasper..." in reference to the walls of the New Jerusalem, in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jasper is a gorgeous stone that comes in many colors and varieties.  I have had a fascination with jasper for a long time.  Over time I have collected some jasper rocks and have a couple of jasper necklaces that I wear not only because they are beautiful, but to remind myself that I am on a journey to the Kingdom of Heaven.  It is like wearing a little piece of Heaven around my neck....except that I know the Jasper in Heaven will be even more breathtaking.  I have purchased several pieces of "Safari Jasper" and "Spider Web Jasper" along with some other random smaller pieces and have been making necklaces on leather cord.  I'm excited to reveal them very soon.

I feel like I am in a million places.  I have several stories to share from my recent trip as well as to explain some plans.  I will post those stories in the coming week.  Thank you all for your patience.  And thank you dearly for your intercessions, your giving and your kindest words.

In Christ,

Melissa Irwin

somebody

I wish every donor...past, present and future could have been here with me in Zim today. Every child from all of the orphanges met in one location for a farewell party for me and an Easter party for Jesus, (please know that He was the main attraction and not myself). The children presented poetry and songs of gratitude for all that Beautiful Feet Global Outreach has already done, and all that we are trying to do. They have prayed for massive movement in the hearts of the people coming alongside us to impact the lives of these orphans. I was so humbled today to hear them pray for the global orphanages who will meet Jesus through us someday....such glory in that prayer, and I pray it was answered at the beginning of time.

There is a recurring theme here that both blesses me and breaks my heart. From the staff to the smallest child, they keep saying that because of Beautiful Feet G.O., they now feel like somebody instead of feeling like nobody. They say this repeatedly. Oh how I proclaim that Christ has declared them somebody's, in His precious name. Their faith, were it a tower, would pierce through the Heavens and the angels would have to move over. Their hope, were it a rocket, would fly through unknown galaxies. Their gratitude, were it light, would blind the whole of the universe. I'm not just saying this to persuade you. I'm not just saying this to manipulate the strings of your heart and pull them with a fierce tug. I am saying this because these children are special. They are brilliant. They are exquisite. They are full of joy. They are sharp. They have the manners you dream of for your children (and me for mine). Their prayers are heard before they are uttered. These children are so precious, so dear, so loving. These children are His. He has heard their crys.
The children need school fees. The administration needs to be able to afford internet and they need fuel for the blessed blue truck on a monthly basis. They are very soon to be able to enjoy their harvest of maize and potatoes, however the need for dairy products and meat is ongoing.....they need food. I cannot stress how badly they need food. For the food, I ain't too proud to beg.

I have received some email notifications that a few donations have been made this past week and for that I am ever grateful. When you give as unto the Lord, He will reward you with joy, His supernatural peace, and Heavenly riches. I pray He multiples the love in your heart until your heart can hardly contain it all, as it must pour out onto every soul you meet.

As a very new organization we face many challenges. We are far from reaching the momentum that we need to accomplish this work of caring for these orphans year round in the way of school fees, food and other essentials.

Will you consider partnering with us? We humbly appreciate one time gifts as well as monthly recurring donations. Please help spread the word about us. We offer transparency and accountability on all levels. We thank you.