We are so pleased and encouraged by the success of our Third Annual Breakfast Banquet!  We praise God that so many were able to come and hear how God is working in Africa.  It was a blessing to see old friends and meet new ones.  We were encouraged by the messages, testimonies, and His blessed provision.  Dr. Mike Henderson's challenged us to use "what's in our hands" and inspired us all.  

We invite you to watch this testimonial video that was shared at the breakfast.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Registration: 6:45—7:15 am

Free Breakfast/Program: 7:15 –8:30 am

Holiday Inn Conference Center

2480 Jonathan Moore Pike

Columbus, IN

RSVP Now

You will be given the opportunity to sow seed capital into Kingdom Businesses

It's the middle of February, and after several snowy days, Mission Resource is pretty well established in their new digs at Cummins Plant #1 Building #40.  Brad Smith, Mac McCreary, Gary VanErden, Keith and Mary Arnholt, Caleb Wolff, Tom and Bill Lentz, and Lisa Vincent helped Sue, Kelly, and me move our stuff out of the damp, cold old office.  Keith Arnholt used his trailer which allowed us to make only one trip.  We were then able to store everything at their farm for a couple weeks to sort through things, where we salvaged some things and let go of others.  The United Way staff were instrumental in getting us computers, printers, office supplies.  The transition has taken time as we explored other locations, but determined that accepting the Cummins facility along with many other organizations was the best.  Not only is the space economical, but it will allow for greater exposure as we interact with other not-for-profits.

The phones and data lines have been a bit of a challenge, but today, for the first time, we are fully operational.  Our prayer is that we will begin to post more regularly and update the web site much more regularly.  Your prayers have certainly been answered.

Last week Frank Miller and I spoke at Community Church of Columbus Men's Breakfast.  This weekend we will be sharing at St. Peter's Lutheran, and on Monday of next week, Lisa Vincent will be sharing with PEO, a professional women's organization.

It’s been two weeks today since the fire.  Those of us who were in the back part of the building were supposed to be able to get in for the first time yesterday to retreive a few critical items.  However, the fire marshal determined we could not get in after all.  They are now telling us Friday.  Several people have volunteered to help move stuff once we are cleared.  It is wonderful that so many have come forward.

At this point, we still are up in the air about an office.  We are currently operating out of our dining room.  Kelly and Larry are so great and are willing to come here.  We have looked at about 4 places, but nothing is quite right.  Some are not in town.  Others are just not optimum, but we are confident the right space is out there for us.  We are doing pretty well, so we do not feel we have to rush into a decision.  A couple of days ago we received 5 refurbished computers, a laser printer, and a small three in one copier/fax/printer that had been donated for United Way building occupants.  John Mayer, a local CPA is willing to donate desks and office furniture.  We are being told additional office furniture is also available.  The area where we know we will need help will be in the replacement of our printed material, African memorabilia Sue and I have collected, and many precious books we had in the office. 

All of us are looking at this scenario as only a bump in the road which we will get over and be better off and better prepared for the future.  Please pray for Frank Miller, our fulltime volunteer and board member, who is making his 5^th trip to Ghana.  He will be there for 3 weeks to be a part of 3 workshops.  He will visit projects and explore new ones as well.  Frank and I are pretty well interchangeable now as far as the Ghanaians are concerned.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  We appreciate your encouragement!

Blessings in Christ,

David

The 210,000 square feet building is a total loss.  No one was in the building when the fire erupted at approximately 7pm Christmas Eve.  One firefighter sustained minor injuries while fighting the enormous fire.  Doug Otto, the director for the United Way, told me that he did not think the fire got to our office which is located on the ground floor in the southeast section of the builidng, but he is confident we will have sustained major water and smoke damage.  No one has been allowed to enter the building at this point, and it appears it will be the middle of next week before anyone will be allowed in.  
Please pray for a new location to be found, and for all the data and information to still be in tact.  Mission Resource has had difficulties with its server for the last month or so and had just completed its rebuild on Wednesday before Christmas.  Compounding part of the problem was the fact that the United Way Center had just initiated a new IP phone system that was creating complications for the new server.  At this point, all the effort for the new phone system and server is a moot point.  Both apparently have been totally destroyed by the fire.

Please pray that we will find a new suitable home for the office.  We are confident our records are okay, but the server evidently is destroyed, so we are not completely sure everything is okay.  We have utilized an internet back-up system as well as a hard drive back-up that is physicallly taken out of the building periodically.

It is difficult to accept that many African handicrafts and memorabilia have probably been destroyed.  On a personal level, much of our  nicer furniture and household items were stored in the building as well.

Sue, Andrew and I are in Morton, Illinois with Sue's family for the holidays and will return on Tuesday.  As I indicated earlier, Doug Otto, the director of the United Way told me it would be the middle of next week before any of us would be allowed in the building at the soonest.

Mission Resource had several firsts in 2009.  We initiated our first wall calendar and hosted the first Earl Ketchum/Mission Resource Golf Classic were a couple of the highlights.
Please continue to pray for our project partners in Ghana.
We will keep you posted as we learn more.
Your financial support and prayers have sustained us and allowed us to continue the work that we began over 6 years ago now.  
For now, the missionresource email is not working.  Please contact me/us at sueketch@gmail.com
Blessings in Christ,
David

Please pray that Mission Resource will find a new home

This past week Mission Resource board member took me to Redbird Mission in Eastern Kentucky.   We dialogued about utilizing the busines as mission concept and how it is applicable in many, many places, not necessarily only in developing countries.  In fact, if all Christian business would give significantly from their profits to support God's Kingdom, how much more could be done and many ministires would not be "begging" for resources.

Anyway, today several people are seeing the need to help start Kingdom businesses not only for funding but as a witness in the marketplace.  I recently read a Wall Street Journal article which gives a some history and explains how the movemnt is growing--confirming the Mission Resource/BAM vision.

I would like to you to take a minute to read it below.

Last Friday morning, I conducted a workshop at the National Missionary Convention in Peoria, Illinois about Mission Resource's experience in Ghana.  I was able to share our hopes, dreams, frustrations, successes and failures while stating emphatically that the dream of helping the Kingdom of God grow holistically through enterprise is alive and well.  Enoch shared from his perspective which allowed the participants to see our relationship and see our unity in the vision.  We shared the need for cultural understanding and how all can grow in our dependence on Christ through the process.  There were several excellent questions raised.  Many came up afterwards and expressed interest in learning more and committed to pray and see if this is something God is calling them to.  A couple from North West Haiti Mission expressed considerable interest in adopting a Business as Mission strategy to enhance what they are already doing.

Please check out this article: "economists say Africa can prosper the old-fashioned way--by earning it."

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15905

Blessed to be a blessing!!!!!!!!! God blessed Abraham to be a blessing.  I am happiest when I am engaged with others helping them explore ways to not only use their talents and skills but to help them dream about how they can do more and be more.  God called us beings, but often we think of ourselves as doings.  Go back and think of yourself and who you are.  Would you be who you are without the aid of some special key people?  Would your doings be what they are without the help of other key people?   Today more and more people are like the Dead Sea.  So often we take in and take in without giving back or giving out.  I challenge you today to think of when you are the happiest and most fulfilled?  Is it not when you are helping someone or something improve?  How often do we hear people talking about retirement and that great desire to have that elusive freedom?  Just a few months ago, I heard a young man, probably not even thirty wishing he were retired.  What a sad commentary.  Yes, we might enjoy playing golf, but there must be much more to life.  How many of us exercise our minds, our spirits, and our physical bodies regularly?  Often it gets out of balance with one or the other.  But, too often, we simply find ourselves vicariously finding enjoyment from watching someone else do something we might fantasize about through the tube or in a stadium. 

Mission Resource dreams of being a link to allow more and more people to have greater fulfillment in life through helping others become more of who God has called them to be by helping relationships develop between Ghanaian culture and American culture.  The Ghanaian has so much we can learn about life.  On the other hand, we, Americans, have so much we can teach Ghanaians about life.  Through Mission Resource there is the dream of honoring one another, learning from one another, and creating in Christ an enterprise that can help everyone involved mature in every way.  Jesus Christ our Lord is above all culture while allowing enormous differences.

Consider taking time today to dream of who you are and who you might be able to help if you allowed yourself to dream.  How many of us have heard of “original sin”?  I would say most of us.  On the other hand, how many of us have heard of the term “Original Glory”?  That term and idea was so greatly expressed in Waking the Dead, a book I recently read by John Eldridge.  Please pray about what the devil has stolen from mankind in allowing us to think that settling for less than excellence and being mediocre is acceptable.  God certainly did not envision us to be “ho hum” accepting less than creative productive people.  Truly, "No Man is an Island..."

Living Bread Missions is committed to training, outreach and church planting.  They approach church planting and missions holistically with Community Development being an integral part of what they do.  To that end, Living Bread distributes microloans ranging from $100 to $500.  They lead business training and development workshops as well as spiritual support and encouragement. 

Mission Resource provided Living Bread a loan for $5,000 in February to fund 30 additional loans.  They just reported that 100% of the recipients are current on their loans.  Praise the Lord!  Without the help of Mission Resource and your partnership with us, none of these people would have their own small business to support their families and ministries.

There are still more on the waiting list.  It is our desire to grant another $5,000 to Living Bread enabling more people on their waiting list to overcome the economic challenges they face. Sampson Dorkunor is the founder and president of Living Bread Missions and Ghana Evangelical Mission Association, in Ghana, West Africa. His vision statement is “to see Jesus become the Savior of many and myself a tool in His hands, preparing leaders for tomorrow.”  Sampson is a man of many accomplishments, but it is his heart that separates him.

Elizabeth is a single, young lady and one of the 30 recent loan recipients. After her junior high school, she learned a trade, hairstyling, since her parents could not support her high school education. Elizabeth attended the Living Bread training and received a loan. As a result of the training, she decided to use her loan to put the shop in place and buy some merchandise. She commented, “From the lessons I am learning, I realize I should use this money to generate some profit. Originally, I thought I needed a (hair) dryer but I think I can make some money from this resale and position myself for a better business in the future”. Living Bread Missions has given Elizabeth the tools and training needed to make a living for herself.

It’s hard to believe Mission Resource has been in operation for 6 years. Time seems to go faster than ever. We officially started in April 2003 with a few years in preparation even before the launch. The old house at 19th and Franklin Street had a grip on me, but the pressure in my heart to move forward with the “vision of helping ministries in developing countries help themselves through business” would not leave. Today I tell people there is no way I would trade the adventure God has had us on for 10 old houses. Pride and our Comfort Zones keep us in shackles and often prevent us from making the decisions of faith that allow God to use us.

Today we have hundreds of new friends and many partners in Ghana. Mission Resource Ghana expects more than $10,000 in loan repayments in 2009. Nearly all of our 2008 approved projects have been started, and the vision is taking root.

As we look to the future, the need is even more critical in light of the current economic slowdown in the West. The one time funds may not be available. Please consider the long-term investment Mission Resource is making to help others help themselves and move forward the Kingdom of God through enterprise. In the next few years, the plan is for Ghana to be a sustaining model with little or no outside funding from Mission Resource International. We are being asked to partner with other organizations and ministries in many other parts of the world. The Mission Resource concept is needed in much of the world to promote Christ, create jobs and help provide needed funds for church growth and sustainability.

Thank you for your partnership as we enjoy this journey together. By His Grace,
David Ketchum

Issah is a 26 year old man from Ghana, Africa. Issah was born Muslim. He cares for his aging,and nearly blind, father and his younger brother’s family. He owns a farm where he raises yams and cassavas, another root vegetable. He has a girlfriend, but not enough money to pay her dowry and marry her. In December, Issah was selected by Pastor Samuel Mensah to be one of the BUV (Basic Utility Vehicle) drivers.

As a result, some incredible things are happening in Issah’s life. He has been very successful with the BUV, establishing regular routes and customers, by hauling sand, gravel and water. Issah has saved all of his money earned from the BUV. With it, he plans to hire 3-4 people to work at his farm during the planting season. By investing in his farm and earning money with the BUV, Issah is now planning to marry his girlfriend. While working with Pastor Mensah and the elders of his church, Issah has had many conversations with them about Jesus. He had spoken with them before about Jesus and their faith, but he says now he is more committed to Christ and desires to join the church. This is Kingdom Business! Glory to God!

The BUV that Issah drives was purchased by Yeji Christian Church with a loan from Mission Resource. Pastor Samuel Mensah manages the BUV and hired Issah. The effects of this loan and the business created by it are amazing.

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In just 40 days of operation, one BUV has total revenue over 1400 cedis, with a profit of 670 cedis, or about $500. This is proving to be a very profitable business with a variety of people receiving amazing blessings from it.

Ernestina is one of our business partners who is very successful with her sewing business. She has made beautiful purses that are available for purchase at Cookies, Baskets & More in downtown Columbus, IN or online at www.cookiesbasketsandmore.com.

All proceeds go to Ernestina, allowing her to continue growing her business.

“It was a great blessing for us to travel with David over the last week. For us to observe the BAM (Business As Mission) projects in action, what was working and what needed to be tweaked, was very insightful. We watched David interact and deepen his relationships with pastors, their families and church members who not only are bringing hundreds into the Kingdom as they preach and teach, but are also involved in taking the loans they have been given and turning them into profitable businesses to provide for their families, their churches and jobs for church members. The effect of these monies is reaching into many levels in the community.

Being rookies on the field, it has been amazing to see the ingenuity, dedication and hard work with an attitude of “making it work” with whatever they have at their disposal. Observing the discussions gave us an insight into the thought processes of the business owners, the challenges they face, the logical conclusions they reach and the teaching that takes place to make the improvements that are necessary for them to be successful. We have been blessed! We have gained new friendships as well as deepened our love and appreciation for David. He’s doing an awesome work!”