| Dear Friends and Partners of Arm of Hope, Today I am so grateful for each one of you – for your sacrifices, for your dedication, for your encouragement, and for your continuous support of Arm of Hope. Over the past three weeks since I’ve returned from Ghana, I have frequently found myself going over and over the ways I have seen God at work in Ghana. It’s incredible to witness all the years of hard work finally paying off, as our students have grown and matured and are truly living out our Arm of Hope vision statement by actively being “leaders and disciple makers who will change their community, their country, and their world.”  One day while at camp, Mike and I were sitting and observing everything that was going on – our leaders carrying out the vision, our campers full of joy – and I told Mike, “I wish I could bring every one of our supporters here to experience this. They would all add an additional child to their support!” If only you could see the priceless impact you are having on these students! So many of them have put their trust in Jesus, and it radiates from their faces, their words, and their actions. We are twelve years in and truly harvesting the rewards of so many years of planting seeds!  Speaking of sponsored kids, school is once again delayed in Ghana, so the new year didn’t actually begin until after our Christmas camp. School supplies and uniforms have now been distributed, so I look forward to receiving the new pictures soon and passing them on to you! We do indeed have a lot of children waiting for sponsors. Our sponsorship fund came up short in 2022 for the first time. This is in part due to the fact that we need to find sponsors for more students. It is also due to the fact that inflation in Ghana has risen by nearly 30% over the past year. The cost of food, supplies, and transportation has skyrocketed.  For this reason, Arm of Hope will be increasing our monthly support for the first time since our online giving began. The cost will now be $35 a month for school students (up from $30) and $150 a month for college students (up from $130). By doing this, we will be able to meet the growing expenses of our sponsorship fund. If you give by check, we ask that the next time you give, you consider factoring in these increases. If you give automatically online, giving will be increased on May 1, 2023. If for some reason you are not in agreement with these increases, please contact me at cheryl@armofhopeinghana.org to let me know your intentions. If we don’t hear from you, the change will happen for everyone giving online on May 1. The other way you can help our sponsorship fund is to sponsor just one more child! For the price of one of your family’s McDonald’s meals each month, you can literally change the direction of the future of a child in need. I encourage you to pray and seek God about this and see if He may be nudging you to add a student to your family. Please contact me, and I will be happy to help you get started!  Arm of Hope has two events coming up soon! The first is our Valentine’s Day Charcuterie box fundraiser happening on February 14. To order, find our event on Facebook at “Arm of Hope Charcuterie Box Fundraiser”, or send me an email to order your boxes at cheryl@armofhopeinghana.org. Give a generous donation, and grab some great gifts for your favorite valentines! The Arm of Hope 10th annual 5k is also coming up on May 6. Please mark your calendars and stay tuned for this family-friendly event that supports the work of Arm of Hope in Ghana.  I’m also happy to announce that the building of our medical clinic is starting any day now! Through your support and the provision of God, we already have one-third of the funds needed for the clinic. This will get the first floor completed and help us continue on to part of the second floor! The remainder of the funds we need to raise are for start-up costs, salaries for the first year, and equipment. All of these things are necessary for the building to be up and running. The medical clinic fund will remain open until God provides all the needed funds to complete the project. We are amazed by the first third being raised in just three months. We look forward to what God has planned for the rest of this year, as we anticipate the clinic opening as soon as possible! What fun it is to watch God’s plans unfold right before my eyes! I am so grateful! Thank you to all of you who have made this possible for Arm of Hope. It’s amazing to see what our God can do when He works in the lives of His children, both here and around the world! With a grateful heart, Cheryl Zimmerman Arm of Hope Director |