CHBC Cross-Cultural Missions

Dear Family and Friends,

We want to include you in our spring break mission to Durham this week.  Our goal for the week is to learn what God is doing in the area of poverty and homelessness in our own back yard, so that we might get in step with him.  We have had a fantastic start.

SATURDAY, 3.7

Habitat

On Saturday we began our service with Habitat for Humanity in Durham.  We were blessed early in the morning by seeing the dedication and groundbreaking of a new habitat house in New Hope Crossing. New Hope Crossing is a large piece of property that Habitat bought in order to build a whole community. They have dozens of homes in the community so far, and we will be working there later in the week.  In the afternoon, we teamed up with the Ksor family on their habitat home on Jackson St.  They didn’t speak much English, but their 7 year old daughter took a liking to Katherine (one of our Duke team members)  We spent the day cleaning up the property and doing some odds and ends inside the house.  This neighborhood was the first of Habitat’s Home Blitz’s (think extreme makeover on steroids).  In 2005, they built 7 homes in 7 days in this community and they have built several more since.  Many of the homes were taken over by crime and drugs.  Since Habitat has come into the neighborhood to help homebuyers buy affordable housing, crime has gone down 50% in that neighborhood.

This March, the youth are leading CHBC in addressing our homelessness and hunger initiative by inviting us to participate in the Inter-Faith Council's 23rd Annual CROP Hunger Walk.

The CROP WALK (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) is a four mile walk through Carrboro, with the aim of linking families and communities together in an effort to raise money that will provide food and other resources for people locally and around the world.

Please consider participating by walking or supporting those you know who are walking.  This year's CROP WALK is March 22, starting at 2:30pm.

Please contact Jon Risgaard at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

BENEFIT CONCERT -- The Chapel Hill Philharmonia and Chapel Hill Community Chorus will present a concert of choral and orchestral music, with conductors Don Oehler and Sue Klausmeyer, to benefit the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service, on (Sun.) Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. in Hill Hall on the UNC Campus.  Free admission; suggested $10 donation to benefit IFC.

Chapel Hill Community Chorus
Chapel Hill Philharmonia

CHAPEL HILL -- The Deep Dish Theater Company will present an evening of readings on a valentine theme, "Heart Murmurs," on Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.  Admission for the event is a suggested donation of $5 or a non-perishable food item, with proceeds to benefit the Inter-faith Council's Food Bank.

Other IFC News:

• IFC Food pantry in desparate need of bags! The food pantry depends on donations of paper or reusable shopping bags to fill its food pantry orders for needy families and individuals. Please bring your stockpiled paper bags or go out to your nearest supermarket and pick up some of the inexpensive reusable bags (often canvas or recycled plastic) to donate to the food pantry (see www.ifcweb.org for location, currently in Chapel Hill).