Pan Dulce

Buckner Night at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas

Buckner has been selected to participate in the Texas Rangers “Community Corner” during a Rangers Baseball game on Saturday September 24th as they play the Seattle Mariners. Buckner will benefit from exciting promotional opportunities, including a 30-second commercial spot about Buckner to air in the second inning of the game.

  We would like to invite all Buckner friends and family to join us there! Tickets are $16 with $2 from every sale coming back to Buckner to benefit vulnerable children, orphans, and families. Everyone who purchases a ticket and sits in our group section will receive a free t-shirt at the game. Please feel free to share the attached flyer with others.

You might want to encourage a group of friends or a group from your church to go out to the Ballpark, enjoy a baseball game, and serve children at the same time. I hope to see you there!

 Click the image above to download flyer.

Heaven is For Real

I just finished reading a book called Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo. It is an amazing account of a pastor’s son that went to heaven and back. The book is one of those stories that is very hard to put down. It is very well written. It is a true story.

At the risk of ruining the experience of reading the book (like telling you about the movie before you see it), Colton, the 3 year old boy describes heaven in a way that is simple and yet full of detail, way beyond what the normal Sunday School curriculum would provide for children that age. He also describes his view of earth and the lives of people he loves in full detail that he could not have known as a 3 year old.

The story involves crystal clear descriptions of Jesus, the angels, loved ones, how saints intercede for us, and so on. One of the facts that stand out is the description of children in heaven. Colton Burpo says there are many children in heaven and made the point over and over again how much Jesus loves children.

Get your copy of this this book; read it; and pass it on. It will amaze you, touch you, and encourage you in your faith, especially if you love children.

Last night I gathered with about 1,000 parents and children at the Annual Awards Banquet of the  Dallas Patriots under the leadership of Logan and Haley Stout. Pete Delkus of Channel 8 News was on hand. The Dallas Patriots presented me 12,000 pairs of shoes and a check for $10,000 for more shoes! Wow! This will go a long way to provide shoes for children all around the world.

It strikes me that at Buckner, we are focused on making life better for vulnerable children, orphans, families, and elders. Jesus loves children so he must love the work of Buckner. We are blessed to care for the children Jesus so loves.

Red Dot’s 100X Fund: Doing Good, Offering Hope, Transforming Lives

When I first came to Buckner in 2007 I was blessed to meet Mr. Lee Bush who serves on the board of Buckner International. Later I met Mrs. Bush, their daughters, then Tod and Ted Bush and their wives. They are a wonderful family focused on making a redemptive difference through their work and lives. They have developed a remarkable way to link their work of construction of metal buildings and the ministry of serving vulnerable children, orphans, and families.

But after spending time with any of the Bush family, you quickly learn that they are not trying to be remarkable, rather, they are just trying to be obedient and wise stewards. They raise the bar in a whole new way by redefining what it means to be a steward for the Kingdom.

Lee Bush serves as the Chair of the Buckner Board and does a remarkable job. He is a leader and serves in the ministry of Buckner in an extraordinary way. His son Tod and Ted also serve through Red Dot as leaders with a Christ-centered focus. Red Dot and the Red Dot 100X Fund are the current focus of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit Blog. You will be blessed to read how these leaders took their business and focused it on Kingdom purposes. The story is amazing.

Buckner is honored to collaborate with Red Dot around the world to make life better for vulnerable children, orphans, and families. Red Dot strives to do good, offer hope, and transforms lives through their work. May God multiply their tribe!

Shoes Can Make a Difference

This week Rachel Garton appeared on WFAA’s Good Morning Texas to promote the ministry of sharing a pair of shoes with a child in need. To date, Buckner has collected 2.2 million pairs of shoes through our SOS/Shoes for Orphan Souls program and shipped them to 74 countries around the world. Take a look at the clip of our appearance on Good Morning Texas.

In July of this year I was in Kenya with a group of donors, staff, and volunteers celebrating 10 years of Buckner work in that country. Part of our trip included putting new shoes on the feet of children at the Baptist Children’s Center in Nairobi. The gratitude I saw in the children and the joy on their faces was unbelievable. We share a pair of shoes in Jesus name to show love to the children we serve and to serve a practical purpose in their lives. Children sometimes cannot attend school unless they have a pair of shoes. In many cases, a pair of shoes prevents them from getting a disease like a parasite that comes through a wound or cut. In many cases these diseases become fatal.

You can really make a big difference with a pair of shoes and it is easy to participate. You might want to conduct a shoe drive a work, at church, in your neighborhood, or in another civic club you are a part of. You can buy a brand new pair of shoes or donate funds to make a virtual purchase for a child.

The Dallas Patriots, a DFW Select baseball organization has taken on the challenge to collect 25,000 + 1 pair of shoes among their players and families. What is impressive about this organization is that they are modeling what it means to think and live beyond oneself in the service of other children. You would be surprised at how much difference you can make with a gift of shoes. The difference you make will impact both the child and you.

To get started go to www.shoesfororphansouls.org and find all you need to launch a drive in your circle of influence.