In the beginning they were hoping for chickens and if things went really well maybe even a trio of bunnies.

Pennies placed in an offering plate by small hands add up slowly but they are always given with love and hope.

Thus it began last fall, this project of Sunday School children at United Methodist Church in Ephrata, to save enough money to help Heifer International send a gift of life to needy families in far away lands.

This week, the announcement came amidst lots of excitement. There was enough for three flocks of chickens, a trio of bunnies and miracle of miracles, a dairy heifer.

A good dairy cow can produce four gallons of milk a day - enough for a family to drink and share with neighbors. Milk protein transforms sick, malnourished children into healthy boys and girls. The sale of surplus milk earns money for school fees, medicine, clothing and home improvements, Heifer International reports

In fact, the organization began with dairy cows.

 The idea came to a relief worker, Dan West, as he was ladling out rations of milk to starving children during the Spanish Civil War. “These children don’t need a cup, they need a cow,” he thought.

When he returned home, West formed Heifers for Relief, dedicated to ending hunger by providing families with livestock and training. . Then and now, each family receiving a heifer agrees to donate the female offspring to another family so the gift is never ending.

That effort evolved into Heifer International. In 1944, the organization made it’s first overseas shipment sending 17 dairy heifers to Puerto Rico. Since then Heifer has helped 8.5 million people in more than 125 countries.

Last fall, Pastor Ed Odell told the story of Heifer International and its work (along with pictures of Heifer’s animals to the children at United Methodist.

Sometimes when children bring pennies for “missions” it’s hard for them to visualize what their donations might accomplish.  With this project, they saw the pictures…chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep and dairy cows.

They were pretty sure they could raise $20 for a flock of chickens; maybe even $60 for rabbits. But $500 for a dairy heifer seemed an impossible dream.

The months went by. Their pennies and nickels and dimes grew into dollars. Larger hands, seeing the children’s commitment, added donations as well.

Last week, when the gifts of large and small hands were totaled,  Education Superintendent Cammy Hatch realized the gifts of the children had grown far beyond what any of them imagined.

The check for  $622.30 was sent off to Heifer International with a request to use it for one heifer, three flocks of chickens and a trio of rabbits.

One day soon those animals purchase with pennies from Sunday School children in Ephrata will be changing the lives of five families thousands and thousands of miles away. 

“We are simply overjoyed to see this miracle of giving,” Hatch says.