(This is long, but PLEASE read this!)
Hello Friends! February begins with birthday celebrations at our house....then we party through April..have a small break until July. Bryson's birthday is February 7, Lola Joy's is February 28th, Brennan's is March 8th, Doug's is April 12th, mine is July 6th, then Lily's is August 25th. Each birthday is a time to celebrate another year of life that God has blessed us with. And each year we're showered with many gifts. Many in which we don't even need. I mean, let's face it. Our pantry is full, fridge is stocked, closets stuffed, toy boxes over-flowing. I could go on. You get the picture.
Well...we want this year to be different. Since traveling to Ethiopia, our family has not been able to get the vivid images out of our minds. The people of Ethiopia are some of the most beautiful people I've ever met...inside and out. They have a joy that blows me away living in the horrific circumstances and living conditions...but .... we also saw great poverty. lepers. victims of HIV and AIDS. and people living without their basic needs being met...shelter. FOOD.
Hello Friends! February begins with birthday celebrations at our house....then we party through April..have a small break until July. Bryson's birthday is February 7, Lola Joy's is February 28th, Brennan's is March 8th, Doug's is April 12th, mine is July 6th, then Lily's is August 25th. Each birthday is a time to celebrate another year of life that God has blessed us with. And each year we're showered with many gifts. Many in which we don't even need. I mean, let's face it. Our pantry is full, fridge is stocked, closets stuffed, toy boxes over-flowing. I could go on. You get the picture.
Well...we want this year to be different. Since traveling to Ethiopia, our family has not been able to get the vivid images out of our minds. The people of Ethiopia are some of the most beautiful people I've ever met...inside and out. They have a joy that blows me away living in the horrific circumstances and living conditions...but .... we also saw great poverty. lepers. victims of HIV and AIDS. and people living without their basic needs being met...shelter. FOOD.
ClEAN WATER.
I remember getting into the van as we were headed for the airport leaving Ethiopia. I BAWLED. I mean, SOBBED. Doug looked at me, wondering what was wrong. We had our precious four month old baby in our arms and we were headed home to our boys and family waiting at home. But, I was overcome with emotions. Overcome with great joy and deep sadness. I fell in LOVE with the people. The Country. And I saw what I saw...and I didn't know how to process. How could I come back to the comforts of my home and live the way we live...knowing what I know. Well, we're still dealing with this issue and processing how God is going to use us. All we know is we're willing to be used by God. And we're praying for His direction.
Our boys eyes have also been opened to the needs in the world around them. I was reading this blog one night and saw that they had joined a campaign to help get clean water for people in developing countries. Unfortunately, I read this when they had already raised all of the money they needed, or we would have donated. I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk to the boys about how almost 1 billion people on the planet do NOT have access to CLEAN water!!! We watched the video and the boys were touched. Each and every night since then, they have been praying that God would provide ALL people the opportunity to have access to clean water. And then we realized that we could do something about it! So, this year, we wanted to give up our birthdays. Most of the time when you make a wish and blow out the candles, you don't share your wish. This year, we're sharing our wish...and we hope it will become your wish too. We are asking our friends and family to donate to our charity water campaign. We have titled it Water Wishes for the World. You can click here to check it out for yourself and donate. This organization is legit. It has been recognized on the national day of prayer by President Obama. 100% of your donations will go to build wells and bring clean water to people in developing countries. A donation of $20 will provide clean water for 1 person for 20 years!!!!! Our goal is $5,000. We say.."Go BIG or GO HOME!" $5,000 will build a well. You can give a little, or blow us away, challenging your family to sacrifice and give BIG. If you have questions or problems donating, please leave a comment. I'll walk you through this. At the bottom of this post is the website address. Simply click on this. Then there are buttons you can click to donate. It will give you detailed instructions. We have a few months to accomplish this. Please, consider challenging your family to donate. And if you work at a business that would like to match a donation, PLEASE talk to them and let us know!
Our boys eyes have also been opened to the needs in the world around them. I was reading this blog one night and saw that they had joined a campaign to help get clean water for people in developing countries. Unfortunately, I read this when they had already raised all of the money they needed, or we would have donated. I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk to the boys about how almost 1 billion people on the planet do NOT have access to CLEAN water!!! We watched the video and the boys were touched. Each and every night since then, they have been praying that God would provide ALL people the opportunity to have access to clean water. And then we realized that we could do something about it! So, this year, we wanted to give up our birthdays. Most of the time when you make a wish and blow out the candles, you don't share your wish. This year, we're sharing our wish...and we hope it will become your wish too. We are asking our friends and family to donate to our charity water campaign. We have titled it Water Wishes for the World. You can click here to check it out for yourself and donate. This organization is legit. It has been recognized on the national day of prayer by President Obama. 100% of your donations will go to build wells and bring clean water to people in developing countries. A donation of $20 will provide clean water for 1 person for 20 years!!!!! Our goal is $5,000. We say.."Go BIG or GO HOME!" $5,000 will build a well. You can give a little, or blow us away, challenging your family to sacrifice and give BIG. If you have questions or problems donating, please leave a comment. I'll walk you through this. At the bottom of this post is the website address. Simply click on this. Then there are buttons you can click to donate. It will give you detailed instructions. We have a few months to accomplish this. Please, consider challenging your family to donate. And if you work at a business that would like to match a donation, PLEASE talk to them and let us know!
The boys had one of their two family parties this past Friday night and collected $400!!!! Yay family! You guys rock! (It will show up on the donate page once the check arrives to the organization and Doug is mailing it tomorrow!!!)
Be
Be
the
Hope!!!!
Julie
Instead of giving your sweetheart a box of chocolates, give a donation in honor of your loved ones and make a difference that can CHANGE the WORLD! (I did! i paid with a credit card and it took a minute and was so easy..and I got a tax deductible voucher a minute after i donated!)
"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who keeps our hearts and weighs our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act."
Proverbs 24:12
2 comments:
AWESOME ... we brought home 3 children from Ethiopia and the Lord is putting this same thing on my heart ... I hope to find out how to place wells in the orphanages that we have worked with ...
Wow, awesome!!
"To the weak I became weak to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so by ALL POSSIBLE MEANS I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22.
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