Life While I'm Waiting: November 2010

We are kicking off the "Christmas Trees of Glory" fundraiser today. As you may remember if you've read my blog before, we sponsor a child at Trees of Glory, a care point in Ethiopia where children who have lost one or both parents are able to go to during the day for school and receive clothes, shoes, food. This is Children's Hope Chest's second and newest day center which has 84 children.

"Christmas Trees of Glory" is a way to provide funding for a barn and 5 cows. The care point is on a large piece of land and they are at risk of losing the land to the government unless they fulfill the land use requirement of livestock. This land is vital because it separates the school from the only existing well. The cost is 1,100 for the material for the barn and an estimated 900.00 per cow (5 cows needed). That is a total of 5,600.

Just think of the miracle it would be for the children. The cows will not only take care of the government requirement to keep their land safe, it will also provide a sustainable food source and will provide much needed protein from milk. It also has the potential for making money for the care point in the future.

In America we spend 450 billion dollars a year for Christmas presents. We are a very generous nation. I have been the recipient of many wonderful and thoughtful presents. But last Christmas, for the first time I received a gift that I think about often and treasure dearly. I received the blessing of having a donation in my name to a village in Africa. I can't describe how that made me feel. I've been blessed with a loving family and great friends and I have everything I could ever need. It felt so good to know that instead of another "thing" for myself or my house, that donation was making a difference in the lives of people who needed (not wanted but really needed) it. One month later my niece and her husband brought home their two beautiful daughters from Ethiopia to join their other 3 children. What a blessing those girls have made to our lives. I have changed the way I view everything.

There are several ways you can help.

* First, please keep this fundraiser on you prayer list as we hope to have the money raised by the end of the year.

* Second, if you have a blog, please link the following information and pass it along. I have been amazed in witnessing the generosity of the bloggers when there is a need. Miracles have happened overnight. If you don't have a blog, please email or post on facebook the information to those you think may be interested.

* Third, consider donating money for either yourself or in someone else's name for a Christmas present.
Think of all of the people that you want to remember at Christmas time (neighbors, co-workers, teachers, friends, church family, pastors, etc.). Also, think of all the time and energy you will save fighting the crowds.

* Fourth, why not consider going in together your family or office co-workers to buy a cow (or even part of a cow) instead of the usual "Secret Santa" or "gift exchange". Do you need another candle, lotion, box of candy, or ornament? Wouldn't it be great to know what a difference you've made in the life of a child or in this case, 84 children.

When you make a donation you will receive a gift/donation card and envelope. On the back side it will give you the information about what the money will be used for.

My niece, Jessica is heading this fund raiser for Children's Hope Chest. Her blog is below and will let you know exactly what to do and show you an example of what the gift/donation card will look like (or something similar). You can also contact me through the blog, facebook or email at deborahmkm@comcast.net if you have questions.

"....whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
1 Corinthians 10:31

Jessica's blog:

While $5600 may sound like a lot, let's break that down a bit. Like I said, I'm not sure how many people read this blog, but even if just 10 blog readers made the commitment to pass this information on and worked to raise a tenth of the money needed, that would only be $560 per blogger. You wouldn't be committing to giving that much money, just to spreading the word, advocating for these kids and inspiring others to give a gift that really matters this year. If your blog reached 10 people who committed to spreading the word and encouraging donations, the need would be met if each of those bloggers raised just $56 each. So you see, if we all work together, the larger sum becomes much more manageable.

So what I'm really hoping is that at least 10 of my blog readers will respond and commit to advocating for these kids over the next month through your blogs, emails and/or facebook pages so we can get this money raised ASAP for Trees of Glory.

So here's how the fundraiser works. We're calling this fundraiser "Christmas Trees of Glory" because we want you to look at your Christmas lists this year in a different light. Think about your part of that 450 billion that Americans will collectively spend on Christmas gifts in 2010. Now this year, instead of going to Target or Toys R Us, do some of your shopping online by making a donation (of any amount) to the Trees of Glory Livestock Fund (all donations will be given directly through Hopechest's secure website).

You will then receive a gift card like the one pictured below (designs may vary slightly) and an envelope for each of the donations that you make. So, if you want to make a $5 donation for 5 of the people on your gift list (think teachers, co-workers, relatives, friends...), you'll donate $25 to Hopechest and then email me at jirvin79@gmail.com to let me know that you've made a donation (that way we can track the donations and make sure they are allocated properly to the livestock fund). Also include your address and the number of gift cards/envelopes that you need and we'll mail them off to you. The back of the card will briefly detail how your gift will impact the lives of the kids at TOG.

Pretty simple right?

To review:
Make a donation at http://www.hopechest.org/ (go to the site, click on the orange GIVE button on the far right side at the top of the home page)
Under "Gift Information," click on "choose a fund" and select "designated gifts"
Then write in your gift amount (if you're giving gift cards to more than one person, just add up the total amount to be given and write it in the blank, then when you email me, just clarify the number of total gift cards needed-that will save you from having to make multiple donations)
Then (this is the important part) under the "notes field" be sure to add in the Trees of Glory Livestock Fund code which is "ET2119000 LIVESTOCK."

Finally, add in your info and follow the prompts to complete your donation.
Once you complete your donation, send me an email at jirvin79@gmail.com with your donation amount, your mailing address and the number of gift cards that you need and we'll send it out to you within the next few days. So that we are able to get the cards to you before Christmas, please make all donations prior to December 18th. If we have not met our goal by then, we will continue fundraising through other avenues, but the gift cards will no longer be sent.
I know that's a lot of information all at once. If you have any questions, please email me.
I'd also love for you to send me a comment if you are planning on posting this information on your blog or other outlet just so I can have an idea of who's participating. Feel free to copy any information posted here and encourage your blog readers to post it on their blogs so that we can reach as many readers as possible.
You can be creative in your advocating and even do other fundraisers of your own (ie. bake sales, garage sales, raffles....) to raise funds. The goal is to raise all of the funds. How we do it makes no difference.
I've been praying about this fund raiser for several weeks and my biggest prayer is that God will work in amazing ways and that all glory will be His.
Happy Blogging!!

Let's be the hope for these kids this Christmas!!!!!