Wednesday, February 16

Need a little help...

I head for the airport next week to visit our boys at Kolfe Orphanage in Ethiopia. Once again, due to meeting up with people in the U.S. I will have 8 flights to and from the U.S. That's 24 hrs total of layovers.


When I first added up all the layover times, I began to listen to people suggesting that I get one of those book reader deals. (I don't have the room in my bags for books of my own... trying to pack my things light, so I can bless others.) Well, after looking at the prices, I've decided not to buy a book reader... After all, I'm taking the most important book of all, right?? A week with Jesus will be a good thing!

BUT, now I need some help... Do you have a verse or short devotion that you want to send with me to meditate on? Email or leave a message with a favorite, and I will print them and spend time with Jesus... and a piece of you! I am also open for prayer requests to meditate on!

Friday, February 11

Busy, busy, busy!!!

What's life like 2 weeks before heading to Kolfe?
Well...  it's a bit like CHRISTMAS!!! 
Kathy and her friends from church
mailed all of this from TX.
Beach balls, soccer balls/pumps,
raisins, games and videos!
Fun times are ahead at Kolfe!
Linda, her mom and sister sent
all these yummy foods from WA.
I am so excited to introduce
the boys to some new tastes!
 - - - -  - -
Also shown are 60 punch balls from Lana. 
What little boy wouldn't like to
make some noise with those?!
(And bonus... they pack very small!) 
My sweet daughter donated these...
 Hey, they pack small, anyone have
 any others to bless the boys with?
 
Veggie tales videos will be such a blessing to
 spread God's word to the littlest at Kolfe!
 Just for fun!
All of that fun has been wrapped around scenes like this at our house.
All four of us have been down and out with the yucks...
Silver lining?  You bet'cha!
I figure in 2 weeks, I outta' be healthy,
and leaving a healthy household behind!
God's timing is awesome!! 
As the energy comes, (in spurts)
I drag my pajama clothed body
 off the couch, to work on this.
Praying for large duffle bags at the moment.
I want to bring as much as possible, and some of
 my suitcases weigh too much EMPTY!!

Monday, February 7

Wig out is HERE!!!

I travel in less than 3 weeks...
and the excitement is growing and growing.
Today, when I went to the mailbox, there was a
 wonderful package.  Full of these...
WIG OUT GAMES!!
I bought them to take to Kolfe,
(and got some extras)
the boys/young men there LOVE this game.
There are two ways to play this game...
the boys above are using the cards to play "Pit".
You start with a mixed up hand, and trade with
other players to get a hand full of matching cards.
It's a fast and furious game with lots of laughing.
One of the older boys (hoping I can remember who!)
CHEATS like crazy..
Saying he is giving you three all matching cards,
but then only gives you mismatched cards... Stinker!
This game won the Best Toy Award.
Want one?
$8 local, or $11 shipped...
proceeds go towards our summer trip to Kolfe.

Saturday, February 5

What do you need?

I have been getting this question a lot lately.... What do you need for your donations to the people of Ethiopia?  Well, I WANT Veggie Tale DVDs and 50 more punch bags for Kolfe.  I WANT soccer style/themed shirts for Kolfe.   But at this point, Kolfe may get overlooked a bit in my luggage...

My sweet friend Nickie has been here for hours and hours this week helping me tackle the luggage.  We sorted through boxes and boxes of baby clothes... keeping only the things that were new or great shape, and tossed the rest.  In the process we had a blast, and laughed until it hurt, but that's another story.

Boxes collected by a friend, and ready to
 be sorted, washed, folded and packed.

After she left, I washed 5 really large loads of clothing sized 0-5, and baby blankets galore.... and emailed Christy a sweet friend who's family has started Embracing Hope Ethiopia  to tell her that if she wanted the clothing, blankets and formula that I had, it was hers to use for the people of Korah who live around the garbage dump.

Life at Korah.... it's worse than you and I can imagine.
 Christy and her husband are in the process of opening a Day Care Center for Korah, so that the people there might have a chance to get a job, rather than dig through the trash each day for things to eat and sell.  YES, it's that bad. 

Her response...  "I cried when I read your email."   She went on to say that so far, they have 1 blanket (soon to be over 30!)  Someone had suggested that I just buy formula while there...  her response, "We'll have babies to feed, and I've been told that US formula is better nutritionally than formula here, so it would be great to have that, especially to give to any babies that might be sick or undernourished."  Babies whose mom's have little to no food do not get adequate nutrition being breast fed.

Forgive me for jumping around a bit, but here's the bottom line in all of this....

Ready for the laundry...
I can take a backpack, carry-on, and two 50 pound bags for free. 

Nickie and I folded, sorted and packaged up 50 lbs of clothing alone.  I also have diapers and 25 pounds of baby formula for Korah.  I have also been blessed with: 138 (with more coming) lunch sized raisin boxes (Kolfe), 12 DVDs (9 are Veggie Tales), 65 Soccer shirts (Kolfe and other Gladney orphanages), 46 Beach balls, 60 Punch Balls (still would like another 50 or so of these!), soccer balls and air pumps, Wig Out games, some children's books and magazines, and a few sponsor kid care packages.  Isn't God GOOD!!!!!

Washed, folded and sorted by size....
These items could wait until our next trip in 6 months,
but honestly, I can't figure out who NOT to care
about when choosing to leave items behind.
Seems to me, that if I CAN lug it, it should go!
Plus... I know you are going to
love the people of Ethiopia
 EVEN MORE when I get back and will want
to fill up August's suitcases as well!!!
 - - - - -
Christy's family homeschools as well,
and is in great need of someone to
bring their Spring semester books to.
I have told her I will do my best to make room
to have the company ship them to me.
 - - - - -
Should I choose not to love on missionary families?
I think not!  I know you are with me in this!

So, when people ask me from now on...
What do you need?  My answer will be...
someone who cares enough about all these people
to help me pay to take FOUR 50 lb bags...
FULL OF LOVE.
The cost?  With KLM's discount... $320 total.
A faithful friend
(Juli at Bargain Believer. You have to
visit her site!! It will save you big money!!!)
handed me a check for $80 last night.
$240 ($175!!! thanks Lorraine and Denise!)
$80 (thanks Linda!!!) to go,

UPDATED:  Thanks, Michelle! 
Money is raised and ready to pay the
luggage fees!  Whooo hoo!!!

and then I can tell these missionaries
to send me some of their homeschool books.
Would you be willing to help?
Even $5 would add up!!

Monday, January 31

Share Night... and drum roll please... WIG OUT is on it's way!!!

What a blessing!
We weren't sure if we would have even 3 people tonight...
but God had prepared the way for TWELVE!!!!  Hooray!
12 people who stuffed my suitcase with this...
and this!  (Baby clothes and diapers!)
And gave us $120 in financial donations...
Which means I am up late shopping!

For Wig Out games, and beach balls!!! 
Praise God, they will bring such joy to the kids!!!
I expect a lot more of this in a few weeks!
 - - - - -
AND!!!!!  I bought a few extra of the WIG OUT games
 so that some of you can have one for your very own!
$8 if you are local, $11 shipped!
 - - - - - -
As I have said before, this is my favorite game.
Preschoolers can play because there is no reading,
and grown ups love to use the cards for Pit!
What game spans that big of an age gap??
I have one of the favorite craft tables at VBS each year...
because I always bring Wig Out and let the kids
play after they finish their craft.
This game is a MUST have for fun!
Leave a comment or email me to buy one
 and help our trip fund....

Thursday, January 27

Ethiopian Share Night... This Monday!

 As I prepare to head back to Ethiopia in just a few short weeks, a friend has asked to hear about my passion for the Boys of Kolfe in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This will be an informal setting, but please don't let being late stop you from coming. We'd love to have you come.
I think you will walk away from the evening having laughed, having learned, and just maybe having had your heart touched for a country and a people you never thought about before.
** We will have an open suitcase to collect things like: Soccer shirts, athletic shorts/pants, children's books (lightweight and in great shape please) soap, hand wipes, hand sanitizer, RAISIN boxes, Veggie Tales DVDs... and financial donations. Please know that all of these items are completely voluntary! Just come... we have so much we want to share about these precious young people...

If you live locally, please join us
Monday, January 31st
from 7-8:30pm.
 - - - - -
If you are not familiar with our address...
Leave a message with your email address typed
like this "----- at ---- dot com"
below, and I will email it to you.

Tuesday, January 25

The wish list... not for me... but for these cuties!

I am a firm believer that if everyone does a little, together we can get a lot done.  How about you?  Do you believe that will a little effort, your drop in the bucket can help add up to a bucket load of blessings?
This blog is a curious thing to me... there is a counter at the bottom that show that currently 2,867 times people have taken a peek into our journey.... and yet, you will not see comments, or many followers.  I get emails each week from people who read, and are moved by something I have posted, so I know you are out there.  Somewhere!  Today, I am asking that you step up and step out...
These children

and these are way too important for you
 to stay hidden in the shadows!

My heart breaks for them.  More than anything I would love to see them all paper adopted, safe and warm, each night in their HOME, with a mom, dad, brothers & sisters.
Right now, that isn't the case... so please, let's work together to bring them some joy, some love and some fun when I travel in just 29 days.

So here's my wish list for Ethiopia...
Four things that are tried and true favorites with these
 boys, and will provide so much joy to them:

They LOVED the raisins my flight attendant gave me to take to the orphanage!  Fruit is a rarity, raisins were unheard of before September.  For just a couple of dollars, you can provide a fun snack!

Ebay has a dozen of these for $13.50 (with my ebay bucks). How fun to bring them soccer beach balls... these boys LOVE soccer.

Here's some of the younger boys playing with the one beach ball I brought them.  They kicked and hit the snot out of this thing for 15 minutes until it finally popped.  Next time, I hope to head to the soccer field and away from the tin roofs...  and with multiple balls and 160+ kids... boy the fun that could be had!!!
Or, if you prefer, the classic beach ball on ebay $12.54 for a dozen!  So cheap, and yet SO fun!!!
Wig Out Game...  I love this game... Tons of fun, for all ages!   Kolfe boys loved it, because with the "Pit" Version of the game, they only need to know how to say "Ahnd (1), Hullet (2), and Sost (3)"  that meant Amharic, English and Tribal languages could all enjoy playing the SAME game together!!!  How cool is that?  $6.19 each game.  I left 3 decks at the orphanage, but would like to take at least 3 more this time.
This may look calm, but let me tell you,
the laughter coming from three large groups of kids feverishly playing this game was deafening...  and priceless!!! 
 Veggie Tales DVDs... come on... I know you have them!
Picture your sweet little child
living without your hugs,
without your kisses.
alone in the world, except for
the other orphans that fill his/her dorm room.
At night, the world is dark, except for
one dim light in the middle of the room.
What can you do to fill the time before you head to bed
it's too dark to play games, too dark to read...
but... you can watch TV....
YES, they have a DVD player that
someone graciously donated to them...
Want to send me your Veggie Tales for the littles?
Kids from 7 up sit in the dark each night,
let's show them God loves them through stories!
I'm not so naive that I believe these few small gestures will make up for the fact that they are without what they want most... someone to call their own, someone to love on them and care for them... no, I am not saying that...  but if you could just spend a minute with these sweet children... you would empty your DVD cabinet, you would be emailing me or leaving a comment with your email address asap to offer to help.
I still have this drawing...  I offered him so little,
and he gave me... so much.
I want to bring him news of a mom
to love him forever, but if I can't do that.
Would you help with the list of things above?
You don't have to know me,
you just have to love these kids... a smidge.
Please don't stay in the shadows anymore...

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...

Sunday, January 23

Drum roll, please!

This weekend was AMAZING!!! 
God just blessed, and blessed, and blessed us!
We had great crowds,
a TON of treasures,
and lots,
and lots...
of help!
Not pictured are John's dad, Susan, and Lana.
The work all made us a little loopy,
but it was for a great cause!
Friday was HUGE... over $700.
That evening, I was praying, and asking God
if He would provide us with $400 on Saturday.
That would give us enough for
1 plane ticket to Ethiopia.
He does have a sense of humor...
 $399.50 came in on Saturday.
 - - - - - -
Grand total for both days:
$1,159.79
Thank you, God!!!