****TREES OF GLORY FUNDRAISER ALERT****

UPDATE: AS OF 1:00 pm WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, JUST 6 BRACELETS REMAIN--DON'T DELAY (and I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of those of you who read this blog and by the way God continues to use it to make a difference in Ethiopia-to Him be the glory)

As I posted last week, we've been submitted to embassy--YEAH!!!! That means I'll be travelling back to one of my favorite places--ETHIOPIA. It also means I will be travelling back to one of my favorite places in Ethiopia--TREES OF GLORY.

I contacted the TOG coordinator a while back to get a list of needed items that we could take back to the care point this time. It's really a blank canvas there and I know that they appreciate any donations that they receive, but I wanted to be sure to bring something that would be really useful. One of the items she listed was, "blankets for the chilly nights." Now, you might not think of Africa as being chilly, but it actually gets into the upper 40's and 50's at night during the cooler months.

While that's not super cold, imagine that your home is a grass hut, a makeshift tin structure or if you're really lucky (like the staff and kids at TOG), a block building with cement floors (one of the few structures like this in the area), those temperatures are hard to handle--especially without a blanket.

Aside from the warmth a blanket provides, think of the feeling of security it provides. When I was a little kid, I fell asleep every night with the covers pulled all the way over my head--I was a big chicken (still am--drop me a comment people and tell me I'm not the only one here). It's just more comfortable to be snuggled up under a warm soft blanket.

For most of the kids who are served at Trees of Glory, they don't have the luxury of having their very own blanket.

We want to change that by providing each of the 99 kids currently enrolled at TOG with a nice new blanket to cuddle up with. We want to WRAP THEM IN LOVE.

How cool is this? The same day that Karen wrote me back with the list of needed items, a local friend of mine wrote to me asking how she could get involved with Trees of Glory!!! She doesn't even have a sponsor child at Trees of Glory, but she's heard me talk about it and wants to help this specific community. I just LOVE how God orchestrates these things don't you?

Well, she was going to hand make all 99 blankets, but we discovered it will be much more economical (both money and time wise) to purchase them. We found them for about $4 each. Multiply that by 99 kids, and we need about $400 to complete the WRAP THEM IN LOVE campaign.

I've had these bracelets since Nick's mission trip to Ethiopia back in September. We've been holding on to them waiting for an opportunity to use them to raise money for a TOG project and this is it.



So, here's the deal. We have 20 of these handcrafted authentic Ethiopian bracelets that we'll be sending to the first 20 people who donate to our blanket fund. We'll accept donations in any amount, but in order to receive a bracelet, please make a minimum donation of at least $10.

The "Love" Bracelet with English and Amharic lettering

side view: bracelet has adjustable tie closure

I've added a handy pay pal button to the top left side of my blog so you can conveniently donate to this project. Be sure to type in your address so that I can ship your bracelets to you. They'll be coming to you priority mail, so you should receive them 2-3 days after your payment has been processed.

We will hopefully be leaving in the next 2-3 weeks, so time is limited. I'm praying for these bracelets to sell out asap. Any money that is raised in excess of the $400 will be applied directly to the clean water well fundraiser, so rest assured that it will get to these kids in one form or another.

Your love will be felt through the simple gifts of warmth and potentially water. So each time I'm able to send one of these bracelets to you, remember that you're sending your love to them.

Please email me at jirvin79@gmail.com with questions and feel free to SPREAD THE WORD.