Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Keep Changing The World

This song makes me think of all of you who played a part in raising over $5000 for the kids at Trees of Glory!



ONE CHILD AT A TIME


KEEP CHANGING THEIR WORLDS

Saturday, December 18, 2010

GOD IS GOOD!

BUT WE ALREADY KNEW THAT.

AS OF TONIGHT, A TOTAL OF
$5330 HAS BEEN DONATED!!

WE ARE AT 95% OF THE GOAL AMOUNT NEEDED FOR THIS PROJECT!



I'm so thankful to have been a part of this fundraiser. My favorite part of the whole thing is the realization that when we all work together, great things are possible.

When we were in Ethiopia in January, and again when Nick travelled with Hopechest in September, one of the most amazing things we experienced was the fact that so little of "our" money could make such a big difference in the lives of the people in Ethiopia.

Nick witnessed children being transported to a clinic, examined by a doctor and receiving treatment for life threatening infections for just $7.50. He also discovered that $3 US dollars could feed a person in Ethiopia for 3 days. We of course know what $34 can do when donated through Hopechest-the assurance of consistent meals, an education, Christian discipleship and the hope of a better future for a child in need. These are all pretty insignificant amounts of money for most of us. For the children being sponsored, it is life changing.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child at Trees of Glory, contact Karen Wistrom at kjwistrom@yahoo.com. You can also check out Hopechest's website for many more opportunities to give back at http://www.hopechest.org/.

Of course we welcome anyone who would like to kick in the final $270 needed to complete this fundraiser (2 hours left)!


To everyone who has contributed to this project, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You have been the hope for these very special kids and have truly made a difference in their lives.

Friday, December 17, 2010

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Since my last post, we've had that Christmas miracle I was talking about. Our total is now:

$4740!!!!!

That's 85% of the needed amount to protect the land at Trees of Glory!!

With just ONE day left to place an order(tomorrow-Saturday the 18th) we just may close this fundraiser out!

What an awesome Christmas gift that would be.

Thanks so much to all who have contributed thus far. A special thanks to my Aunt who has been working hard to assemble and mail all of the cards out and my mom who has been making trips to and from the printer to pick up over 150 cards that have been ordered! We'll be working together to finish up any last minute orders on Sunday and will be sending them out on Monday for those who order this weekend.


We are a little less than one cow short ($890) of meeting the goal of raising $5600!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

WOW!!!

I've been trying to avoid spending too much time on the computer these days as it can be quite distracting and time consuming. So, I spent the day with the kids reading books, baking cookies and playing outside in their tree house. I turned on my computer tonight and was overwhelmed with emails from generous donors! As of tonight, the Christmas Trees of Glory fundraiser has brought in

$3175!!!!!

What a difference a day makes (and it also helped that the sponsorship coordinator posted about the fundraiser on her blog today:)

I was hoping to make it to $2000, and today's donations have brought us all the way to 56%!!!!

I'm so excited to be closer to the goal for Trees of Glory. Just a little over $2400 to go. Who knows, with just 2 days left, we might get a Christmas miracle and totally meet our goal of $5600!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE DONATED AND POSTED AND PASSED THE WORD ON ABOUT THE PROJECT!
I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THAT GOAL IS MET AND THE STAFF AT TOG NO LONGER HAS TO WORRY ABOUT LOSING THEIR LAND!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

THREE MORE DAYS!!!!!



MORE DAYS TO HAVE ONE OF THESE



MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR ONE OF THESE


Tuesday, December 14, 2010

CHRISTMAS TREES OF GLORY UPDATE

****JUST 4 DAYS LEFT FOR THE CHRISTMAS


TREES
OF GLORY FUNDRAISER

-PASS IT ON****





Above are pictures of my aunt's sponsor child Dege and our sponsor child Meseret. These are their original sponsorship photos. Last month, Karen the sponsorship coordinator and her team had the opportunity to meet them and all of the other kids at Trees of Glory and deliver care packages to them. After just a few months of receiving prayer, consistent meals, going to school and receiving letters and pictures from their sponsor families, the transformation is amazing. This is the hope that sponsorship brings.

Now that all the kids at Trees of Glory are sponsored, we need to work hard to improve their living conditions and meet some immediate needs. One such need is to protect the property that Trees of Glory is in danger of losing.

The "CHRISTMAS TREES OF GLORY" fundraiser is helping to provide supplies to build a barn that will house the cows necessary to graze the land at TOG. If the land is not in immediate use, the Ethiopian government will confiscate it and give it to someone else. This land is vital and it would be devastating for them to lose it.

So far, $1685 has been donated to the Trees of Glory livestock fund! Thanks to all of you who have donated-you are truly making the world of difference for these kids.

While we will continue to advocate for the funds necessary to complete this project, the Christmas Trees of Glory fundraiser will end on December 18th (that will allow us enough time to deliver any cards that are ordered by Christmas).

So, if you've got a couple of last minute gifts you still need to find or just feel led to donate to a worthy cause this Christmas season, know that your donation is helping to provide hope to kids like Dege and Meseret and nearly 100 other kids at Trees of Glory.




Dege

Meseret


To make a donation for the Livestock Fund:

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.

Friday, December 3, 2010

TREES OF GLORY UPDATE

$1310

That's how much has been donated to the Trees of Glory Livestock fund so far! That puts us at about 23% of our goal. Thursday night, my mom and aunt and I (we all have sponsor kids at TOG) got together to make some of the cards. I really like the way they came out. Each card will be sent with an envelope stamped with a cow that the donor can address as they wish. Background information about Children's Hopechest and TOG are printed on the back of each card along with an explanation of the livestock project and the impact it will have for the kids at this care-point. I'm excited by the thought of how many people will be receiving Christmas gifts this year that are helping to change the lives of these kids.

While Karen and her team were in Ethiopia last month, she said that the land officials were actually at the care-point discussing the land with the in-country staff. The staff reiterated the importance of utilizing the land and the urgency of this need for livestock to graze the field.

If you are a Trees of Glory sponsor or just want to help, please consider posting this link to my original post that details how to make a donation to your blog or facebook or even via email. The more people that are aware of this need, the faster Children's Hopechest will be able to provide the resources necessary to secure the land at TOG.






Remember, $900 buys a cow and the barn can be completed for just $1100
$4290 to go !!!!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

AMAZING AND INSPIRING MESSAGE

Couldn't get through this one without tears. This so clearly explains how easy it is fall in love with a child through pictures and how a heart can ache for a child that has yet to be seen in person.

It is an eye opening call to our responsibility as Christians. How can we continue to hear statistics about orphans and hungry children and sleep peacefully at night? Listen carefully to the definition of "depraved indifference"- a condition that is naturally born in all of us.

I pray that this message will move all of us at the heart level and that it will inspire action for the cause of the fatherless.





Defending the Fatherless,

Jessica

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Giving Thanks and Advent

Thanksgiving Day 2010

My girls!



The feast-Hermela especially LOVED the ham and turkey (such a carnivore).



We have much to be thankful for this year and every year. In the course of eight months, God has blessed us with 2 new daughters and one on the way. Not often you get to add three kids to your family within a year!

During the school week leading up to Thanksgiving, we had the kids list the things they were thankful for. Hermela said "food" and Meron said "a family." Pretty telling what's important in life for them and for all kids. They just want a family to care for them and love them. We are so thankful for all 6 of our children and for God's many blessings to our family.

The kids are so, so excited for Christmas. We've added a few new traditions this year. We gave them all their Christmas pajamas this morning on December 1st. I'm going to try to continue giving them their pjs on the 1st each year. We've also started to celebrate advent with nightly bible readings, and an advent calendar and wreath. Each morning, the kids ask me how many more days until Christmas. They've all loved decorating the house, picking out a tree, seeing all the ornaments and lights and learning about the Christmas story. It's so fun to see their excitement.


Sweet Colton picking out a tree just his size. Camo Caleb on the hunt for the perfect tree.

We have a winner

Seeing the ornaments-Hermela was so excited!



Decorating for the first time.



This poor branch was close to the ground and right in the front, so it took the brunt of the decorations (I did have to do a little rearranging).



Angel goes up (note the brace-Meron broke her same collar bone-again:)


All my cuties in their Christmas pjs (only Hermela and Meron's fit-Caleb, Caroline and Colton's are from last year-all of their new ones were too big)



It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!