2020

During my 40-40-40 Lenten challenge, one of the organizations I donated to was Friendly Water for the World. Water is a universal need, even if the need varies from city to city, country to country, village to village. While in Mexico, we had purified water trucked in every week for our drinking water. Last week we stayed in El Centro, California, which is below sea level. Tap water there is too brackish (salty) to drink. So they use purifiers, or buy bottled water. Driving through the White Mountains of Arizona, we met a family whose car overheated. We had several liters of water in case this happened to us, and we gave them all of it. We've had to keep water on us at all times, not just for us but also for our dog. While water may not be something that you think about daily because of its ready availability to you, it is something that a whole ton of people think about constantly because of their lack of it. Friendly Water for the World board chairman David Albert share...

Randy and I (with the help of our granddaughter who is in town visiting and has been a godsend!) have been busy savoring each moment with the kids in our last week at Sonshine. We took the girls out to dinner Wednesday (which is a memory we will NEVER forget!) and we're taking the boys out shopping today. Followed by Randy's famous caramel popcorn and a movie ( The Star ). We've given lots of hugs and so far held back most of the tears. All of this focus on the kids this past week has made me want to seek out other organizations who are loving on all of God's children, to help support them to continue their work. These are two that I believe in. 40-40-40 ... Day 35: Right to Play I learned about Right to Play when it was advertised during the Winter Olympics this year. The mission behind Right to Play is: We use the power of play to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities. The website g...

We're nearing the end of Lent and while I'm sad that I've gotten too busy to devote more energy to learning about and sharing these organizations with you, I remember that God called me to GIVE and as long as I am doing that I am being faithful. So here's another digest for you, days 31, 32, and 33. I'm so close to getting my 40 donations of $40 to 40 organizations in before Easter Sunday! If you have last minute suggestions for my final 7 donations, PLEASE send them my way! 40-40-40 ... Day 31: Sugartree Ministries Sugartree Ministries is located in Wilmington, Ohio. Their vision is to reach the poor, broken, lonely & addicted. Their ministries include "Your Father's Kitchen", a soup kitchen and food bank, and "Joe's Java", a coffee shop that brings in live music to raise funds and generate a sense of community. You might remember when Rachel Ray visited Sugartree Ministries in 2009. DHL had just shut down in Wilmington, ...

Thus far all of my donations have been to ongoing needs, but this one came to my attention yesterday as an immediate need. Just last week 2 children's homes were closed down in Baja due to not being able to meet a compliance that was created on the spot during a surprise inspection, so I have great compassion for the immediacy of this need in Rwanda. Please help if you are able! From Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC):      Friends in Rwanda have an urgent need to raise funds following a decree by the government that they must install lightning rods on all their buildings before the end of March. This comes after several fatal lightning strikes affecting churches, schools and other buildings. Lightning storms are very common in Rwanda.      To meet the requirements, Rwanda Yearly Meeting needs to buy and install 35 lightning rods at a cost of around £400 each (about $565 U.S.). Without financial support from Friends in other countries...

Today would have been my grandmother's 84th birthday. She's been gone now just 2 days shy of a month and it's still hard for me to believe she isn't here. My grandfather died unexpectedly in 1996. A few months before his death, he told me that if anything ever happened to him that my grandmother would move to Ohio and we would have to take care of her. So when he died later that same year, I fully expected my grandmother to move in with us. She was 62 at the time and, to my 16-year-old self, was old and needed us to take care of her. My 65-year-old grandfather had just passed away, confirming that grandma, too, didn't have long to live. So when my grandma didn't move in with us, instead traveling the world, running off to Mexico and Spain and casinos and forming "Bible studies" (can you still call it a Bible study when there are margaritas involved?) I was confused. And mad. And guilty because is there anything worse than being mad at your gr...

Yesterday I made my donation to Modern Day . Modern Day is for people like Randy and me who feel called to serve in missions but aren't affiliated with any particular organization. When you go on your own, like we did, you are responsible for all of your finances, communication, connections, and spiritual support. When an organization sends you, they help with all of these pieces of the puzzle. Modern Day provides the same support that those sending organizations do. In fact, some sending organizations have started using Modern Day to help them too! One of my favorite parts of this organization are the video resources they provide, that offer tips and support for common missionary struggles: marriage in missions, rest in missions, safety in missions, finances in missions, guilt in missions (this one is HUGE!). These videos are all free and are right there on their website, so if you know a missionary (whether they are already on the field or are preparing to go or are praying...

Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Ash Wednesday! Happy first day of Lent! Today is DAY 1 of my 40-40-40 challenge. Of all the ministries in the entire world, there was ONE that I was 100% sure that I wanted to focus on for the first day of Lent. Shawn and Katrina McConaughey Shawn and Katrina McConaughey were recently called to serve in the Africa Ministries Office of Friends United Meeting , and are raising funds to get them to Kisumu, Kenya. If your religious affiliation isn't Quaker, you probably don't know about Friends United Meeting or the Africa Ministries Office, but trust me when I tell you that they do amazing work through schools, hospitals, evangelism, theological training, conflict resolution and more.  Shawn and Katrina share this about their call to serve: After 30 years of ministry among Friends in the Pacific Northwest, we are pulling up roots and joining in on what God is doing among Friends in East Africa! Friends United Meeting (FUM...