2020

If you’ve never taken a road trip with a 10-year-old boy, here is my depiction: Rand : “Hey Van, look, a volcano!” Van : “Cool.” Rand : “Hey Van, look, a buffalo!” Van : “Cool.” Rand : “Hey Van, look…” Van : “What’s for dinner?” It has taken me a few states to get used to this. Rand and I imagined Van being mesmorized by literally everything that passed our windows. Lassen volcano, a Bengal tiger, the ocean... but we can’t even get him to look out the window! The couple of times we’ve tried to force him to he’s simply fallen asleep (this kid can nap for hours!). To be honest, I was pretty disappointed at first. I had the expectation that experiencing this trip through his eyes would be a new way of seeing the world, with child-like wonder. But he’d rather read a zombie book for the third time than marvel at the random waterfalls along the highway. Disappointment was my attitude going into our trip north to Mt. Rainier in Washington state. It was recommended to us ...

Way back in February -- Valentine's Day and the first day of Lent, to be exact, I took on the challenge of giving $40 to 40 different organizations over the course of the 40 days of Lent. 40-40-40 . Shortly after starting that challenge, my grandmother died unexpectedly, knocking me off course for a few weeks. Committed to seeing the challenge through, however, I decided to keep my eyes and ears and heart open while undertaking the Great American Road Trip with my husband as we transition from Mexico to Ohio. What I discovered on that journey was a great big world that is both beautiful and in need, and it is full of beautiful people who want to help. The problem is, sometimes our helping hurts . While getting to know my high school friend Jim's wife over dinner one night in Sherwood, Oregon, Mel shared with me about an organization called "Days for Girls." Days for Girls was started when a woman named Celeste inquired about what girls in India do when they ar...

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...

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...

Mercy Multipied. I'd never heard of this ministry before, but this week it's shown up in two different places. Coincidence? Or an invitation to learn about a new organization? Since I'm in full-on giving mode, I obviously saw this as the latter. So what have I learned about Mercy Multiplied? Mercy Multiplied is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and is celebrating its 35th year of operation in 2018. It's mission statement is this: Mercy Multiplied is a nonprofit Christian organization dedicated to helping young women break free from life-controlling behaviors and situations, including eating disorders, self-harm, drug and alcohol addictions, unplanned pregnancy, depression, sexual abuse, and sex trafficking. Mercy Multiplied has a 6-month residential program which is free for participants. Eligible women are aged 13-28. The program offers a holistic approach, seeking to heal body, mind, and spirit. They also offer outreach programs and resources to help families wh...

When I put out a call to my friends on Facebook for missions/organizations to support during this 40-40-40 adventure, Trezò (Haitian/Creole for "treasure") was the first to be suggested. The recommendation came from my friends Ryan and Sonja. Ryan and I went to high school together and -- no offense Ryan -- he didn't come to mind when I thought of all the people who I expected to respond to my inquiry. (That being said, there were a lot of people I did expect to respond who didn't. Is it because they aren't givers? Or they didn't see the post? They didn't find it relevant? Or simply didn't take the time?) But perhaps it was because Ryan's response was so unexpected that I felt so drawn to include this organization in my Lenten adventure. If Ryan and his family felt so passionately about this organization that they would sponsor a child -- sending money every month for a kid who they've never even met -- there certainly must be merit in it. Af...

Peter Benchley is the inspiration for today's donation. Who was Peter Benchley? Everyone knows him, even if they don't know his name. Peter Benchley was a speechwriter for President Lyndon Johnson. Peter Benchley was the first host of Shark Week. Peter Benchley wrote "Jaws". And Peter Benchley later became an advocate for environmental preservation, regretting the fact that he was famous for making one of God's creatures a villain rather than a victim. I just finished reading another of Peter Benchley's novels, " The Girl of the Sea of Cortez ." It's about a girl, Paloma, who lives in Baja, and whose father taught her to love the sea. After her father dies, Paloma struggles to fit in with her family, her community, society as a whole. While her mother would rather she help with housework, Paloma would rather go diving. While her brother sees fish as a means to a profit, Paloma sees them as an essential part of God's creation. Benchl...