If you followed this blog on our journey to bring Eli home, you probably remember my posts about fundraising for the children of Ghana. And if you remember those posts, you were likely a part of the solution. Thank you!
By praying, giving, encouraging, and telling others about the great need, you were able to help us provide and deliver almost 100 pairs of shoes, 4 tubs of clothes, 80 new Christmas outfits plus candy canes and personalized cards, hundreds of new books and boxes of educational/classroom materials, and countless soccer balls to the children who are living at the Offin Children's Centre -- the orphanage where Eli spent the first 19 months of his life. In addition, you also helped raise the funds for the construction of a new dining hall with tables, benches, and dishes for all of the children at the orphanage, and you sent four orphans to high school school that same spring -- after raising nearly $4000 in under 48 hours! Through social media, you have helped us respond to the urgent needs of the children of Ghana in an unbelievably expedient manner over the past 2 years; praise God!
{If you're new to the blog, please spend a few minutes poking around the archives - especially April of 2013 - and prepare to be amazed at what the Lord has done. Or, if you're feeling pressed for time and want me to quit jabbering and get to the point, just click here. It's been a wild ride!}
Over the past couple of years, our little family has remained joined at the heart with the country and the people of Ghana. We still read their news, check their weather, {attempt to} cook their food, and pray passionately for their lives. They may be thousands of miles away, but at the soul level, these are our people.
So when they hurt, we hurt.
By praying, giving, encouraging, and telling others about the great need, you were able to help us provide and deliver almost 100 pairs of shoes, 4 tubs of clothes, 80 new Christmas outfits plus candy canes and personalized cards, hundreds of new books and boxes of educational/classroom materials, and countless soccer balls to the children who are living at the Offin Children's Centre -- the orphanage where Eli spent the first 19 months of his life. In addition, you also helped raise the funds for the construction of a new dining hall with tables, benches, and dishes for all of the children at the orphanage, and you sent four orphans to high school school that same spring -- after raising nearly $4000 in under 48 hours! Through social media, you have helped us respond to the urgent needs of the children of Ghana in an unbelievably expedient manner over the past 2 years; praise God!
{If you're new to the blog, please spend a few minutes poking around the archives - especially April of 2013 - and prepare to be amazed at what the Lord has done. Or, if you're feeling pressed for time and want me to quit jabbering and get to the point, just click here. It's been a wild ride!}
Over the past couple of years, our little family has remained joined at the heart with the country and the people of Ghana. We still read their news, check their weather, {attempt to} cook their food, and pray passionately for their lives. They may be thousands of miles away, but at the soul level, these are our people.
So when they hurt, we hurt.
Our friends in Ghana are hurting right now, and once again, we are pleading for your help.
Money is tight at the Offin Children's Centre. The independently-operated orphanage receives no governmental assistance and donations from the US have been decreasing. Mary (the saint of a woman who runs the orphanage, raises the children, and accomplishes more in a day than I have in my entire life) is struggling to meet the needs of the 80+ children. Specifically, she is struggling to send the seven older {high school age} children back to school for the fall semester. As things stand today, the funds are not there and the children are at home, waiting.
In September, in America, this is so hard for me to process. If you're anything like me, your whole life has been about back-to-school these past few weeks. You've met the teachers, bought the backpacks, filled the lunchboxes, set the alarms, snapped the photos, crossed your fingers, and sent your precious ones off for another school year. You guys, my THREE YEAR OLD is in school, and so are both of his TWENTY EIGHT YEAR OLD parents. This routine is nothing new for us; like you, it's what we do and we've been doing it for years.
Maybe that's why this need in Ghana pains my heart the way that it does; what feels like a right {and even a rite} to us is actually a great privilege to them. In Ghana, as in much of the world, education is not taken for granted. As I wrote almost two years ago:
"The gift of education will allow [these children] to experience independence, success, fulfillment, and pride - some for the first time. It will open doors to opportunities and possibilities that, as orphans, they never knew existed. [It can] equip and empower these children to break the cycle of poverty, realize their full potential, and make an impact on our world."
To us, it feels like a huge injustice that these seven children are stuck at home, day after day, while their classmates, friends, and even younger siblings are able to attend school. So, once again, we're doing something about it. We are choosing to show these kids that they are worth believing in and fighting for and that their education matters.
Maybe that's why this need in Ghana pains my heart the way that it does; what feels like a right {and even a rite} to us is actually a great privilege to them. In Ghana, as in much of the world, education is not taken for granted. As I wrote almost two years ago:
"The gift of education will allow [these children] to experience independence, success, fulfillment, and pride - some for the first time. It will open doors to opportunities and possibilities that, as orphans, they never knew existed. [It can] equip and empower these children to break the cycle of poverty, realize their full potential, and make an impact on our world."
To us, it feels like a huge injustice that these seven children are stuck at home, day after day, while their classmates, friends, and even younger siblings are able to attend school. So, once again, we're doing something about it. We are choosing to show these kids that they are worth believing in and fighting for and that their education matters.
We are rallying the troops {you: our family and friends} and are praying confidently and believing boldly that, by next Friday, your generosity and God's faithfulness will help us raise the $3000 that is needed to send all seven of these children back to school by the end of the month.
Through our families, churches, neighborhoods, businesses, and social media connections, we have the power to join together to share this need and show these precious children that they are NOT forgotten. Let's show them that their lives and futures are worth the investment.
Would you please consider how you may be able to help us reach our $3000 goal in the next 7 days?
To make a donation, please click on the PayPal button below - or visit and share the link to more information.
Through our families, churches, neighborhoods, businesses, and social media connections, we have the power to join together to share this need and show these precious children that they are NOT forgotten. Let's show them that their lives and futures are worth the investment.
Would you please consider how you may be able to help us reach our $3000 goal in the next 7 days?
To make a donation, please click on the PayPal button below - or visit and share the link to more information.
How Can You Help?
More Information on Education Sponsorship Here
Thanks for joining us as we accept this challenge and expect God to move!