After many months of anticipation, my donors and I got word that the charity:water birthday project completed last year has moved to the next step in the process. Here’s what we learned!
Tag: water
Eight Days and Counting
Okay, I’m not a procrastinator. I’m detail oriented. I have three calendars to keep track of work, home, and school. But somehow, I misread my account information over at charity:water. YIKES! I thought I had until a week before my birthday to raise the $1,000 I was hoping to donate, but I actually only have a few days. Eight to be exact. So I need some help if I’m going to meet my goal!
The first thing you need to do is watch this:
Then you need to check into charity:water to see just how amazingly legit they are.
You can read about their mission.
You can learn about their 100% Model. Yes, all your money goes to building wells. All the overhead costs, salaries, and other little evils are covered by private donors.
You can even read their latest annual report. They have a four star rating AIP rating, which is pretty amazing.
The founder and CEO even has a great talk on YouTube if you have 40 minutes to spare.
Finally, you need to head on over to my donation page, which is here, and give whatever you can to help build a well in Tigray, Ethiopia.
In about eighteen months, everyone who donates to my birthday project will get an email with GPS coordinates showing where the well was built as and photos from the construction project.
Tigray is in the northernmost region of Ethiopia and is home to 4,316,988 people, only 54% of which have access to clean drinking water. According to the CSA, “31.6% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 67.5% and for women 33.7%; and the regional infant mortality rate is 67 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which less than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.” You can see some gorgeous shots of the country and its people here.
I’m really looking forward to seeing where the money goes, so much so that I wish I could raise the entire $1,000 by myself. But alas and alack, I am but one humble person who works for a non-profit organization. 🙂 That means I need all the help I can get. $5 to $500–every bit of it makes a difference. As of right now, I’m just shy of the halfway mark.
I’d be happy to do something painful or embarrassing if I knew it would help. I’ll gladly take suggestions!
Water > Grumpy Cat
Anyone who knows me is well aware of the love I have for Grumpy Cat.
If you aren’t aware of this amazing feline comedic gem, I highly suggest you click on over to her website or check out the many hilarious photos featuring her at Know Your Meme. I also highly suggest her YouTube page.
Grumpy Cat combines two of my favorite things in the entire world—cats and sarcasm. Granted, the sweet little kitty who is less than a year old is actually a very pleasant thing, but that doesn’t stop people from using her frowny face for their own comedic efforts. Three of my favorites in recent weeks have been….
I also take daily delight in her Twitter feed. Well, at least one of the many parodies…
That’s why when I saw a picture of this this week, I nearly had an aneurism, seizure, and ice cream headache all at once.
Yes, friends and neighbors, it’s a Grumpy Cat Hat. It’s made out of fleece. It’s handmade. It has lined ear flaps. And it’s only $26.50 in this Etsy Store. My life would be so much better if I possessed one of these amazing creations to keep my head warm in the coming months. Without doubt, it would generate questions everywhere I go and would serve as a boffo conversation starter. When wearing it, I could say, “Why yes, this is a Grumpy Cat Hat. I am indeed cooler than you because I own said item. Neener neener neener.” My smugness would know no bounds.
However, right after I posted it to my Facebook page, I realized that as happy as this little gewgaw might make me, that $26.50 could help someone in a developing country gain access to an endless, life changing supply of fresh water. That’s why I’ve donated my 35th birthday, which will take place on April 21st, to Charity:Water and have set up a campaign page there where people can make donations in lieu of giving me presents, cash, or other things that I can go without this year.
You can visit my page (and make a donation, ye scurvy dog!!) by clicking HERE.
My goal is to raise at least $1,000 this year in order to help 50 people. With access to clean water, they won’t die of preventable diseases. What’s more, they’ll have a chance to truly live because the time spent going back and forth to whatever sources are available can instead be spent starting a business, going to school, or caring for their families.
If you want to help me out, I’d love a donation of whatever you can spare. I know times are tight (and likely getting tighter), but it’s hard for me to say no to someone who’s is going without something I can draw a limitless of from the tap in my kitchen. And giving it to them is certainly a good thing.
Even Grumpy Cat has to agree with that.
Water, Water, Everywhere
If you look through the Bible, you’ll find that God has done some amazing stuff with water.
It was there at the beginning of the world.
God used it to save Moses and deliver His people from Egypt. Men like Naaman, Gideon, and Elijah employed to prove His might.
Jesus walked on it, turned it into wine, used it to teach a Samaritan woman, and–most importantly–to make all things new.
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According to howstuffworks.com, “There are 326 million trillion gallons of water on our planet,” only a fraction of which we can drink. But it’s more than enough to support all living things.
If you’re like me, you have an endless supply of it in your house to drink, cook with, and bathe in. It keeps your lawn green and your car clean. You play and swim in it. And the only time you even think about it is when it stops working. However, there are billions (yes BILLIONS) of people around the world who don’t have easy access to it and die because they are forced to drink from unsafe sources. According to the World Health Organization, “90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are children under five years old.”
90% = 27,000 children who won’t get a chance to live full lives because they can’t get to something that God created in abundance.
In my mind, that’s inexcusable.
God has blessed us with amazing resources, and we should be putting them to use to help. Isaiah 41:17-18 says, “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none. Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”
It’s up to us, His people, to be the tools He uses to open those rivers in desolate places and free fountains hidden in the valley. He’s placed it there, and it only takes a little work for us to bless others with fresh water (and to be blessed ourselves in the process).
I discovered all these facts when I read an article by Craig Borlase on his website. In it, he profiles Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of charity:water. He was a believer who walked away from God for a time but came back to faith. He is now using his talents to bring about positive change. As a photojournalist, “he saw in the stagnant ponds and arduous, dangerous journeys lugging dirty H20 back to the most basic of homes, an issue that was right at the heart of so much suffering: water. Fix that, he realized, and life is almost instantly transformed.”
They’ve created a pretty impressive video that explains all the ways clean water changes lives.
All the research I’ve done revealed charity:water is a 100% legit operation–totally transparent and above board. When you give, all of your money goes to a project, and you get the chance to see where your donation went. Once the well you helped pay to construct is complete, you receive GPS coordinates and photos from the building site.
2012 was an amazing year for me, one in which I was blessed in so many ways. I have an wonderful family who loves and supports me as well as a kind and godly husband who has cared for me for thirteen years. I go to work every day at a job I love and come home to a beautiful house we just purchased. I have an amazing church family and friends. However, I realize that God didn’t give me these good things just so I could keep them to myself.
To tell you the truth, I’m tired of building bigger barns. I feel like it’s time to love God and love my neighbors on this great big beautiful planet like I love myself.
One of the ways I want to do this is by donating my birthday to charity:water. I’ve had a lot of awesome birthdays, so it seems only fitting that on my 35th, I help children so they can celebrate beyond their 5th.
Basically, rather than people sending me gifts or cards, taking me out for meals, or spending money on something I don’t really need, I’m asking them to donate that cash to my water campaign. (Though wishing me happy birthday on Facebook is still okay. It’s free after all.) 🙂
You can access my campaign–Aqua Jade–by clicking here.
$20 is enough to help one person gain access to fresh water, and it will change his or her life in ways you never dreamed possible. I’ve already made my donation, and I’m going to keep studying Scripture and blogging about the issue until my birthday on April 21, 2013. If you can, please consider donating….or better yet, start a project of your own!
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“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”—Matthew 10:42
If you’re interested in donating, starting a project of your own, or telling me about your own experiences with this charity or others that are near and dear to your heart, I would love to hear about it. Share your stories and ideas in the comments section below!
May It Pour
If you read my previous blog post about my grandparents, you know they are dealing with a big change in their lives. That change became even more markedly difficult last week when he fell and fractured his left knee on their back patio. Falling led to a three-day stay in the hospital, knee surgery involving eight pins and a plate, and a stay of undetermined length in a rehabilitation facility. Everyone in my family has been pitching in–staying with him at night, dealing with insurance paperwork, and helping keep body and soul together for those who are performing the heavy lifting.
I’m the only one who hasn’t been able to help yet because I’m stuck in another state, six hours away from them. For the last week, I’ve felt useless, guilty, angry, and indigent by turns. As you can imagine, I love my family, and I hate knowing they’re dealing with something this stressful without me there to help in some way. The one thing I’ve been able to do is offer a friendly ear, a person to whom everyone can vent or use as a sounding board for plans and ideas.
I’ve also been sending everyone devotions, Scriptures, and hymns to keep their spirits up and their eyes focused on God, who is greater and more powerful than any present circumstance–even if it doesn’t seem so at the moment. Today, I found five unique devotions from men like Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and F.B. Meyer, and two of them truly spoke to me personally. I was blessed by seeking to be a blessing to others.
The first, from Streams in the Desert, takes its theme from 1 Kings 17:3, the story of Elijah being sent to dwell by the brook of Cherith where God prepared him for the next stage in His plan. The devotion begins with this thought:
God’s servants must be taught the value of the hidden life. The man who is to take a high place before his fellows must take a low place before his God. We must not be surprised if sometimes our Father says, ‘There, child, thou hast had enough of this hurry, and publicity, and excitement; get thee hence, and hide thyself by the brook–hide thyself in the Cherith of the sick chamber, or in the Cherith of bereavement, or in some solitude from which the crowds have ebbed away.’
Take a moment and read the Old Testament passage I linked to above. For as long as was necessary, God provided for Elijah’s every need, and when the stream ran dry, a new situation had already been prepared. Like him, we must seek out and embrace hidden places where we can get alone with God and receive direct instruction from Him that we might be too busy to fully absorb otherwise. We won’t be in want if we are willing to embrace that time alone with Him, no matter how long it might last. That is true for my family and for me.
I found it interesting that God used ravens to feed His servant; they were viewed by Jews to be unclean because they fed upon the dead. However, the raven was also the first bird Noah sent from the arc because it was one of the largest and toughest. I came to realize that God can use anything–even things that seem reprehensible to us–to provide for our needs.
The same is true in the second devotional, Our Daily Homily, written by F.B. Meyer. He references Exodus 15:25 where the recently liberated Jewish slaves drank from the once bitter waters of Marah, which were made sweet by the addition of a specific tree. The tree is a precursor to the cross, the tree that made it possible for us all to avoid the bitter cup of death and eternal separation from God. I realized after reading the entire chapter that whatever “bitterness” we’re dealing with, both individually and as a family, it pales in comparison to the greater quantity we were spared because of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Once again, God provides using something that is seemingly unpleasant, and if we recognize the small amount we endure is for our edification rather than our punishment, we will be blessed as a result.
I’ve been asking for God’s direction for months, searching to find His will for my life and what steps He would have me take. This helped me to see my answer. Were I down there, able to help physically, I would not be seeking His face. I would be working in my own limited power instead of relying on His infinite supply. The distance is my brook of Cherith; it’s His way of getting me alone to teach me what I need to learn.
Intercession in prayer is my responsibility rather than service…no matter how much I might long to offer it to my loved ones. This realization also forced my hand on another topic—fasting. I’ve been toying with the idea of it in recent weeks but have not committed to it. One excuse or another always made it “impossible.” Well, I now have the reason and the time to do so. I am now prepared to allow myself a space of days to remove all worldly distractions in order to listen to Him.
I’ve already felt the benefit of it after only fifteen hours, and while I know I will not always feel so optimistic about the process, I can’t help but think it will serve as a watershed moment, a time where I attain a deeper relationship with Him. The plan is to abstain from everything but water for a period of seven days, which means I will not eat until next Monday morning. It is my prayer that I can use the time to discern the mind of my heavenly Father regarding His will for my family and to offer up earnest prayers on their behalf.
James 5:15-18 confirms the rightness of this revelation for me:
The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
With a singular focus, I am praying with the expectation of spiritual “rain”—both for my family’s strength and deliverance as well as my own increase of faith—because as Jesus Himself promised in John 14:13-14, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
May it pour.