Silent Auction Fundraiser March 22

 

Here we go!!  I am so excited to announce we are having a silent auction to raise money for Global Orphan Foundation's "Pebble Project" (see more info here).  My friend, Rebecca Siegrist, and I feel called to do more for these orphans.  100% of money raised will be used to provide food and medicine to 2 orphanages where my daughter and her boys lived.  Our hearts were heavy after the news that out of the three orphanages our adoption agency works with in Africa, 5 children died of starvation the week after we came home with Della last July.  There are over 13 million orphans and abandoned children in the DRC.  In the DRC, 10% of children die before the age of one.  Nearly 30% of children under the age of five suffer from undernutrition.  We feel called to help feed these children so they will have a chance at life.

I know this problem might seem too big, what difference can we really make?  Well, here's how you can help:

Will you be willing to donate something for our auction?
If you own a business, a good or service from your business would be a wonderful item for us to auction off.  If you don't own a business, maybe you could make a "theme basket" (examples--movie night basket with various movies and popcorn, etc; spa basket with a gift card for a manicure and pedicure and some nail polish, etc.) or donate an antique.  Be creative!  

Will you come out to the silent auction/fundraiser and bid on some of the items?  

Will you take an evening and give some money towards a cause that is bigger than yourself?  This past Sunday in church, our pastor stated these statistics...if you make more then $20,000 a year, you are rich.  If you make more than $39,000 a year, you are filthy rich.   So, rich friends...I am going to ask again will you come out and support the Pebble Project's vision to feed and raise up strong children in the DRC?

Healing or endurance?

Since my last post Della had surgery on her leg & ankle (she had a club foot due to a polio infection as an infant). She was an excellent patient...the only time she cried was when dad went home to be with our other children.

After surgery she ate crackers and ice cream in bed.

That afternoon, evening and the whole next morning she played with a baby the whole time...changing it's diaper.

After six weeks of no weight-bearing, she now has a smaller, shorter, walking cast and is sooo happy to be able to put weight on her leg.  She is healing nicely and everything will come off at the end of January.  She already has improved in her standing and walking!  We thought her left leg from the knee down was totally immobile.  About 1 month ago I noticed she was moving her big toe!!  We've prayed that one day Della will be able to run like our other children, but we've also accepted maybe that's not God's plan for her life.  She's perfect just the way she is for her unique mission.  But we do thank Him for this one small miracle of movement!

Our oldest daughter, Emma, has had asthma attacks only at school since October (read more here).  After visiting a pulmonary specialist at Johns Hopkins, and increasing her medications, we thought we had a breakthrough in December.  She had only 2 asthma attacks within 3 weeks.  Once she returned to school this past week from the Christmas break she has had an asthma attack every morning and her symptoms are so bad so she has to come home. 

We pray for healing, but God's plan isn't always for physical healing, it may be for growing endurance......"when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." *

*The Bible - James 1:2-4