After the jewelry sale yesterday, T and I were looking into what African charity we should give the money to. We were thinking of Samaritan's Purse, because it works in Africa, but we weren't completely sure. When I came home, I found a letter from Samaritan's Purse waiting in my mailbox. It was a clear sign that this was the charity to give the money to.
The letter explained about how South Sudan recently declared it's independence from Sudan and that they are on the brink of war. In fact, Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, has threatened to topple the government of South Sudan. Sudan's Air Force bombers often pass over South Sudan, not dropping any bombs, but just warning the people of South Sudan. There is nothing that the people can do to stop them. The President of South Sudan, President Kiir, is trying to avoid war to the best of his ability.
The people in Sudan are not any better off than the people of South Sudan. Their villages are being destroyed, and nearly everywhere there are hastily dug graves. A lot of the people were hiding among rocks and caves, eating whatever they can to survive. These meals often include insects, grub worms, tree bark, and roots. Most of the children are weak with distended bellies and reddish hair from severe malnutrition. Can you imagine being so sick that it affects the color of your hair?
Samaritan's Purse has been providing emergency relief for refugees who have fled to two camps in South Sudan, feed 120,000 people and provide life-saving therepeutic nutrition for malnourished infants and young children. They also assist in furnishing medical care, clean water, sanitation, shelters, and other aid.
T and I have decided to raise money and awareness about the people suffering in Sudan and South Sudan. We understand that the more money we raise, the more lives we save and possibly change forever. If you look in the top right corner of your screen, you'll see a little box that shows are goal for how much money we would like to make, and how much we have so far. We have also added a page specifically for this issue.
-N
N and I feel really strongly that this is something God is leading us to do. We have had some pretty cool experiences concerning it in the past few days. Yesterday morning, N had spent the night, and we were making jewelry in hopes of selling it to raise money for African charities, we didn't know which one, and going to give 50% of sales toward one or two. N kept saying we needed a yard sale, and moments later, my mom opened the door and said that today, our subdivision was having a yard sale and suggested we look around. There it was, an opportunity from God, and He might as well have said, "go sell jewelry at the sale, I want you to support Africa". N and I got soooo excited, we made more items to sell and got ready. We made $32 total, $16 for Africa, and were probably going to divide it between a few charities, but later that day, God spoke again. Today at church, I saw N, as always, and she told me what had happenned. She had gone to check the mail. In the mailbox was a pamphlet from Samaritan's Purse talking about the crisis in Sudan and South Sudan. God told her that that was the charity, and when I read the pamphlet, I knew it too. No one was doing worship, so we decided to ask if we could announce that we are raising money to help in the Sudans. The teachers said yes, so in 2 weeks we will collect money for this charity. Later, a bit after church, N called with big news. For every hundred dollars we raised, her dad would match it up to $300! We are both soo excited about what God has called us to do, because we know life is precious, and we might get to help save some.
You can too. Look into it on the website. Help save a life, change the world with baby steps.
-T
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