operation homeward bound.

it's my birthday!  i'm 34 this year and i'm so amazed by that still.  i'm

amazed at much of my life and how different it is from anything i could have

imagined--yet how wonderful, too.  i'm so thankful.

i don't want my birthdays to be about me though.  God has done awesome

things through something He placed in my heart 4 years ago and i'm so

blessed to watch it happen through so many of you.  

in 2010, i asked people to give $31 for my 31st birthday to help

bring clean water to a community that needed it.  through social media,

$5,000 was raised in 13 days to fund a clean water well in

the Engeleb community of Ethiopia with charity:water.

you can see the reports and more pictures of the well HERE.

in 2011, we raised money for a village that our son, nico, had visited and

had no clean water.  $6000 was raised for a well in Busoga and my family

traveled there just a few short months later to share the living water of

Jesus with them.  nico pumped their first drinks of fresh, clean water.

it was one of the most beautiful things i've ever been a part of.

so many of you made it possible by giving just $32 each for

my 32nd birthday.

in 2012, we loved on one of my favorite ministries, Ekisa.  

Ekisa ministries seeks to improve the quality of life of people

living with disabilities in uganda.  i've spent some time there and

it is a special place filled with wonderful children and immeasurable

joy.  their medical bills can be tremendous and by giving $33 in honor

of my 33rd birthday, we raised $9598 in 15 days to help

them care for these precious kids.  

friends, this year?  

it's time to set some children free.  

do you remember the ministry called Sixty Feet that works 

in Uganda with children in the remand homes? these are prisons.  

sometimes children are there after committing a crime--

they've completed their sentence and are waiting to go home.  

some are street children that have been swept off the streets into these

government facilities.  some children are there abandoned by parents.

however these children have ended up at M1, it is not a home or a family.

  Sixty Feet has often helped with resettlement--usually 1-2 per month. yet,

the government recently gave them a list of 80 children that needed resettled.

they have resettled those children and the government just gave them 

a list of 100 more children!

although exciting, resettlement is very expensive--the average cost to

resettle each child is $75.  many of the children live hours away through 

difficult terrain.  the price covers all staffing, transportation, food and a

resettlement package to ensure that children have the things they need to 

adjust back to life successfully.  social workers and counseling staff are with

them to assist in a smooth transition back to home.  

can you imagine?  these children spending their days in a prison?

[i can.  i've been there.]

let's help set them free.  to their villages.  their families.  their homes.

could you give $34 today 

on my 34th birthday 

to set these 100 children free?

220 people giving $34 will allow Sixty Feet to properly resettle these 100 children.

i pray that we can come together and let our little add up to so very much.

CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW

[of one of the children at their resettlement!]

 to give your tax deductible donation.  

i'll keep you updated.