Last year my ten-year-old
daughter, Madison, watched the
Life
Today television show one morning before
school as children
drank water from a contaminated river
in Africa. Animals were also in this
water (dead and alive) as well as people
washing their clothes, bathing, etc.
Tragically this is their only choice of water, causing 10,000 deaths a DAY.
Madison turned to
me with tears in her eyes and said,
“Mom, I feel like God wants me to do
something to help those children get
water." My response was,
"Well, let's
pray about it and see what we could
(possibly) do."
A couple of weeks went by and
I have to admit, I was a little
hesitant about taking on this task. I
prayed for God to specifically speak to
me through scripture if we should do
this or not. Coincidentally, I opened
my Bible to Matthew 25, “I was thirsty
and you gave me something to drink.
Whatever you did for one of the least
of these...you did for me.”
As if that wasn’t good enough, the
next day I prayed again, “Are ya’ SURE,
Lord?” That morning when I opened my little
daily devotional book - yep,
you guessed it
- same verses.
So-o-o-o, we held a tea (in our
spare time) to raise funds to dig a
water well
(never done THAT before)! Thanks
to everyone's generosity,
hard work,
and determination, the sold out
"American Girl Tea Party – American
Girls Saving Lives Around the World"
raised over $6,000! (100% of the
proceeds went to the water well.)
Well, you know how God works. He's
nudging us to do it again!
The 2009 tea will be held on
Sunday afternoon, July 26, 2009
at the (larger) beautiful new Regnier
Center on the campus of Johnson County
Community College
(see
map).
We'll enjoy garden tea party
sandwiches, delicate tea cakes,
cookies, and of course tea or pink
lemonade. You'll simply love
the outstanding entertainment and
amazing
silent auction
baskets! We just received
word that the beautiful "AMERICAN
GIRL TEA PRINCESS" from the "WISHING
WELL CASTLE" is arriving just in
time for the tea! A
professional photographer will be
available for a special photo memory
opportunity. Bring your
favorite doll for a lovely afternoon
with family and friends - aunts,
sisters, cousins, and neighbors!
And you will absolutely love the surprise to
take home!
We are very blessed to live with
such comfort and conveniences, but
did you know that four
MILLION people die every year due to
water related illnesses? Or as
Madison notes, “Mom, it’s been eight
seconds, one more person just
died.” One well, however, can
provide fresh water for an entire community
- saving lives for the children -
and generations to come.
Several people have expressed that
they’ve often wanted to help, but
didn’t know what to do. Through
this tea, we have a chance to make a
difference – literally saving lives
around the world. Proverbs 31:20
says, “Her hands reach out to the
poor, and she extends her hands to
the needy.” Let’s reach out
together.
Our goal is to raise enough funds to
dig a water well - $4800. The cost to
attend the tea will be $15 (or $20
after July 12th).
Register early as last year's event
sold out quickly!
We
would love for you to be a part of
this opportunity to help others.
Please contact us if you would like
additional information, to become a
sponsor for the tea, donate items,
create a silent auction basket, add
a special coupon to the gift bags, or
have a heart of compassion
to make a difference in the lives of
children around the world.
We hope to hear from you soon.
Together - we CAN make a difference!
"Whoever
gives just a cup of cold water to one of
these little ones because he is a disciple
--
I assure you: He will never lose his
reward!"
Matthew 10:42.
