Liftin' up the roof with PRAISE!!!

Just wanted to announce what a GREAT BIG GOD we serve!! Our spaghetti lunch fundraiser that our church held on Sunday created a wonderful chance for people to enjoy one another's company and was a great success! Many people have wondered how it went so I wanted to post a quick update. Thanks to the generosity of so many people, the fundraiser brought in a total of $3,500! This blessed amount will be shared between our family and the sweet Bailey family who are also adopting from Africa. Praise be to the name of our God!

(You can always see our progress toward our goal of $40,000 by looking at the thermometer down the right side of our blog. I keep it up to date with all the different ways we are raising money. Thank you for all you are doing to become part of what God is doing in the world, in these children's lives and in our lives as a family. Blessings!!)


*****Amendment*****
I wanted to add that our church has set up a fund called One Less Orphan to which you can also donate if you so choose. This would make your gift tax-deductible and would be split between our family and the Bailey family. You can see their blog here.  You can also contribute to our adoption needs directly by using the ChipIn on the right hand side of our blog. These funds will be delivered into our PayPal account and will be used strictly for our adoption only (we won't take a quick trip to Disney or Jamaica!)

Eat for Orphans!!

"You want me to eat...for an orphan?" Yes. That's right.

Our church is hosting a big spaghetti dinner this Sunday, January 16, 2011 at 11:15 am. Freewill donations will be accepted and will benefit our family and the Joel and Lisa Bailey family. Both of our families are in the process of international adoption. God has led us both to adopt from Africa: us of course from Uganda, and them from Ethiopia. Come and fill your belly with a delicious Italian meal, enjoy fellowship of believers and know that you are helping bring home some amazing children who we haven't even met yet!

DETAILS:
        Where: Pettisville Missionary Church, Corner of Co Rd. D & 19, Pettisville, Ohio
        When: This Sunday, January 16, 2011
        Time: 11:15 am - ?
        What: Spaghetti and the trimmings...and desserts brought in by women of the church!
        Who: People who are hungry and have a heart to reach the world for Jesus and love orphans
       Why: Because it's a tasty way to live out James 1:27 that says, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress..." 

I have Mwangaza ("Shining Light") News!!

(Image from the Mwangaza website)

In my last post I spoke about the Ggaba Church in Kampala, Uganda. Their ministry, Africa Renewal Ministries, have some really awesome things going on--one of which is our babies home from where we will be adopting! :) One thing I mentioned was that they have a traveling Children's Choir and how I hoped to get to see them while on tour here in America. Well...

I am THRILLED to announce that this choir, the Mwangaza Children's Choir is coming HERE to our own Pettisville Missionary Church in Pettisville, Ohio!! Yay!!! On March 13, 2011 our congregation will have the honor of having the children sing and share their testimonies of God's faithfulness to them during our regular morning service!! The children's choir is made up of about 20 children who are 8-11 years old. Many of these children are orphans themselves, who will need to be sponsored so they can attend school. What an enormous blessing having them in our midst will be!

Have you been feeling God pull at your heart to get involved? The children will need host families from Saturday through Tuesday morning of that week in March. The director told me that host family availability goes quickly, so if you want to jump in on this you want to jump quick! Also, since they will be in the area, if you attend another nearby church and would like to schedule a mid week concert, let's talk! We want these children to spread their "light" (Mwangaza means shining light in Swahili) to all in Northwest Ohio!!

Hip hip hooray!!!!