First fundraiser under our belt!

Copy and pasted from my Facebook page:

So, sold crafts today @ at the Carver Elem. School PTA craft fair/yard sale, with all of the proceeds going toward our Haiti mission trip. Foot traffic was VERY, VERY slow, though. Baked goods did well (thanks Sandi Philpott Hauenstein and Meg!) Met some nice vendors and got some good ideas. Also, figured out that my prices were just about right. I made $62.50. So, still A LOT of work to do before we can get to Haiti, but with helpers like Rachel Swisher, Hannah, and Bella (and the support of friends and family), we'll get there :-)

Deb

First official fundraiser on Saturday!

This Saturday, March 24th, Rachel, Hannah and I will be selling crafty things at the Carver Elementary School PTA yard sale and craft show from 9am to 1pm.  I have been staring at this stuff for weeks now, and am convinced a 2nd grader could have done better, but, yet, I forge ahead taking the leap of faith in my craftiness!  Pray that we make a buck or two...

Here is a list of what our trip will cost:

Passports $165 x 2 = $330

Airport transportation $50

Round-trip plane tickets $500 x 2 = $1,000

Vaccinations $50 co-pay x 2 = $100

Room and board $560 x 2 = $1,120

Spending money $250 x 2= $500

Misc. expenses $500

Donation to orphanage $500

Grand total $4,000

If you have been considering a way to contribute to our cause, but want to get a tax receipt for your records, you may mail a check to:

God's Littlest Angels
C/O Kate Bickel-Benson
2283 A Waynoka Rd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80915

email: volunteers@glahaiti.org

Checks must be made payable to God's Littlest Angels and clearly marked in the memo something like "Deb Bello's support on the mission field".

Deb

Good video....

Here is a good YouTube video on the volunteer duties at God's Littlest Angels, and where exactly Rachel and I will be staying...

If You Could Only Imagine...

...being born into a world where you collect drinking water from the same place raw sewage collects.

And your parents scavenge for food from the city dump...

 ...to find old bones that will serve as a protein source.

Going to the grocery store isn't an option in your world, so your family waits for the dump truck to unload its goods. 

You are land-locked, born into a virtual prison.  And even with 316,000 of your fellow citizens gone in a devestating earthquake, your country is still desperately overpopulated.

But it's not your fault.

You are a victim of circumstance.

And it just as easily could have been me, or my children.

I recently asked a Haitian colleague on mine "is there hope for Haiti?"  And after a long pause, he said "yes, I believe there is". 

I believe so, too.

Deb

Sebastien, The Great!

After years of sponsoring sweet Andres in Ecuador though Children International (his family graduated from the program!), we decided to sponsor a child through God's Littlest Angels in Haiti.  I was drawn to a little eight year old boy named Sebastien.  Babies are sweet and cute, but readily get adopted and don't remember their orphanage days.  But this boy was eight, had medical needs, and was being handed over to an orphanage as a school-aged child.  Can you imagine the hard decision this mother had to make, and the grieving this little boy went through?  And he still is going through...

Sebastien was born with club feet that were never corrected until now.  Here is what his nurse at GLA http://www.glahaiti.org/ beautifully wrote about Sebastien upon his arrival in October 2011:

http://heartsongsfromhaiti.blogspot.com/search?q=image+of+God

He has since had the halos removed from his legs and is now casted.  This is him today:

(OK, trying to convert the WORD pic to a jpg file and will edit it in later!)

Sponsorship is just $30 a month, and I pay it automatically through PayPal.  We are also able to send him packages directly (through the Florida office).  GLA is wonderful about sending us pictures of Sebastien receiving his packages.  This is such a good thing for my little kids.  Most of the goodies are new, but Hannah and Nick also dig into their closets and drawers for things to give to Sebastien as well :-)

Deb

First fundraising goal...

So, I have decided that my first fundraising goal will be for the passports that Rachel and I will need to get into Haiti.  Rachel has never been out of the country, and I only once.  But that was in 1999, for my honeymoon, to Mexico.  Joe and I didn't even need a passport then.  Boy, how things have changed post-9/11/01!  In fact, it's the last time I flew on an airplane, but more about that phobia in a later post  :-(

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html

As far as I can make out, it will cost $165.00 per person.  I am making little crafts to sell at local craft fairs, not that I am a great crafter BY ANY MEANS, but I am trying to deflect the cost of this trip in any way that I can.  So, I am going to start with one goal at a time.

If anyone knows of local craft fairs in St. Mary's County, let me know ASAP!  I am planning on also "using" my table to promote information about Haiti, especially our destination-  God's Littlest Angels.

http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/

And I am hoping to involve my little kids in the process as well.  They already really, really enjoy sponsoring Sebastien from the orphanage!

Deb

Missions Month

My church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church www.cornerstonepca.org is having a "Missions Month".  And this past Sunday, the Reverend Larry Martin from the International Justice Mission www.IJM.org spoke at sunday school and the main service afterwards.  IJM is a group of Christian lawyers, counselors, etc. that focus on the areas of forced slavery and prostitution (especially that of children), property grabbing, unprosecuted child sexual assault, and abuse of police power.  They provide victim rescue and relief, aftercare, perpetrator accountability, and structural transformation (I took notes!) 

These are areas close to my heart, and his presentation, including a slide show, brought me to tears many times that day.  If you are interested in more information, please go to their website.  I am sure they will do a much better job explaining their mission that what I just did!  Anyways, they are having a "Pray 27 days for million slaves" campaign right now.  Experts estimate that there are 27 million children, women and men in slavery today.  IGM believes that God knows and cares for each person who suffers- and IGM wants you to ask Him to bring rescue and release to those who wait for help.

Here is an example of prayer that will guide you if interested:

• Pray for an end to slavery around the world, and that God would bring rescue, restoration and hope to people who are enslaved right now.  (Psalm 10:16-18)

• Pray for wisdom and protection for IJM mission staff, government and ministry partners who undertake dangerous and difficult work every day.  (Psalm 23:4)

I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.  (Psalm 140:12)


Deb