Remember how I was moving everything to a “to do later” file.
Well, “later” is here. I sat down to make a list last night for today.
I had it ready to go today and I have been making my way through it.
I pulled it out just now to check things off and see where I was at.
Check. Check. Check.
Then I got to this:
“Money to Laura.”
Money to Laura?
Who is Laura? And what money? And why do I need to give money to Laura?
I have no idea what I was talking about…and I wrote it on there like 12 hours ago.
So I’m sitting here just looking at it. Praying it will come to me. What am I talking about? Why is this on my list? Clearly it was important and needs to be done today…I just wish I knew what I was supposed to do…
So yes, c:w made a video for us while we were in Liberia. There is some awesome footage of Liberia and some of the projects you all helped fund. I want you to see it.
What I don’t want you to see is the 1.5 most uncomfortable seconds of my life. I had to say one line. One line. Took forever. 3 million people were gathered and watching (OK, it might of been 30 people…but whose counting?). I was super uneasy about the camera in my face. NOT a comfort zone of mine.
So ignore those painful few seconds, but take in the rest of it. The people, the village chief as he thanks you, the sights, sounds of the country of Liberia….and the lives that are changing there as we buy Water For Christmas.
I love going to the movie by myself. Knew that I would weep…and well, that’s just more fun alone.
I did like it.
And here was my favorite part:
They are driving in their car, see something, ask a question, keep driving.
And then she says, “Turn around.”
Turn around.
Something is not right.
And they turned around. Went back.
And their family’s life changed.
A boy’s life changed.
A school changed.
A football team changed.
A community changed.
And unknown numbers of people are hearing the story.
Because they turned around.
My mind has been flashing to those moments in my own life.
The moments when I saw something. Perhaps asked a question. And then kept driving. Kept moving to the next thing. The moments when I didn’t look back. When I didn’t pause. When I didn’t turn around.
And then the moments like these:
When I turned back the page and stared again at the pictures of the waiting children.
Or the times when I stopped…and gazed…and soaked in images in like this:
or this:
And allowed them to change the direction of my dreams and prayers.
To interrupt my plans.
To change my life.
You could feel it in the movie as the music swelled and camera zoomed. You knew this was the moment that things changed for this family. The moment they turned around, there was no going back. This was it.
And this week it’s been overwhelmingly clear…there isn’t always music. There is nothing glamorous and there is no applause in 95% of it. In fact, most of it is just plain hard. It’s heartbreaking. It’s exhausting. It’s frustrating. It’s unseen. It’s lonely.
Yet it’s true…
Life is the most full when we turn around.
We flip the car around. We refuse to keep going. We do not allow ignorance.
We embrace the suffering of others.
It’s those moments…that awaken the deepest part of me. That tell of a bigger story.
This is from my Grandpa in Colorado and his newest Water effort.
Experienced Golf Balls for Sale:
He is collecting golf balls that he finds on the courses and selling them for Water. Buyers name their own price.
Um, that is hilarious. I love it.
Love it that you all continue to be creative and intentional.
From our preschoolers with lemonade stands to Grandpa and his “experienced” golf balls.
It’s what makes this happen.
It’s exactly what draws the water from beneath the ground.
(You can use these tools in the Water For Christmas efforts in your own areas.
There are the “I want….Water For Christmas” cards there available for download. Families, individuals, and groups can use those to request Water instead of a gift exchange. There is also a “I bought…Water For Christmas” card for download as well. You can write in the recipients name and dollar amount and send it to them letting them know Water was bought in their honor.
Throughout the day today, I may be highlighting some “shopping” opportunities for you.
Because it’s the day after Thanksgiving and you might as well shop with a purpose…changing lives across the ocean in the process.
We received this update recently from Faye about David and Sheku (who sew these bags for us):
“Many of you know that some of the teens in Lighthouse are learning tailoring. They have worked at different tailor shops for the last 5 years. We have tried to support them in the past by giving them different tailoring work. From making clothes for different friends of ours to making bags for friends and supporters at home. Last year, I posted a picture of one of the bags that Sheku sewed for me on my blog. When a friend of WMF (Jody) saw this, she contacted me and offered to sell them for us to support WMF and Sheku. So Sheku started to sew his bags, we sent them to Jody, Jody and her friends sewed an Africa patch on them and sold them to support WMF. WMF received financial support from the bags and Sheku got paid to make his bags. From his profits, Sheku has bought bags of rice to support people that cared for him in the past. He has been able to support himself and buy things that he needs. A few months later, we asked David(another Lighthouse teen) to sew bags for Jody as well. David’s bags are very differnt from Sheku’s style.
I get really excited when I think about the shed that David has rented from the money he earned from sewing the bags.I love that David has a place of his own. I love that he has a bed that he sleeps on at night. I love that he can be an adult. When I look at most young men in Freetown and the kind of conditions they live in, I am really proud of how far David has come.
Where we are currently:
David and Sheku are still sewing, but their style is getting a bit old. I think it is time to design something new; I think it is time to challenge their sewing skills a bit. While I was at home, I took a bunch of pictures of new bag styles… hoping that one of those would inspire our tailors. I went to the market in Freetown to purchase old bags so that the tailors can take them apart and figure out how they were made. Till now, no one has taught them how to make the bags. I don’t know how to sew or make bags! So we are trying to figure it out together. I have also purchased some project runway… I am trying to see if any of the episode would be fun for us to watch together so that they could see the creative process of other tailors/designers. I would love for them to get excited about sewing and be able to take their own style into the bags they make. We shall see…”
We cannot wait for David and Sheku’s new bags!
And even though all of us who own their bags, and the girls who help me sew them, and all those who have prayed for them do not know them personally and we may never get to tell them…we too are so proud of them. We are so thankful for the things they have taught us.
In order to clear out for new designs, we are running a sale. All remaining bags in the David and Sheku shop are $25. And again, 100% of the money goes back to Word Made Flesh so they can continue to help boys and girls and David and Sheku.
