I want you to think of a time in your life when something was so special to you, so impactful, so truly incredible, that words were not enough to express how you felt. You tried and tried and tried to get out what you were feeling in your heart, but it didn’t seem to mean the same spoken out loud as it did internally.
Well, my friends, that is me – right now!!! And it’s been me for about a week, and I will never be able to express the immense gratitude that I have in my heart right now, but I will try. I will try with words like appreciation, awe, blessed, and amazed. And I will say…..
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! There have been so many donations for my upcoming trip to Ethiopia. Thank you for the donation items, and the money, and the prayers, and the encouraging words. They mean so much to me and the two ladies with whom I’m traveling. As if the pictures on here don’t show enough of the goods, here is a detailed list of what we’re taking over so far:15 soccer balls
3 soccer ball pumps
15 scrub sponges 200 gallon-sized Ziploc bags
1000 cotton balls
500 baby wipes
570 gummy children's multivitamins
13 tubes of Neosporin
240 travel-sized toothpaste tubes
60 toothbrush covers
1 puzzle
26 various children’s books10 slinkys
144 balloons
37 containers of play dough
76 large pieces of sidewalk chalk
3 jump ropes
10 super balls
15 sticker books w/ stickers
2 packs of foam letters
10 coloring books
17 dry erase boards
84 pencils
360 crayons
312 markers
8 pencil sharpeners
10 pairs of children's scissors
40 glue sticks
400 colored craft sticks
1000 popsicle sticks
300 pipe cleaners
2 large packs of pom pom balls
372 wiggle eyes
48 Silly Bandz bracelets
204 feet of elastic craft cords
800 colored craft beads
225 alphabet beads
29 pairs of boys and girls socks
4 onesies
7 shirts
16 pairs of pants
Ahhhhh, do you see what I mean?!?!? Isn’t that incredible? This is a huge contribution to the needs of the organization with which we’ll be serving! How could I not be filled to the brim with appreciation? You guys have really outdone yourselves. We have filled two extra suitcases so far and there is still room left in the third, so I certainly won’t turn anything else away!
I’m so genuinely happy. Happy that those of us who live in a world where we don’t have to worry day to day how we are going to get by, where we have schools, infrastructure, families who love us and can take care of us – that even if we don’t have as much as we think we should or all of the things that we want, we can still give. Give a little of our hearts to those who have far less than us.
This journey so far as renewed my spirit as a human being, and makes me hold on to the truth and hope that people are decent. Well and truly decent. And I haven’t even traveled to Ethiopia yet! So before I get too wrapped up even more in this, I will stop and save the rest of the sentiment for future blogs when I’ve actually made it over there :-)
And I promise you this: I will try my hardest to capture the children of Ethiopia enjoying as many of these items as possible. I want to show all of you the impact that you will make on each of their lives. Whether it be playing soccer with a shiny new soccer ball, dressing up in a new pair of pants that actually fit, getting a cap for a toothbrush to keep the mold away, having a book to read, or participating in one of what will likely be a million arts and crafts projects – the lives of these children will be better because of you.
Until then, whether you’ve been a contributor monetarily, with physical items, or spiritually with prayer and support, I truly cannot thank you enough, from the bottom of my heart. And thank you for loving ME enough to be part of this journey with me. Words simply aren’t enough!
