Haiti!

Today was a big day for TWO reasons:

First, we held our second Playdate with a Purpose our purpose is the 2nd big thing of the day

Second, we kicked off our NEW KIDSLAKE PROJECT!!
BOWLS AND SPOONS FOR HAITI!!!

We are raising money for New Missions in Haiti to provide metal bowls and spoons for children. While my husband was there in December, they literally saw kids take bowls of rice and pour them onto their backpacks and eat the rice with their dirty hands because they didn't have the proper utensils.

So, today we did our playdate with a purpose to each teach the kids about Haiti and raise some money!

The idea behind Playdates with a Purpose is that all moms are looking for something fun to do with their kids! So, we decided to use the usual playdate and give it a twist. We meet at a local park and all the moms bring their bag lunch. We provide 2 things: 1. A game/activity used to teach the kids about our project, 2. a Craft to take home as a teaching tool.

This month's focus was Bowls and Spoons for Haiti. Every child brought $5 as their "offering" at the end. We played at the park for a while and then began our activity. I sat all of the children down on the playground and told them I had a snack for them. I asked Addison (the oldest child present) to come up for his rice. "Where is your bowl, Addison?" I asked. He, of course had no bowl and spoon. . .so I spooned the rice into his hands. We continued on with each child. Then, we talked about how hard this would be and how dangerous if your hands were really dirty. We also talked about how sad you would be if this was your only meal and you were dropping most of it on the ground!

Brooke then provided the craft. We made the CUTEST placemats with foam bowls and spoons on them. Then, the kids added pictures of children in Haiti, a map of Haiti and a sign saying, "pray for Haiti".

I think the kids really got it today. They talked about how their hearts were sad because of the kids without bowls and spoons and how they wanted to do a Hot Chocolate Stand to raise some more money!

So, there is your challenge: raise, earn or save money with your children for BOWLS AND SPOONS FOR HAITI this month! $5 buys metal bowls and spoons!**here is the question: I have waited to post this to get pictures from New Missions. They are super busy and haven't gotten back to me. . .should I extend this project for another month or just have it be a short notice month? What works best for your family?

Blankets for China Update!!!

I received this email from our contact in China. Blankets were delivered!!!!! Way to go kids!

"When they got to the village we have been working with, the leader who told them they could distribute them was very rude and uncooperative, made them wait for a few hours, and then wanted them to leave the blankets with him since he said the only list of people needing them was with another leader who was in town for several hours at a meeting. They said that’s okay, we will wait, and he said something like “just go!”. Gee, they were all amazed and angry that he was being so rude, and the people were waiting to get their quilts, but they decided they needed to just leave.

The bus driver was very kind and also angry with the driver, and offered that whatever it took he would make sure the quilts were delivered into the hands of needy people even if it meant his taking them the next day, free of charge. His sister has been doing relief work and referred them to another village, which apparently has had very little help (and many children, too) and most of them are still living in temporary tent-like structures. When the bus pulled in, they were welcomed with open arms, and everyone went to work very quickly clearing a way for the bus to back up and unload the quilts. The leader was very grateful and cooperative, and also really knows his village since he was able to quickly write down from memory all the names of his villagers so they could distribute the quilts in an organized way and make sure everyone got one/noone got too many."

Some of the photos of a broken down building with sharp metal sticks coming out of the ceiling used to be the school. Amazingly, that day the teacher somehow read his watch wrong so he had the children out playing in the field instead of in the classroom when the earthquake hit! Sounds to me like an act of God, because therefore none of the children were hurt!

They went to this village after the Leader of the first one we intended to go to was so rude. The people immediately jumped to action to make space for the bus, shoveling the stones out of the road and laying down plastic so they didn’t get dirty. The leader was able to write down from memory the names of all the families in his village, and the list you see them signing was to make sure the blankets were fairly distributed and everyone got one/no one had two family members take one. So they were distributed in a very orderly and accurate way. They were all very appreciative and offered tea and food to our friends.

Not many children are in the photos because they were very shy. They apparently have not seen very many outside their village. But there are many children in the village who are much warmer now because of the new quilts!

It is also interesting to note that probably only one – and possibly one or two of the Finnish - of the group who went is a believer! But it has given us the chance to build closer friendships with them all and at least three of them want to know more about the One whose love they see in us. It made a great impression that we were able to get so many funds (from you) to buy so many quilts. So your generous hearts are also translating into more open hearts to Him!

Notice the housing/tents in the background of photos. This is what they are living in, in below freezing temperatures. Most have not been able to begin rebuilding yet, probably due to lack of funds.

I have no doubt that the Lord redirected the bus to the second village, and that they have much greater need than the first. Children still received them, along with other adults, and they definitely needed them right away as the weather has gotten much colder starting the day they got them. So, you can tell those who donated that their money was well used and went for the intended cause even if it was a different village.