update on funds

To me (sara) 10 dollars seems like a lot. It means 10 bags of assorted beans or over 10 bags of delicious carrots. So when finishing our budget at a grand total of a little under $5,000, fundraising seems daunting and discouraging. However, again I am humbled. Getting mail has become all the more fun as money from family and friends pours in.
I am always humbled to ask for money, ask for any type of assistance for that matter, and it is good to be reminded that we are supposed to live in community, in support of others. We are designed as relational beings, ones who thrive in fellowship and honest connections with people. Something as simple as fundraising can remind me that I cannot and should not do everything by myself. It reminds me that very practically speaking there is no way I can make $5,000 by myself but through God's grace, people He has put in our lives surround us and lift us up. Thank you.
Sarah, the queen of paper chains, has made a funds chain (if you slur that it sounds like fun chain). It is hanging over our kitchen door and slowly but surely we get to take of ring after ring. It's a great feeling. We both met with Blackhawk missions team coordinators earlier this week and will hopefully hear about how much support they can give by the end of the week.

South African vistor

For the last month we've had the honor of hosting Alistair, Sara's friend from South Africa. It has been a blast experiencing Madison through a new perspective. Our house was treated to countless bread making sessions and South African recipes. Alistair has been the one to connect us to Life Community Welfare and has gone multiple times to the center to play with the children. His visit to the US gave us even more opportunity to grill him about LCW and our possible role. Double bonus of his trip: he brought pictures of LCW with the promise for more to come. What a great guy!

So the pictures are of LCW. The first one is of Tabusile and Kanje. The second one is Ace. 3rd: Mbasa and Patience 4th: a lot of the kids playing in a hose (it'll be far too cold to do that when we're there :))

So here's our first brief picture of what it'll be like. More pictures to come for sure.

Calling all equipment!

Soccer balls, frisbees, jump ropes, oh my!

We are in need of new or gently used sports equipment to bring with us to Life Community Welfare. If you or anyone you know has children that have moved out and left their old sports stuff behind, we'd be happy to take it off your hands for you! Please email Sarah at parker.sarahm@gmail.com if you have anything you are willing to donate. Thanks!

We are specifically looking to bring:
-soccer balls
-frisbees
-jump ropes
-volleyballs
-playground balls
-beach balls
-little orange cones
-ball pumps/needles

In the end... it always works.

PRAISE GOD!

After 2 very long weeks of frustration and dwindling hope, we had some amazing answers to our prayers. African Youth Outreach (AYO, http://africanyouthoutreach.org/) has agreed to help our cause by overseeing all of our finances. AYO is an incredible Madison-based non-profit that is devoted to educating people in Madison and South Africa about AIDS awareness and prevention. This means we can be supported by area businesses, Blackhawk Church and all funding is tax-deductible. Also, we found plane tickets for cheaper than we had budgeted. Can I get an amen? All of this boils down to one major thing... we're officially going to South Africa :)

God is simply wonderful. Though we were upset, we stayed faithful in prayer while we tried to find God's plan in the midst of our frustration.

Please continue to pray that God would continue to be the focus of our planning as we step closer to finalizing our plans for this summer. And that we would remain confident in God that he will provide the funding we need.