Sunday, November 2, 2008

Water for Christmas.

I am so excited to share with you what our little ministry group is doing this month!
I can't wait another minute....

It is simple, really.
a gift that we don't even realize we have.

water.
fresh, clean, water.

Unsafe water, and lack of basic sanitation,
cause 80% of all sickness and disease,
and kill more people every year than all forms of violence,
including war.

all forms of violence.

that is not okay with me.

so we are trying to do a small thing, that will bring about great things.
we are trying to build fresh water wells in Liberia, West Africa.

and why Christmas time?
Americans, on average, spend 450 billion dollars a year on Christmas.
from gifts, to decorations, to food, and parties. 450 billion.

it would take one third of that to bring fresh water to every single person in the world. one third.

that makes me sick.
we could easily, with little effort, eradicate the very cause of 80% of the world's sickness and disease.

in the blink of an eye.

so, here is one of the things my family is doing: we have decided to give up a gift that we would normally exchange. sounds so easy.
because it is.
20 dollars gives fresh water to one person for 20 years.

if everyone, just in my immediate family, gives ONLY 20 dollars, that is 7 people who will have fresh water for 20 years. a family.
an entire family can be saved, by not exchanging one toy.

this is so easy.
and we can do it.

i don't know what it will look like for your family, it could be as simple as leaving off one item from your Christmas dinner.
a pecan pie, from Sam's Club, 20 dollars.
that is 1 person who will live because they have fresh water to drink.


it is so hard for me to express how much this means to me.
it is the cry of my heart.

please partner with me in bringing fresh water to Liberia.
i want water for Christmas.
that's all i want.
what about you?

details about how you can help, and how you can partner with us coming up!
Water For Christmas.
how simple.

now go read jody's post, cassie's post, and tesi's post.

3 comments:

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Very cool.
Thank you for putting this in our sights.

Anonymous said...

This is AWESOME, Amy. I've long been a fan of Scott Harrison's Charity: Water org. My friend Dana interviewed him last year. http://www.danaroc.com/inspiring_100107scottharrison.html This guy has been creatively relentless in his mission to get clean water to everyone who needs it. Both Dana & I think the world of him.

You and your friends over there in Muscatine are doing some inspiring work! Go!!

Kerry said...

My entire school (K-12) built a well when I was a senior. We raised our money through a "Penny War" - nothing was thrown. If you would like the "rules" of this game to possibly use with the kids groups at you church let me know.

I love this cause - it's so easy to make a dent!