Africa T-shirt Fundraiser

With our current financial focus being on our adoption to bring home our sweet baby girl–momma has decided to get creative and do a little fundraising to get me across the ocean to serve the 450 orphans and 150 widows of Wiphan!!! It has been FOUR years since I first went over…when I stepped on the dirt where Wiphan School NOW stands!!! The Lord had me go over 4 years ago this summer to light a fire under my tail and share what we saw–that the Lord has blessed our voice and done wonders through His people…SO many–even so many of YOU who have joined us!!! For the last 4 years I have longed to go over, but my eyes have also been opened to HOW MUCH we can also do over there–RIGHT HERE. For 4 years, it has not been my time to go–and I’m guessing after we bring home sweet girl next year and have 5 children–it will once again be AWHILE. My GOAL is to raise money to go toward my ticket only…and truly I’m trusting in the Lord’s provision. I’m even scared to death to leave my children…as many of you know I HATE TO FLY! BUT…I know He has another purpose for me to go–and knowing HOW MUCH you can do right here…I wanted to let you know about this opportunity how you could be a part of THIS journey!!!

FIRST–you join me by being a VOICE for the orphans and widows of Wiphan Zambia. We had a t-shirt designed and 100% of the proceeds will go toward this trip. I’m sooooo excited about the design (Mike Hren of Hren Design did this for us–AND get this…he and his wife ALSO sponsor one of the Wiphan children so it was SO special to have him create this design!!!) There is a women’s tee (by Alternative Apparel–just go up ONE size from what you normally wear. I’m getting a MEDIUM)…

And THEN the standard t-shirt (true to size)…

We are PRE-selling the T-shirts for $25 each (includes shipping and handling!). We will presale for this ween and next week ONLY (I don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of shirts…so we’ll pre-sale for a week and a half and then order in 2 weeks!) Shirts will hopefully be in a few weeks later and delivered just in time for you to sport while we are there in July and spread the word! We ALSO have a brighter color scheme for kids shirts we may offer too–so please let me know by a head count;) who’d be interested in kids shirts too. You can purchase a t-shirt via Paypal RIGHT HERE:

THE WOMEN’S FITTED TEE:

Women’s Fitted Tee (by Alternative Apparel)

Small Medium Large X-Large

THE REGULAR TEE (BOTH FOR MEN AND WOMEN):

Unisex Regular Tee (by Gilden)

Small Medium Large X-Large

I LOOOVE that HANDS make up Africa on this shirt–and I just LOOOOVE the reminder that THE LORD HAS EACH AND EVERY ORPHAN AND WIDOW IN HIS HANDS! So many times I can let the overwhelming needs of African CONSUME my heart and mind–but HE’S GOT THIS. It is US He changes when He calls us to move–to go and allow Him to work through us. We simply stand there with our hands available–in AWE of His work and His love!!!

Sooo…buying a shirt for $25 is the FIRST way you can join me. ONE–your purchase will be support for me to go and in a way…you kind of going WITH me. SECOND–when you wear your shirt–you can tell others about Wiphan and that God is doing some pretty amazing stuff through orphans and widows there.

And speaking of Him working through us–WANNA KNOW EXACTLY OUR PURPOSE IN GOING???

A few months ago we lost one of our younger students NOT to death–but to pregnancy. I was sitting on the other side of my computer reading the details…as if it were my daughter. She chose to drop out of school and go marry this man. Her future–dramatically forever changed.

We are feeding the children.

We are offering an education to the children.

BUT nothing is going to help problems like the spread of AIDS, premarital sex, domestic abuse, etc—other than the GOSPEL.

Photography by Shannon Holden

We ARE offering Bible curriculum—but do these 450 orphans in our school have a momma to sit down with them and tell them what so many of us have or will one day tell our children about PURITY–WHY God wants us to be sold out to Him…that He has a hope and plan for EACH AND EVERY ONE of their futures…

Photography by Shannon Holden

So–this July…this momma feels like she needs to leave her precious 4 babies to tell each of these orphans how VALUED they are…no matter if they have already been raped or beaten or hurt or feel anything was their fault…HE LOVES THEM. HE HAS A PLAN FOR THEM. HE WANTS THEM TO BE PURE AND HOLY FOR HIS SAKE AND GLORY!!!

THIS JULY–we will put on a retreat for EVERY Wiphan orphan 10 years and above…a “Puity”…sort of retreat–only because of the nature we will incorporate how the Lord heals, how to forgive and how to be strengthened staying close to Him. Where they will worship. They will be loved on. They will even get FANTAS (QUITE a treat for these kids!) And our time together will end with a ceremony–where they have the opportunity to make commitments to the Lord–and then have purity rings placed on their finger as a promise to Him!!! (Christy Elphick–one of my Created for Care sidekicks is in the midst of raising $5,000 to purchase 500 purity rings at $10 each. The ring company is letting us have the $22 priced sterling silver rings for just $10 each!!! They have an Ichthys fish on them which we will explain in the first letters meant “Jesus Christ God’s son Savior”. IF you would like to help Christy with this other fundraiser–you can do that HERE. Go to trips and in the memo say it is for the Purity Retreat.)

NOW…GET THIS…

AFTER we finish the retreat for the orphans–guess who will be invited to the retreat for the NEXT day?!

Our 150 widows!!!

Here 15 widows graduate from the cookery program THIS month!!!!!!!

Widows in this culture are ostracized once they are widowed as their culture believes every widow is cursed with their spouse’s ghost. SO–after their husband dies, the family of the husband comes and takes all the possessions and the home leaving the widow and orphans (her fatherless) on the streets. (In Zambia when a father dies they have NO hope–so they refer to the any fatheless child as an orphan–also called a single orphan). Many widows feel DEVALUED and WORTHLESS…leading some to just give themselves away and not see themselves as pure…let alone able to be considered holy. We will be putting on a seperate retreat for these widows…and once again–they will WALK DOWN THE AISLE and make a commitment if they want to–to their Savior.

WHEN YOU JOIN US–YOU GET TO BE A PART OF THAT!!!!!

Now, here’s the fun part!!!

A chance to win a family photography session WITH the cd OR a PERSONAL photography shadow workshop session!

I thought it would also be fun to have every single person who wants to join us be entered into a raffle of sorts. Some of you may live far away from the South–BUT if you do and you win–then one you can hold on to this prize in hopes your family will be in these parts ONE day–OR you can of course gift this away and bless a local family with it. As most of you know I stopped my photography business last year. To the winner of the drawing—I will be giving away YOUR CHOICE of…

1) A FULL FAMILY SESSION ($150 value) AND A COMPLETE CD of HIGH RESOLUTION PICTURES ($Priceless…I didn’t put this on my pricelist:) You’ll EVEN get coached on how to display your portraits and print your session!

OR

2) A SATURDAY PHOTOGRAPHY SHADOW SESSION (a day with yours truly)–teaching you the ins and outs of camera settings, taking portraits of your children, tricks for photographing babies, post-processing techniques and printing!!! If you have a passion for photography then this would be SO MUCH FUN!!!! AND for someone who doesn’t live here…we could get creative and skype your lessons/session!!!

Now how to enter???

1) For every t-shirt you purchase–you will be entered into the session!

2) Make a seperate donation toward my trip OR toward Christy’s ring fundraiser (specify which it is for when you make your donation in the memo section HERE)–and you will be entered for the fundraiser (YES again if you also purchased a tshirt!)

AND THEN…if you do one of those things above and you’d like your name to be entered AGAIN…you can even be entered a few more times by…

3) Share this link on YOUR blog…and you’ll be entered again!

4) Share this link on Facebook…you’ll be entered ONE more time!!!

5) And last but not least–so you can follow our journey to Zambia while we are there in July–sign up to follow this blog and you’ll be entered yet AGAIN!!!

Ok…so if you don’t love photography…if you are a local–you can even trade it out for a sewing 101 session too;). THERE IS NO EXPIRATION date on this…so no worries if you don’t know when you’ll be in Georgia! IF you live in the Nashville/Brentwood areas…I’m often up in those parts too!

ALSO–please let me know in the comments section which of the many ways you entered so me and the kiddos (they are going to help me with the drawing!) enter you the correct amount of times!

FINALLY–THANK YOU guys for everyone who has been SO supportive of our work in Zambia–and for our continued journey!!!!! Love ya’ll to pieces…and can’t WAIT to take so many of y’all with me!!!! You know I’ll be coveting your prayers as I leave my littles AND for that plane ride–but most importantly that God would do an AMAZING work while we are there in the lives of widows and orphans!!!!!!!!!!

XOXO!

Andrea