Did I ever tell you that if God called me to an overseas mission trip, I'd hang up? I did say that, but thankfully when He called, I answered.
I've been praying that God prepare my heart to love the peeps I meet in El Salvador and to the love my friends I am going with. I actually already love the people I am going with, I just want to be love to them while we are there. it's a week trip, which doesn't seem really all that long but it can seem long while you are gone. Even though we are going to dig a well, I know that I will be also getting to love on women and children while I am there. Last year when we decided were were going, I started buying stuff... I think I have enough for everyone! I've got 350 tattoos, over 840 silly bands, 3 bubble wands, & 10 packs of crayons.
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| Image from here. |
I'm excited about going, we are having a bowling fundraiser in March, which reminds me I need to input my information that I said I would do 'tomorrow' about a month ago :/ ugh.
The cost of my trip is about $1700. We've got some things that as a team we are raising money for, supplies, helping our team. There are 11 of us going.
There are ways to contribute:
Come to our bowling fundraiser
Towards our team goal
Towards me individually (but I'd rather you donate to our team)
Prayer - here are the names so you can pray for us by name: Margie (that's me!), Vicki, Darryl, EJ, Lindsay, Brian, Dawn, Kathy, Rachel, Christy, Cesar.
Matt 25:31-40 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Here are some water Facts from their website:
LIVING WATER INTERNATIONAL KEY FACTS
• 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world’s population. (WHO-UNICEF)
• 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day. (UNDP)
• LWI projects providing safe water and hygiene education at an average cost of twenty dollars per person, for a generation. (LWI)
• The simple act of washing hands with soap and clean water can reduce diarrheal diseases by over 40%. (UNICEF)
• Providing water and hygiene education reduces the number of deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases by an average of 65%. (WHO)
• Water-related disease is the second biggest killer of childrenworldwide, after acute respiratory infections like tuberculosis. (UNDP)
• The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly 40 pounds, the same as the average airport luggage allowance. (UNDP)
• Water and sanitation infrastructure helps people take the first essential step out of the cycle of poverty and disease.
WATER-RELATED DISEASES
• At any given time, half the population of the developing world is suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate provision of water and sanitation. (UNDP)
• At any one time, half of the developing world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-related diseases. (UN)
• Around 90% of incidences of water-related diseases are due to unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene and is mostly concentrated on children in developing countries. (WHO)
• Intestinal worms infect about 10% of the population of the developing world. Intestinal parasitic infections can lead to malnutrition, anaemia and stunted growth. (WHO)
WATER USE
• The average North American uses 400 liters a day. European uses 200 liters. (UNDP)
• The average person in the developing world uses 10 liters of water every day for their drinking, washing and cooking. (Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC))
• On current trends over the next 20 years humans will use 40% more water than they do now. (UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Agriculture accounts for over 80% of the world’s water consumption. (UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
EDUCATION AND ECONOMY
• 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. (UNDP)
• 11% more girls attend school when sanitation is available. (DFID)
• 40 billion working hours are spent carrying water each year in Africa. (Cosgrove and Rijsberman 1998)
• Households in rural Africa spend an average of 26% of their time fetching water, and it is generally women who are burdened with the task. (DFID)
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