The Lamb Project

You have helped fund 110 Lambs for the Orphans of Gojjo.  We believe this LAMB PROJECT will have a HUGE impact on Self Sustainability and now we need to look for land and how we will care for and feed them. I think we did not realize how fast the Lord would provide!

So now THE LAMB CHALLENGE will become THE LAMB PROJECT. Future funds will go towards an ongoing program, including the purchase of lambs and their feed and care.

Thank you so much for being a part of this life changing project!

To donate to The Lamb Project go to www.rivers-of-living-water.org/lamb.htm

FEED 1000 Event

We are right in the middle of our FEED 1000 fundraiser.  There are 102 children in our Child Sponsorship program so far.  But there are over 1000 Orphan children in the village of Gojjo, Ethiopia.

We are trying to raise funds to feed all 1000 kids dinner for Ethiopian Christmas, January 7th.

For just $2 a child you can feed a child for Christmas.  Just $2!  We want to let them know that they are loved and not forgotten. 

Just wanted to say thanks again to those who have donated meals already.  But to those of you who have been thinking about it, we are only half way there.  Can you help?  To donate to this event, please go to www.rivers-of-living-water.org/feed1000.htm. 

On behalf of all the kids ... thank you!

Orphan Sponsorship Complete .. for Now

This blog post is way overdue .... with the Lord's help we were able to find sponsors for all 51 children.  Now we have 102 children in our current sponsorship program.    We will be adding 50 more in the near future so stay tuned for more opportunities to help a child in need. 

For a complete overview of our our program works check out our webpage at www.rivers-of-living-water.org.  Click on Projects and look at both Living Way Orphan Ministry and Child Sponsorship.

Thank you for your support of these precious children!

14 in just 5 Days!

So far it's been only 5 days and already 14 kids have been sponsored! Praise God! We have 32 more Orphan Kids to find sponsors for, so it's not over yet. Please be praying with us that the Lord would raise up sponsor families for these kids. Thank you!

46 Sponsors in 46 days Event

We are having a campaign for the next 46 days, until November 6th. We have 46 children to find sponsors for in 46 days. I know you guys can do this: Help us find 46 sponsors for these precious kids from Gojjo, Ethiopia! 

SHARE this with all of your friends and see if we can not find at least ONE sponsor per day. 

All it takes is $20 per month to give a child a hope and a future. 

Make a Difference ~ Be the Difference

Be the Difference in a Child's Life

We've partnered with Living Way Orphan Ministry in Ethiopia. Together our mission is to reach out and help Orphan Children through Sponsorships, enabling children to live and receive care in Families as a loving alternative to living out their childhood institutionalized in an Orphanage. We have 50+ orphans that need a sponsor. For only $20 a month you can Sponsor a child, giving them a Family, Food, Clothing, a chance to go to School with School Supplies, and Daily Care. They'll be able to go to Church and Sunday School. In this way, their social, economic, physical and spiritual needs will be met. To Sponsor a child, please look at our webpage www.rivers-of-living-water.org/Sponsorship.htm or contact us at info@rivers-of-living-water.org.  Make a Difference ~ Be the Difference

Another Open Door

I was just informed last night that the President of the Brehane Kirstos (Light of Christ) Church denomination of Ethiopia wants to meet with me to discuss the beginning of our partnership to raise funds for clean water wells in remote villages of Ethiopia. Praise God ...

Our Friend Alayu Kebede

Alayu Kebede is the man God is using to plant hundreds of churches in remote villages of Ethiopia. We have partnered with him as well to help raise funds for church plants and water wells throughout Ethiopia.

Who We Are . . .

Much has happened since those first posts. The Lord has opened doors that we would never have dreamed of.

We have since partnered with Ethiopian Call Ministry, Brehane Kirstos Church and Living Way Orphan Ministry, all out of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Our heart's desire has become to help orphans and widows in need, wherever the Lord leads us. Right now, the Lord is leading us back to Ethiopia, Africa.

With His help, our Mission is:

• To help orphans and widows in need, both domestically and internationally.

• To provide clean water by placing water wells where there is the greatest of need, in orphanages, churches and remote villages.

• To offer living water by bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to children and families in these villages, by evangelism, planting Christian churches and sending trained in-country missionary pastors out to serve.

• To help find sponsors for orphaned children. To find homes and place them in families, so that their social, economic, physical and spiritual needs will be met.

• To offer hope and a future to widows, by way of donations and/or grants for micro businesses.

• To organize and send mission teams to villages and orphanages with clothing, shoes, supplies, and help for the ones who remain.

• To eliminate financial barriers by offering adoption grants for Christian families who have the desire to open their hearts and home to adopt orphans.

• To organize fundraisers and receive and disperse funds for all of the purposes above.

Please join us on our journey as we help orphans and widows in need. 
For more information, please check out our website at www.rivers-of-living-water.org.
Follow us on Facebook too, at www.facebook.com/riversoflivingwater.org

OK ... Speaking of Being REAL

But be careful. If you're real, people might lose confidence in what you're doing. They might think your organization is not a bonafide ministry. It's scarey being real ... risky. But somewhere along the line, I made a vow to be real. And not try to live up to anybody's expectations.

OK ... We planned these 2 huge events ... one in the city where we go to church and one in our little hometown. The city said "Yeah, bring it on!" Businesses donated over 40 Gift Certificates ... thank you! Gave us a beautiful park area to host our 5K run. I worked my tail off for 3 weeks organizing this 5K ... 30 people came. Thud. But still ... God was glorified, and we had a great time.

Yesterday, we had our 5K and All Community Donated Yard Sale. Our little hometown (1500 people max) required us to have a million dollar insurance policy to host our event in the park. OUCH. We prayed about it, received counsel and went ahead. The Police and Fire Department came out to help with traffic control. We put up signs at every intersection ... 1 person came. Heavy Groan. 5K Run cancelled. Trying not to be embarressed. Owner of the town newspaper was there to take photos. He said, "It's hard to run in Cowboy Boots". We laughed.

The Yard Sale went well, people were very generous and donated all kinds of awesome stuff. Someone donated a King Size log furniture bed, like what I've always wanted but could never afford. No one bought it, Praise God. But at the end of the day, most of the money we raised, went to pay the insurance policy. Almost all of us were sick and trying to make it through the day, kids strung out all over the park, in the shade sleeping ... a very long day. I can hardly walk.

But ... we were able to invite 2 people to our new House Church that starts next week. Many people were touched and blessed us with encouraging words about what we are doing. Actually, thanking us for what we were doing. And again, God was glorified.

OK ... so when you ask ... "How did it go?" What do I say? "It sucked. Disappointing. Exhausting. Depressing. What a waste of energy." Or do I say, "God was glorified. We saw Him in the faces of the donors. We heard His voice with every encouragement. We felt His peace. He makes all things work together for my good."

It was both ...

It was God's idea to do these events .. a whisper I heard in my sprirt. I obeyed. So ... "Well done my good and faithful servant ... now enter into my rest." Today, I think I won't even get out of this chair.

Who knows what God is doing behind the scenes when we obey Him and it doesn't appear to be so great an idea on the outside. I guess we'll know in heaven. We're only supposed to obey ... It wasn't our event, it was His.

So ... it was a fundraiser and we were hoping for a few thousand dollars like the event we did 2 years ago. Not so. But we obeyed. That's all I know. God is still good. He will provide. Our hope is not in our own strength. Our hope is in the Lord.

Rivers of Living Water . . . A Reality!

Well that dream I had back on Feb 15th is becoming a reality.

We are in the process of starting a Non Profit Organization, called Rivers of Living Water - Helping Orphans and Widows in Need.

Our desire is to help place clean water wells in orphanages and villages of adopted children. Our first project is to place a well in The Kamashi Orphanage in Kamashi, Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. This is the orphanage that our daughters came from. For more information, take a look at our new website.

http://www.rivers-of-living-water.org/.

Please pray for us as we begin this new adventure!

Rivers of Living Water . . . A Dream

I had this dream yesterday morning.

We were invited on a vacation with some old church friends of ours, who live in Oregon and have just recently adopted an adorable, baby girl from Ethiopia. When we got there, we were all sharing this HUGE room, that was like, 30 feet long, and had partitions in it. Along the one wall was this 30 foot long picture window, floor to ceiling, that overlooked this huge, wide, white-water rapids, gushing river. We were about 5 stories up overlooking this river, but it still looked violent and ominous.

Both of our families were there. They now have 5 kids, we have 6. I went and looked out this other window on the corner and saw a red suspension bridge, that resembled the Golden Gate Bridge, then on the other side I saw this huge mountain/rock. Masses of people were climbing up the side of the rock and were hanging on by holding on to the rocks jetting out from the wall.

Then suddenly, like someone turned on this huge faucet, water gushed out over the mountain like a mighty, rushing waterfall. The people hung there, reveling in it. Then after about a minute or so, the water turned off again. The people were laughing and thoroughly enjoying the fresh, cold water. It happened again and again, like someone was turning on and off a huge faucet, a massive waterfall of white-water. There was a huge pool at the bottom and people were swimming and playing in the pool, in the cool, clean, fresh water.

Then I woke up.

I've been waiting to blog about this .. but I feel like I might just burst if I keep it in any longer. We believe the Lord is birthing a ministry through our family. We have this strong desire to place water wells in the orphanages of, not only our adopted children, but in those of other families who have adopted from Ethiopia. In the orphanage where 2 of our kids are from, they take a truck into the river a mile or so away, and hand fill big containers full of the dirty river water. Then they haul it back to the orphanage. The ones who have been adopted are the blessed ones, but still they come to us with parasites and worms, skin disorders and malnutrition. The ones who remain still continue in this life ....

"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who keeps our hearts and weighs our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act." Proverbs 24:12

We have been doing a LOT of research in the past few days. Asking LOTS of questions and knocking on LOTS of doors. There are many wonderful Water Organizations out there, even some doing water campaigns to help villages in Ethiopia, but they all have their own partners and work in their own specific areas, and are unable to help us fulfill this vision we believe we have from God: water for the orphans. I am beginning to get discouraged. But as my friend, JT told me today, "Keep on asking ... all you need is one 'Yes'."

Seems like we will need to start a non-profit organization, or perhaps partner with an existing organization who might want to help us fulfill this vision from the Lord. Please pray for us as we continue to look for that one, open door. If you are interested in our project, please let us know!

Thank you and Blessings