Exceedingly Abundantly Above - Impact Zambia Recap

Wow. Humbled. Thankful. Joyful.

God is so good. So faithful to take care of His own.

This is how I feel after looking back on the 10 day Impact Zambia 100 campaign and seeing the provision of our Father God and how much He loves and cares for His own!

Despite a start that seemed a little slow to human standards, God, in His perfect timing, brought in 50 commitments on the last day to bring us OVER our goal at 115 commitments!  It was obvious how little this was about us and how much it was about HIM.

Together, this team raised $27,600! With the generous match, you helped bring in over $55,000 to build classrooms for our High School students in Zambia. Praise God! It’s amazing to see how much more we can do together!

Thank you Lifesong advocates for PRAYING, SUPPORTING, ADVOCATING, and GIVING for the 253 students at Lifesong Zambia. Especially these 7th graders who will be moving into new high school classrooms this fall!

"Now to HIM who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to HIM be glory in the church by CHRIST JESUS to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Ephesians 3:20-21

COMPLETELY in AWE!

Do you remember that Hope Ethiopia:100 challenge we gave you? The one where YOU all completely exceeded our goals? 

And that one phone call where an AMAZING donor committed to match ALL donations (up to $130,000) to Lifesong Ethiopia through the end of 2011?

Well, we found out about that donor on November 17th! That's 45 days to raise $130,000... which made this goal seem next to impossible... in OUR eyes! However, as you all know... GOD had different plans for THESE kids - 

and these kids - 

Plans that we could never had imagined... plans to give them hope and a future! 

Thanks to an AMAZING TEAM of individuals and their fundraising efforts, coupled with the provision of our Lord, THE MATCH HAS BEEN MET! Did you hear me? All ONE HUNDRED THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS has been donated for the children at the Adami Tulu and Ziway, Ethiopia schools! 

We stand in complete awe of our MIGHTY Jehovah Jireh! 

Thank you fundraising team for your efforts, for the way you never stop advocating for these children, and for our faith in our Lord God Almighty to provide for ALL of their needs! 

Thank you donors who stepped up to the challenge and did not let the dollar amount get in the way... but trusted that EVERY one of your dollars mattered! 

Thank you to all of you who advocated for these children, pray for them, and have invested in their lives... it will surely be an invest with an eternal reward! 

**For those of you who were wanting to give towards this project but haven't quite done so yet, it's not too late... you can still help! Any giving towards Ethiopia now can help us fund the daily costs of 500 children per year ($180 p/yr, p/child)!

Check the Adami Tulu site often to learn more about The Project, the fundraising priorities, and what's in store for 2012! 

Hope Ethiopia: 100

Hope Ethiopia from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo. 

Children at the Lifesong Ethiopia school are fed 2 nutritious meals per day, provided with a quality education, and taught the message of Jesus Christ. This gives kids like Beza the hope they need in order to break free from gripping poverty.

We currently have a need to build a 12-room expansion to our existing school, in order to reach more children like Beza. We have been blessed, by the generosity of a donor, to be able to MATCH all donations to the Ziway and Adami Tulu Schools between now and December 31st... up to $130,000!!!

This week, the 5^th through the 9^th, we invite you to join Hope Ethiopia:100. We are looking for 100 people to give a one-time $100 donation! We have currently raised $59,472.21 of the $130,000 needed, which is about 46%. 

Joining this team will not only give hope to kids like Beza, but your dollars will be matched AND you'll be entered into a drawing for a FABULOUS gift basket (details below).

Help us achieve the next $10,000 by being a part of our Hope Ethiopia: 100 Team!

*Gift basket includes: $100 itunes or amazon gift card, Lifesong t-shirt, Lifesong cookbook, Journey On CD, handmade necklaces & note cards by orphans in Zambia, handmade ornament from a child in Ukraine, 5 bags of Gobena coffee, Gobena coffee mug, Gobena t-shirt, and Gobena tote bag. This basket is worth over $250!

*To commit via check, please send an email to info@lifesongfororphans.org. Make check payable to Lifesong for Orphans, indicate 'preference Hope Ethiopia: 100' in the memo.

New School Year - Lifesong Ethiopia

Please enjoy this update from our Lifesong Ethiopia directors, Gary and Peggy Ifft:

On September 12 we turned over our new year here in Ethiopia and now we are in 2004.  We are looking forward to many good things in this new year!

School started here on Monday, September 19.  Opening up 3 campuses with over 600 students was quite a challenge.  This is especially true, considering that we had two brand new school buildings to open up. Opening up 2 new buildings and adding over 200 students also requires a lot of new teachers, teachers' aides, feeding program cooks, cleaners, and so on.  We now have a school staff of 62 employees and 5 employees in Samuel's Home.  This is a great responsibility which we take very seriously.  At times we lie awake at night thinking about all the families who are dependent upon us for their livelihood.  We are especially grateful for faithful supporters! 

We also want to recognize a special team which accepted the challenge of building 4 additional classrooms at our Adami Tulu campus.  This team committed to building additional rooms to allow us to have 2 classrooms each of Nursery School, Lower Kindergarten, and Upper Kindergarten.  As a bonus they also decided to raise funds for a brand new latrine for the students.

 

The amazing thing was that the team members didn't really even know each other personally before becoming involved in this project.  The one thing they had in common was that each had adopted or was in the process of adopting an Ethiopian child.  They went through a rather arduous fund-raising process and decided also to come to Ethiopia to do some "hands-on" work with the building they sponsored.  So, in mid-August they arrived and spent a few days painting the buildings.  They also taught Vacation Bible School to up to 200 kids and did a lot of other very worthwhile things. We are grateful for all they did, and we really appreciate the fact that they are also determined to help us expand the work in Adami Tulu!”

God's blessings to each of you and your families,

Gary and Peggy, Lifesong Ethiopia

Build a School = Skiing in Aspen?

Over three years ago, my husband and I began our journey to adopt our son from Ethiopia. And since that time, God has been filling our hearts with an overwhelming love and passion for the people of Ethiopia. We returned a year after our first adoption to bring our daughter home. After arriving home with her, we knew we had to do more!

We have been so blessed to team up with other adoptive families around the U.S. and with Lifesong for Orphans. Lifesong is doing some amazing work through a small nursery school that they support in Adami Tulu, Ethioipa. You can read more about Adami Tulu here. Last year, we, with five other families, raised over $40,000 to build a new building, restroom facility, and gate at the Adami Tulu school. In August, we got to return to Ethiopia to see the new building. We had an amazing trip, and have absolutely fallen in love with Adami Tulu. You can read more about our trip here and here.

The school is changing the lives of so many vulnerable children in the area by offering them a wonderful education and two nutritious meals a day. We've returned home with the knowledge that we have so much more to do in Adami Tulu. So we've agreed to continue our work with Lifesong by raising funds for another school building on the Adami Tulu campus. This will enable the school to expand to include 1st and 2nd grade. More details will be coming soon, but we're anxious to get a jump start on fundraising. We know that this project will cost at least $50,000. But, for these sweet faces, we'll do anything!"

-Mary Beth Picker, Adami Tulu Team (www.caseypicker.com)

 We are very excited to announce our first fundraiser for our next phase of the Adami Tulu project: another Aspen Giveaway!

 

Our Aunt and Uncle have, once again, generously donated toward our fundraising efforts. Only this time they've offered us not one but FIVE stays at the Hyatt Grand Aspen.

Any one of these November stays might make a great early-Thanksgiving get together for you and some friends or family! We will begin the giveaways today and draw winners on October 15. To enter, donate $20 by clicking the link for the stay that you're interested in. For every $20 you donate to Lifesong for Orphans, you will get one entry in the drawings. By the way, 100% of your donation will go to our work in Adami Tulu.

Here are some details and pictures about the Hyatt stays: Hyatt Grand Aspen has complimentary continental breakfast, a pool and hot tub, fitness center, fire pit, daily room cleaning and nightly turn down service complete with chocolates. There is even a little hut by the hot tubs where you can hang your robes to keep them warm for you! The hotel is within walking distance of lots of shops and restaurants in Aspen.

The retail value of each stay is approximately $2,500.

To get to Aspen, you could fly into the Aspen airport. The hotel will pick you up and, since everything is within walking distance, you can go without a car during your stay. Or you could fly into Denver and rent a car to drive to Aspen.

Or, of course, you could also just drive to Aspen.

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Hyatt Stay Giveaway #1:

• Sat.- Sat. November 5-12 (full week stay)
• Studio Unit (Like a nice hotel room with small kitchenette.)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #1, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

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Hyatt Stay Giveaway #2:

• Sun.- Thurs. November 13-17 (five days/ four nights)
• Two Bedroom Unit (Two Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, Washer and Dryer, etc.)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #2, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

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Hyatt Stay Giveaway #3:

• Sun.- Thurs. November 13-17 (five days/ four nights)
• Three Bedroom Unit (Three Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, Washer and Dryer, etc.) Maybe a family could do an "early Thanksgiving get together" in this one.

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #3, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

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Hyatt Stay Giveaway #4:

• Tues.-Sat. November 15-19 (five days/ four nights)
• One Bedroom Unit (All the things a two bedroom has but only one bedroom and bathroom)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #4, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

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Hyatt Stay Giveaway #5:

• Tues.-Sat. November 15-19 (five days/ four nights)
• Two Bedroom Unit (Two Bedrooms and Bathrooms, Kitchen, Livingroom, Dining Room, Washer and Dryer, etc.)

To enter the drawing for Giveaway #5, donate to Lifesong for Orphans here:

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Just imagine, you could win a stay in Aspen, just for donating $20. What a deal! Plus, you get to be part of this amazing project to help these precious kids in Adami Tulu. If you are unable to use one of the stays, you could donate your entry to a friend, or minister, or someone who could really use the time away. Help us raise money to expand the Adami Tulu school and spread the word about our giveaway. Please repost on twitter and facebook! Thank you!