The Gift Basket

Well it's Day 4 of our Hope Ethiopia:100 Campaign. We feel excited and humbled at the response we have been given...

***Hope Ethiopia:100 update -- 55 out of 100 people, $8,910.05 raised

We have until tomorrow to get 45 more teammates to join us in our Hope Ethiopia:100 team!

100 people. 100 dollars. Hope given. Gifts matched. and GIFT BASKET...thought we'd give you an up close & personal view of the gift basket that each Hope Ethiopia:100 team member is entered into...check it out!

$100 iTunes or Amazon gift card (winner's choice!)...

Lifesong T-shirt (see store for color/sizes)

Lifesong 'Taste of Heaven' Cookbook

'Journey On' CD

Handmade necklaces & note cards made from our kids at Lifesong Zambia

Handmade ornament & note from one of our kids at Lifesong Ukraine

5 bags of Gobena Coffee (see store for varieties)

Gobena coffee Go-Mug

Gobena t-shirt (see store for colors/sizes)

Gobena tote bag

VALUE - - over $250

Join the Hope Ethiopia:100 team TODAY... 

Check out this week blog post & for more details on Hope Ethiopia:100 & to get to know some of our kids at Lifesong Ethiopia!

Giveaway Winners!

Thank you so much for participating in our fun giveaway over the last week! We are SO excited to bless our 2 winners:

1st PRIZE: We are giving away a 1-night hotel stay for the LIVE ORPHAN SUNDAY event in Kansas City!!! Let me just tell you, this event will be FABULOUS!!!

2nd PRIZE: We are giving away FREE Gobena Coffee for 1 year - 2 lbs per month shipped straight to your home.

Ready to see the winners.... or should we make you sweat it out a bit?!?!? :)

Here we go! Had 28 entries (including the ones that were emailed to us)...

The 1st prize winner is:

#25 is Betsy!! Congrats Betsy! We will be emailing you today to make arrangements for your FREE night in Kansas City... enjoy!

*If the 1st prize winner is unable to make it to the Live Orphan Sunday event, a new winner will be drawn.

The 2nd Prize winner is:

 

#2 Brian! Congratulations! We'll email you today to set up delivery for your FREE Gobena Coffee for 1 year! Woohoo!

Check back often for more fun giveaways! If you have an idea for a giveaway or conversation starter, let us know by sending an email with 'Idea' in the subject line to christi AT lifesongfororphans DOT org.

coffee, desserts, and gifts oh my!

IMPORTANT NOTE: at the bottom of this post I'll be introducing a new feature and need your input!  Don't miss it!)

Happy Friday, all!  Can you believe it's December already!?  Oh goodness! (just between you and me, I have 12 gifts I'm MAKING this year and now that we're in December I'm beginning to feel the pressure... hmmm, if I can average at 1 gift every 1.83 days i SHOULD be okay... oh dear)

But gifts aside, let's talk about one of my OTHER favorite holiday past-times... entertaining!  And what does every American host need for a successful Christmas party?  

That's right... COFFEE!

We've highlighted Gobena Coffee before, but do you know just where the money used to purchase this coffee goes?  

Straight to Ziway, Ethiopia where Gobena and Lifesong have partnered to...

 

1. Implement a Feeding Program (breakfast and lunch for over 300 students)

2. Develop a Christian School, adding two addition classes per year (after 5 years, that 1,050 students!)

3. Complete construction on a local church

4. Build and operate a group Home (providing a Christian home environment for 12 double orphans withEthiopian "houseparents")

5. Create a sustainable business for vocational/entrepreneurship training, to help break the cycle ofextreme poverty for these children. 

 These are the goals.  Every bag of coffee(or t-shirt, or tote bag, or mug) helps!

Now you can't have a good cup of coffee without a yummy piece of dessert, right?  So here's what we're going to do...

(this is where i tell you about the exciting new feature)

Remember that cool little cookbook we introduced last week?

Well, starting next Thursday we're going to highlight one of its recipes every week... make it, taste it, review it... and there may even be some video and picture documentation of all the fun!  We're calling it:

And for our first recipe we'll be doing a dessert!  But I need to hear from you?  

What recipe would you like us to feature?

Here are your options:

1. Oreo cheesecake (I have never made a cheesecake in my life so this could be interesting)

2. Honey cookies (My favorite Christmas cookie... a German tradition)

3. Apple Scrumptious (this makes the song "Truly Scrumptious" from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang play in my head... which makes me "truly" happy)

or...

4. Baked Custard (no commentary here... other than I LOVE me some custard)

Let me know your vote... and the dessert that gets the most comments will be our very first Tasty Thursday Treats feature!

Have a beautiful (and maybe snowy?) weekend!

More Christmas ideas: Coffee, Tees & Cookbooks

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we know a lot of you out there are making Christmas lists. 

How about this year give some that keeps on giving?!    

  

 If you remember, a couple weeks ago Leslie highlighted Gobena Coffee and the creative gifts that keep on giving--specifically to our feeding program in Ethiopia. (check out that post here)  

...Coffee not your thing?

 Just this week we are introducing some new colors in our Lifesong Shirts.  We now offer blue, green and red in women's & gold, green and brown in men's.  Check out our store to start sportin' us today! 

and...COMING SOON!

Taste of Heaven Cookbooks 

Kristy Luginbuhl, a local Lifesong-adoptive Mom has put together a cookbook that is not only filled with amazing fresh and delicious recipes but also highlights several adoption testimonials, pictures and highlights of our Lifesong orphan care initiative.  Due to a generous donor who covered the entire cost of this project, 100% of the $22 cookbook will go to Lifesong's Adoption/Orphan Care programs.  

We don't have them in yet, but wanted to let you know as you plan your Christmas shopping! If you would like to pre-order this cookbook, visit Lifesong Store today! All pre-orders will be shipped by December 1, 2010!

Not Your Ordinary Sunday...

Adopt an Orphanage from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Since it was first introduced to the US in 2003, Orphan Sunday has continued to grow. Today the Christian Alliance for Orphans provides a wealth of resources and stories atwww.orphansunday.org, hopeful to inspire the church towards caring for the fatherless. May we, in our wealth, reflect God's heart to those who need it most.

At Lifesong for Orphans, we want to help inspire you to take action this Orphan Sunday. How can you be a part of this movement? Host a prayer group. Teach a Sunday school lesson. Encourage your pastor to preach about orphans. Host a gathering or lecture at your college campus. Take part in a Both Hands project. Serve Gobena coffee at your church. Launch an adoption fund or Adopt an Orphanage program at your church.  Orphan Sunday Partnership Packages are provided online for more ideas and help on how to utilize resources provided by orphan care ministries throughout the country.

November 7, 2010 marks another Orphan Sunday. Another day to focus on the "least of these." Another day to give voice to the voiceless. Another day to bring awareness to the church and inspire action towards a solution. Don't let this day pass without you. 

We have all been adopted into Christ's royal family. Just as we cannot imagine the Gospel without salvation, we cannot tolerate a Christianity that does not welcome the orphan into the family of Christ. On Orphan Sunday, join us to demonstrate the validity of the Gospel through our love for the widow, the poor and the orphan.  

Keith Swartley, Team Leader, Caleb Resources