Well, the two weeks is up. I am still working on the final tally and will write another post sharing it, as soon as I have it.
The purpose of Two Weeks of Sacrifice, is to forgo purchasing any beverages and to drink water for two weeks. Then to pull together that money that would have normally been spent on other beverages to give to Blood:Water Mission, an organization building wells in Africa.
Just One Dollar will give one African clean water for one year. So a little bit of money, in this situation, goes a long way.
Now, I am ashamed to say this....especially since I headed this particular Two Weeks of Sacrifice, but I did cheat a couple of times. Anyone who knows me, knows that I just don't enjoy drinking water. When I was pregnant, I did my best to drink tons of it, because I knew it was important....as is Blood:Water Mission. But all other times, I am drinking anything BUT water. And I did have Pepsi a couple of times. I know, I know...I am weak. A blogging buddy of mine, Kpjara, wrote a great post about her Two Weeks journey...and she had to take medicine to help her caffeine withdrawals....while I was over here on my end caving. So, I apologize to all of you who participated, that I wasn't able to fully do it. And I feel horrible that so many out there would give anything for just one fresh, clean glass of water, and I couldn't even go two weeks without drinking something other than water.
Now, on top of the money I did save by not purchasing other beverages, I will also put in the money that I spent those couple of times on Pepsi. My total came to $28. I did pass up some packs of Snapple Peach Iced Tea and some 24 packs of Pepsi.... among other things.
I highly recommend that those of you who have not heard about Blood:Water Mission, visit their website. They are currently doing a 1000 wells campaign where they are asking that each person interested in helping out, just contribute $1.00. That's it. But don't forget, $1.00 gives one African clean water for one year. So, pray about helping.
While on their site just a bit ago, I came across this story and wanted to share it with all of you....
In April of 2004, God placed a burden for the children of Africa in our hearts after a group of 4 men from our church made a presentation on their recent trip to Sudan. The faces of the children haunted me and broke my heart. After much prayer and wrestling, God made it clear that He desired us to adopt children from Africa and bring His orphans home. In May of 2004, we sent our paperwork to Sierra Leone, Africa to begin the process to adopt 3 year old twin sisters, Eden and Addy. We were expecting to bring them home around Christmas. However, that was not to be. On July 14, 2004, we received a phone call that forever changed us. Addy had passed away after contracting Cholera due to unsanitary drinking water. I did not know much about Cholera, so I began researching what kind of disease had taken the life of our daughter before we were ever able to hold her in our arms. When I found that Cholera is simply a bacteria that causes severe diarrhea and was contracted from her inability to get clean water, I was even more mortified that this is what had taken Addy’s life. It just seemed so senseless to us. Here in America we take for granted that we can just go to the faucet and turn on the water. We do not think twice about drinking water wherever we go. Sure, some water tastes better than other, but we never have to be concerned that the water we drink will kill us. That is simply not the case in many countries in Africa. They may haul water for miles just to have liquid to sustain life, and there is no guarantee for many of them that the water they walked miles for will not actually destroy them.
In the horrible hours and days following the news that Addy had died, we tried to make sense of such a tragedy. My heart still breaks that Eden will not grow up with her twin sister. All I have of the daughter I never got to comfort is a picture of her several months before she died and a picture of the make shift grave that her grieving family in Africa made for her in their family cemetery. However, Romans 8:28 promises that God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. God created Addy for His glory, and He will be glorified in her death as well (Isaiah 43:7). There are many more “Addys” in Africa, children in need of clean water just to survive. If we join together, we can provide wells for villages and reduce the incidence of death due to unsanitary water. Would you help make stories like Addy’s a thing of the past by helping provide funds for more wells to be drilled in Africa? For many it is a matter of life and death!
John and HollyAnn Petree
Addy’s Hope Adoption Agency
www.addyshope.com
Thank you again to those of you who participated.
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