Home, Home On the Range...: The Linus Effect

Amid the usual shopping and "hustle and bustle" of the holiday season, we have decided to work on a "family service project" and we would like to share it with you. Maybe you can help us affect the lives of children.

We have friends who started a humanitarian group, called Village Of Hope, after adopting children from Ethiopia 13 years ago. (That's the "long-story-short" version.)

How did they plan on adopting TWO and end up returning with SIX?

(To read a MUCH BETTER version, follow the links below:)

Part I: "Making Room For One More." Click HERE.

Part II: "With Joy..." Click HERE.

To visit their website, which explains more of what their group does, click HERE.

Picture: One young girl washes her hands as another young girl drinks from the same water.
The river was filled with raw sewage.

Their mission is to rehabilitate the Ethiopian village of Kersa Illala (and surrounding villages) through a structured humanitarian program, which teaches self-reliance and independance. They work in six areas: Protecting children, Water and sanitation, Women empowerment through education, Family Income, Agriculture, and Healthcare.

* * * * *

We are looking forward to going on an "Expedition" to Ethiopia (with VOH) in April. In the meantime, we hope to get involved in other ways...which was when I had an idea.

While driving home from the store a little late one Saturday night, Hayden asked for his blanket. It's pretty common since I keep a specific fleece blanket in the car for just this situation. The blanket is comforting and soothing for a sometimes long and uncomfortable road trip (for a 4-year-old).

As Hayden snuggled up to his blanket, a thought came to me so clear and strong, it was as though someone whispered it into my ear.

Flashing red lights and ringing bells made us stop for a train. With the "clink-clank" sound and passing freight cars in front of our windshield, I turned to Ben and shared my idea in an enthusiastic tone. "I'm going to see if they need blankets for the Children's Home."

The Children's Center in the village is a safe place for kids. A lot of these kids are orphaned by disease and war. As I thought of Hayden and how much his blanket comforts him, I thought of those kids at the Center.

Kids are kids.

And those "little ones" thousands of miles away are just like my little Hayden here at home. I wanted them all to have a blanket to snuggle.

I sent an email to DeAnna and she wrote back right away. I quickly found out that they are in "desperate need" of blankets. "I never seem to have enough for everyone," she mentioned in her response. Winter is coming and it's getting cold, especially at night.

So here's the plan:
So far we have put together 18 "snuggle" blankets (made out of fleece) and collected 19 baby receiving blankets. We are also planning on putting together tied twin-size quilts, which will go on the beds at the Children's Center.

Quilt Materials:
The quilts are going to be made out of flannel twin-size flat sheets. We are going to buy them (on sale and clearance) at stores like the Dollar Store, Wal-Mart, and Target. Two sheets will be put together (with batting in the middle), and then tied with yarn. The edge will be finished with a home-made binding. This creates a fairly inexpensive quilt.

We have friends, family, and members from local churches who are willing to help us put the quilts together and tie them, but right now we are trying to gather the materials. Our goal is to start with 20 quilts.

Feel the Spirit of Christmas:
If you are interested in helping, let me know. I have added a "ChipIn" link (just under the blog title) for those who would like to make a monetary donation toward materials. Payments are made securely through PayPal, but you do not HAVE to have a PayPal account to donate.

Feel free to "Copy" the ChipIn widget and add it to your blog or website....Maybe YOUR friends and family would like to donate. You also have permission to add a link (from your blog) to my blog.

If you have other ideas of ways you would like to help, contact me or leave a comment.

I'm looking forward to sharing pictures and stories with you of our experiences with Ethiopia and Village of Hope.