Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Stay home and make a difference!

I'm ashamed of myself.

I'm facebook friends with Christie Cotney, a missionary who is trying to make a difference in Bugabo Village, Uganda, East Africa. You can read all about her story, her calling, her dreams for the village, here. It's really a very honest, interesting blog, written by someone who is truly walking the walk.

Lately, I've been vaguely annoyed by Christie's facebook posts. She posts status updates regularly to let us know how her efforts are going - or not. She, and her fiancee, George Magera, have come up with a "faith list." It's a list of various things that they NEED not WANT, but NEED to make their ministry in the village work. It includes things like a well for the village so everyone has enough water, even in drought. Serious things, not "administrative fees." Her idea is that if 1500 people donate $36, everything will be covered.

Lately, she's really been pushing making a donation to her list or at least "sharing" a link to her blog so that others can learn about it - and posting her aggravations when she isn't getting the donations she needs.

I've found myself thinking that I've already donated enough money to her cause - I've sponsored three children to go to school, paid for the desks they'll need at school, purchased the Ugandan jewelry she sells as a fundraiser, etc. What more can she possibly expect from someone she's never even met? Someone that has taken on faith that all of the money she's already sent is being used responsibly - especially in light of the bad news from the Global Fund?

And then came the realization. $40. FORTY DOLLARS. I'll spend that in one night when I go with friends to dinner and a movie. So, this Saturday night, I'm staying home. And I'm sending Christie $40 so that everyone in the village can have fresh water to drink. Really, what does it matter if they can go to school if they have no water to drink?

Please consider joining me in staying home this Saturday night and making your donation for $40 on Christie's blog. Everyone should have clean water to drink.

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