Heartbreak for a Miracle Baby!!

 It's been a while since I have updated on Ashli and Restoration Orphanage in Ethiopia. For those of you who have supported the orphanage and Ashli's brave endeavors to bring the children back to health, you would be so thrilled. The kids look great! They are happy and the orphanage looks like a completely different place, thanks to your support. You TRULY have, and continue to make, a life changing difference in the children's lives.

Please keep Ashli in your prayers. She is brave, and cares for the children with her whole heart. She takes on more than many of us can ever imagine. Tonight's message from her is a perfect example. Earlier in the week I received a message from her that read....

"Also be prayin for a new baby. I named him Levi. He is so tiny and malnourished! He was found in Wolyta with hiennas!!!! I will elaborate later but he is a MIRACLE!!!!" 

I mean, can you even imagine??!! When I read that I just struggled to wrap my mind around this life that she lives and the things that she sees every day.
 I read another message tonight that just broke my heart.



"Lastly......the baby with the hiennas, I named him Levi. He got really sick and was on hard core meds! He needed one on one care! Needless to say he was so uncomfortable on Sat night and Sun morn and was struggling to cry. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked horrible. I was taking him to the Dr again Sun morn. At 4:14am I tried to feed him and he wouldnt take a bottle. I held him and sang Jesus Loves Me until about 4:40am. At 4:45am I was holding him and he was making the weirdest faces. As I stared at him I saw the look of panic in his face. I woke someone up and said, "Call the Driver and tell him to come NOW, Levi is gonna die!" At 5am he died in my arms. I ran and got Whitney and she and I did CPR on him but he was gone. Oh Kelly, this may have been the hardest thing Ive ever experienced in my life! Although he was already gone I didnt know what to do other than take him to a hospital so they could officially pronounce him dead. I held his cold stiff body in my arms as 4 hosptials turned us down. As I held him he was secreeting formula from his nose and mouth. His body was completely shutting down and it was making noises. I kissed his cold face and lips and wiped the milk from his cheeks as I soaked the blanket that was wrapped around him with tears. 4 HRS LATER, and the 5th hospita,l I lost it and said," I am carrying around a dead baby and no one wants to help me, what kind of place is this?" They wrote a death certificate and we went and bought a casket and burried him a few hrs later! Its all just like a dream! Im so numb! I laid him in that casket and put a blanket over his beautiful face and lost it!!! He came so far and then didnt make it, but then I realized yes, because he is in heaven now and Jesus is holding him and he is playing and HEALTHY and happy. The outfit he died in said DADDYS TEAM!! :) He is with his Daddy now. I am trying to just accept that I did what I could do but its so hard. 

None of us know what it is like to truly live out love like this unless we simply have lived it, seen it, held it. Once you look into the children's eyes, give them a name, see hope in their faces.....then you know....you know you have to do something.  

Ashli's mother wrote a note tonight about her daughter's experience. I thought it was beautifully put....

Tiny Child Without A Name
Would you weep for me...tiny child without a name,
Born in deepest sorrow, hidden out of shame.
Left alone in darkest night, child without a prayer,
Abandoned in the shadows, does anybody care? 

 Can you hear me crying? Terror fills the night.
Only heaven knows if I will wake with morning's light.
Will you come and find me, hold me in your arms?
Snatch me out of danger, deliver me from harm?

At last someone has heard me, now I am not alone.
She holds me close and loves me, and takes me home.
An angel on this earth I found for just a few short days
She prayed me into heaven, and dried my tears away.

Would you weep for me, a life so briefly lived?
Tiny child without a name with so much love to give?

The children pictured with her on this post are NOT the baby mentioned in this post. Please keep this brave girl and those she blesses in your prayers.

Power Team 3~ Day 5 in Ethiopia

Today we set out to serve the women who carry the large bundles of wood, eucalyptus sticks and whatever else would beenfit them to take to the market to sell. Our first priority was to get to them, give them a break and wash their tired feet. Once we did, we fitted them with a pair of clean socks and a gently used pair of shoes. A crowd would gather each time that we stopped, but we gave these women 100% of our attention. We wanted them to know that they did not go unnoticed and that we saw the heavy burden that they carried. Our intentions were to meet with these women and see which ones had a home and an area to house a donkey. After meeting with the women we went to the market area to find donkeys. To our disappointment, they had no donkeys worth buying that day. However, while our translator was negotiating a price and looking for donkeys our driver hopped out of the van and walked a short distance. He scooped up a sweet little boy that was probably about three years old who was wearing a shirt, a tattered sweater, no underwear, no pants and no shoes. Sami opened the side door of the van and sat him down. Little did this sweet little fella realize, he was about to get a makeover. Sami pulled his shirt off, while others cleaned him with wet wipes. They put on what was probably his first pair of underwear, a new shirt, some pants, socks, shoes and a jacket. He just stared around, probably wondering why on earth these people were caring for him. We did not buy any donkeys that day, but we were able to let that sweet boy know that we saw him, we cared about him and we wanted something better for him. 


On our way back from the market it began to rain. As we turned the corner, we noticed a woman carrying a huge bundle of eucalyptus branches. We stopped and our incredible translator hopped out and offered for us to carry her bundle on the van and give her a ride to the bottom of the mountain. It took six men to put the bundle on top of the van. We didn't leave before we sat her down and washed her feet. We told her that she was an angel and that we were blessed to serve her. She was clearly overwhelmed with it all. There were 14 people focused solely on her. Once she had on a fresh pair of socks and some new shoes, we loaded up to head down the mountain. She shared with us that she can earn about 80 birr a day by bringing two of those heavy loads each day. That is roughly $4 a day. She shared that her 19 year old son was a taxi driver that was involved in a traffic accident and because there was a fatality in the accident, he was taken away to prison, so she was left alone to care for the rest of her children. We asked her how much her expenses were and we were able to give her a few months worth of living expenses. Many on the team felt led to give, so we are not even sure how much we gave her, but we know it was enough for many months ahead. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain, near the market, we stopped to let her out. Again, six men worked to pull this heavy load from the van and held it while she tucked herself underneath and tied it to her back. It is unimagineable that she could carry that heavy load, but she walked away smiling and we all walked away amazed.


Because we couldn't find donkeys, Our translator suggested that we go to see how we could help a woman that he has been ministering to. She is a widow and mother of four. She is Muslim and lives in a Muslim community and gets very little help for her family. By God's grace, she and two of her children were home and she invited us in. The sweet woman shared with us that her major concern had been sending her children to school. It cost her 700 birr (approximately $36) a year to send them to school, but because she was only able to find work ever-so-often, she had to take them out of school. One of our team members gave her enough to pay for school for the entire year and extra for expenses for their family. We didn't say one word to her about Jesus, for her and our own safety, but I don't think we had to. Instead of saying His name, we simply loved her in HIS name. We prayed silently over her children and her home and simply hugged and kissed them, gave them clothes and shoes and love.

After leaving the Muslim community we stopped in for our final visit at Restoration Orphanage. Definitely a bittersweet moment. We were sad for it to be our last visit with them, but there was joy knowing that most of them would be in their forever homes before we would make it back to Ethiopia to see them again. Such sweet faces and such lucky families who will soon be welcoming those bright smiles into their forever-home. 
We planned our day today. We got one thing accomplisehd that we planned. God had different plans. We followed His lead. He blew our minds. He doesn't always ask us to make the game plan, but he does want you to show up for the game. This team showed up today. We let him lead and we simply submitted in obedience and allowed him to use us to change the world for a few, while He used them to change the ten of us forever.


I couldn't get pictures to upload from today but here are a few from our past couple of days at Shashemene and passing clothes out to the children we met on the road. 

Team 3 in Ethiopia~ Day 4

Here is the latest update from the team in Ethiopia. I am a day behind so I will have Day 5 coming right behind this one :) This team is doing some amazing things.

OH Team Day 4

The team left Shashamane this morning to head back to Addis. We had plans to make two stops along the way, one in Zeway and one in Debrezeit. I (Delilah) sponsor a child through a food program and was thrilled to find out that he lived in Zeway, a community that is about half way between Shashamane and Addis. We were able to arrange to stop in Zeway to meet him. What an incredible experience. While the team used that time to visit the local bank and exchange their money for birr, I was able to meet a member of my family. It was an incredible experience to see his face in person and to know that he knows who I and my family are. I am eternally grateful to the team for being willing to make that stop for me. It is something I will never forget.

Our second stop was in Debrezeit, which is where we met our translator. This was actually another personal stop, but divinely planned, nonetheless. Jeremy wanted to find his daughter's birth mother to give her an update on how she was doing and share pictures and gifts with her. What an incredible thing to witness. She is the sweetest woman. She invited us (all 14 of us) into her home, which was about the size of a walk-in closet. Jeremy was able to get a lot of questions answered that he will one day be able to share with his daughter and we were able to witness what complete and overwhelming sacrifice is. Not one person lost sight of the face that Jeremy's sweet little princess would have lived in that 7x7 room had God not called them to adoption. That visit also allowed us to put our own lives into perspective, knowing that although she would not be considered wealthy, she did have a "decent" place to stay by Ethiopian standards. What a reality check.

Whilte Jeremy was meeting with her, the team spotted a few children and thought they could use some new clothes. Adriane noticed one specific little girl peering from a half-closed gate. She walked over to the little girl to say hello, and give her a bag of clothes and shoes, and the girl just grabbed Adrianne immediately and hugged her as tight as she could. The little girl, who very well may have never been noticed before, obviously appreciated Adriane's attention and care, which exemplified the Ordinary Hero initiative to change the world for one.

Finally, we went back to Addis and back to the guest house where we began sorting donations for giveaway items. David wanted to give the guys that work at the guest house a soccer ball, and that just began an outpouring. We were able to fit every employee at the guest house with gently used shoes and some, we even sent gifts home for their children. How incredible that God would allow us to serve those who are so generously serving us.

God has shown up in the details once again. And we are humbled that he would call us to any of this, but we are thrilled to be a part of those very details.

Our Power Team in Ethiopia~ Day 2&3

I am so blessed to see the amazing things being accomplished in Ethiopia right now by this power team of 10! Watch the video below to hear from team leader, Jeremy Bullock, and see for yourself the dorms at Shashemene Boarding School and where some of your sponsored kids spend their school year. Then take a moment to read an update from Delilah, our team blogger. Great stuff is happening over in Ethiopia right now!! Also, I keep getting asked when we are posting our new trip dates and they are coming very soon so be on the look out :) Also, if you would like to sponsor a child, please look at P61's kids that STILL need sponsors BY CLICKING HERE. Pick one and contact Erin@p61.org. THANK YOU!!





Ethiopia Team - Day 2 & 3


One of the major projects planned for this trip to Ethiopia was to partner with Project 61 and do a project at the boarding school in Shashamane. We headed for the school early Wednesday morning and would be there for two days working. On our way to Shashamane we made a stop, in what seemed to be the middle nowhere. We noticed two young boys walking towards us, one of which was wearing a long shirt that was probably six sizes too big and that was it. The team had prepared the blessind bags, so we were thrilled to give them out. Within seconds we had six or seven more children, quite literally come out of nowhere to get a gift. We were qiuckly bombarded to the point that our driver had to tell them to leave so we could get back into the van and leave. Although for a moment we were overwhelemd, it was exhileratig to be able to meet a need for these children. The team was thrilled about it, so to avoid the chaos of gathering children fighting over gifts, we began tossing the blessing bags out of the window when we saw children walking. What a sweet treat to merely be walking down the road, see something fly out of a moving vehicle, only to find it's a bag that says, "Jesus Loves You" with a gift just for you inside. We weren't able to see their expression, but we all hoped that it met a need and planted a seed in their hearts.


For our project at Shashamane, we were asked to help paint the boys dorms before they return to school in a couple weeks. There were 23 rooms that needed the walls, ceiling and cabinets painted, as well as some maintenance to install latches and locks for their cabinets and reattach any broken cabinet doors. In two days, our team of ten, along with another team from Project 61 and many of the amazing boys and workers of Shashamane, we painted the halls and each room and were able to repair most of the cabinets before our power tools died. It wasn't easy work, it wasn't glamorous either, but we knew that the boys would be thrilled to return to school with a fresh new building to call their own. Painting took it's toll on many, but after a quick breath of fresh air, most turned right back around and started painting again. It seemed impossible to paint 23 rooms and the rest of the dorm in two days, but it happened. 


God is in the details...


To say that we are probably a little on the controlling side when it comes to our relationship with God is probably a fair stateent. No matter how many times he shows up in a big way, we still tend to hit another speedbump and our faith gets jostled around. Our team experienced this all through the fundraising process, but miraculously, we wound up over-fundraised. Does that even happen? Why would God have allowed that? We knew it was a blessing, but were not sure what it was inteded for. Jeremy, the team leader prayed this morning and asked God to make it clear to him what we were supposed to do with the extra money. He had no idea at the time how much extra we had. While working today at the boardng school in Shashmane he asked Summer (of Project 61) if there was anything they needed. She quickly responded, "yes!" Tuition went up this year, but they did not raise the sposorship costs for sponsors, so Project 61 was going to have to figure out a way to provide some of the supplies that the students needed. Jeremy suggested that she make him a list and give him an idea of the cost and he would see what we had left. Summer later returned with a list. They needed 260 of the following things: backpacks, exercise books, pillows, and 520 things of laundry soap and body soap. These items would cost roughly $2,876 (by Summer's estimates). Jeremy tucked the note away and we finished up our day of painting the boys' dorm. Over dinner, Jeremy and another team member went over the money, making sure everything was budgeted for the rest of our time here. After everything was accouted for, the remaining balance was $2,900!!! Just weeks ago we were worried about even raising enough to come. Little did we even realize, God had each penny planned before we even had it raised. He is faithful. As the team met and talked about their time the past two days, we read 2 Corinthians 9:6-9. We want all of our supporters to know what their gifts made happen. They not only sent us, but we had abundantly more to bless others!

2 Corinthians
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: 
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; 
their righteousness endures forever.”

Team 3 ~ Day 1 in Ethiopia

Here is an update from our Team 3 this year who just spent their first day in Ethiopia. Delilah from the trip is our blogger updater. This is what she has to say.....

Team 3 has safely landed on the ground in Addis. Today we visited Resurrection Orphanage. Can we say LOVE? Everyone loved on all those adorable children. But what I think surprised us the most is how much they loved back. They were truly happy. It was precious. Our team had a special treat for some of the older children at Resurrection. They have recently been adopted (praise the Lord), but we were told that often times teams come in to visit, they say hi, give them a hug and make a mad dash for the babies and toddlers. When Tabitha Gilliland ( who is not on our trip, but is Brent Armstrong's daughter) heard this, she took on a major project of collecting gifts for each of the older children. She made sure to get their sizes and their favorite colors to be certain they would not be dissapointed. It was all I could take watching these children light up with excitement when they saw that they each got an entire backpack of brand new clothes, toys and accessories. The boys each received a new soccer or basketball. Everyone got new shoes, two outfits, hats, sunglasses, a backpack with their name's embroidered and much more. Whitney, whose been staying with Ashli took us and she told us it was like Christmas morning for them. It was awesome to watch each one of them, one-by-one go to the bathroom to change and waltz back into the room with their new digs. They were smiling from ear to ear and they knew they looked great. It was such a sweet thing to get to be a part of. Thank you, Tabitha for heading that up. It was a great success!

After a visit at the orphanage we all returned the guest house to sort out our donations. We made more than 90 "blessing bags", as our team deemed them, to hand out to those in need. Most of the bags contain a full outfit, complete with socks and underwear and a pair of shoes. We will be taking these with us on our way to do a project at Sheshamane tomorrow for the little ones we may encounter on the road.

That sums up our first day here in Addis. We have already seen God shining through bright smiles and generous hearts, so we are thrilled to see what He has in store for us in the days ahead.

New OH Team Off To Ethiopia!!

 I am soooo excited to announce that this OH Mission Team left yesterday for Ethiopia.  This was not a team we publicized to get people to join. It is a smaller group of 10 people that are going to Ethiopia to serve in many different ways. We will have the opportunity to watch them in action as I receive the updates throughout the next 10 days or so. If you are inspired by what you see then stay posted. We will be putting out some dates for upcoming trips very soon that YOU can become a part of. These trips are life changing on so many different levels.

So let me introduce you to this OH Power Team of 10 that should be landed by now in Ethiopia!! Lots of Tennesseans, a couple of Ky folk, and one North Carolina gal in this bunch.

Jeremy Bullock from Clarksville, TN is our fearless OH Team Leader. He and his wife, Kelly, adopted a little girl last year from Ethiopia after Kelly had been inspired by joining us on our July 2010 mission trip. 

Delilah, from Ft. Campbell, Ky will be our dedicated blogger this week. As she sends me the updates then I will post them for you all to follow along. Thanks, Delilah!

Jennifer, from Clarksville, TN

 

Nicole, from Clarksville, TN

Brent, from Murray, Ky

Brent was a recent OH grant winner. He sold 6 donkeys through the store that he will get to pass out while in Ethiopia :) Wow!

David, Clarksville, TN

Adrianne, Clarksville, TN

Masina, Clarksville, TN

Katelin, Elizabeth City, NC

Vanessa, Clarksville, TN

I look forward to allowing you to watch this Power Team take Ethiopia by storm...or LOVE, as we watch them in action this week :) We ask you to PRAY for this team and their week on the ground in Ethiopia. May their steps be guided and their service to those in need be blessed!!

Our Grant Winners This Month...Woo Hoo!!

OH LOVES giving away GRANT MONEY!! We LOVE it so much because it is going to such great causes. When you sign up as an OH affiliate you can raise money for your adoption or your mission trips. Through a simple purchase that is made with an affiliate's name attached to it, that affiliate receives 40% of the purchase price. It is THAT simple and some folks are raising some great money in support of their adoptions or mission trips.

NOW on top of the 40% we are offering a $500 grant to the TOP 3 winners of this recent grant contest which ended last night!!
WOW!!!

Soooo, without further hesitation....the TOP 3 SELLERS AND EACH WINNERS OF A $500 GRANT ARE.....

MAKENZIE BRATCHER from Portland, Oregon, who is fundraising for an adoption, was our TOP SELLER! Woo Hoo!!

JESSICA HEESCH, from Portage, Wisconsin, was our SECOND TOP SELLER!! Woo Hoo!! She is fundraising for an adoption.

BRENT ARMSTRONG, from Hardin, Ky, was our THIRD TOP SELLER!! Awesome!! He is leaving today on an OH Mission trip to Ethiopia which I will be posting about later today. I'm super excited about this first OH mission trip WITHOUT ME, heading there right now!! Brent sold 6 donkeys plus other items that he will get to pass out this week in ET because of this contest. Yay!

We also have TWO HONORABLE MENTION GRANTS that we want to give out!! These two accounts sold over $1000 during this grant contest.

SARAH AND LIBBY WILLIAMS sold over $1000 in their acct to raise money for an upcoming OH trip. They just returned from an OH trip to Ethiopia in July and are already fundraising to go back!!

MEREDITH LAGORGA also sold over $1000 in this grant contest in order to fundraise for her adoption.

We are giving you both a $100 grant because of your awesome efforts in fundraising this month.

Way to go to all of our TOP SELLERS!!!

Remember to be on the lookout for our next, upcoming GRANT CONTEST. If you are adopting or raising money for a mission trip, be sure to check out our OH FUNDRAISING page to see how you can sign up as an OH affiliate. All three of our top sellers this month raised WELL over a $1000 that will be given toward their adoptions or mission trips through this contest because they won the grants. All in just 10 days!!

And again....we can't mention FUNdraising, without thanking the Queen of FUNdraising, herself, Gina!!!

She is our official OH FUNdraising Coach that gives out such great ideas and encouragement throughout these grant contests and keeps everyone pressing ahead. So THANKS, QUEEN GINA!!
WHAT MOTIVATES GINA, you ask?  Well.....it's this little guy and her own story :)

You see it was just last year that she randomly went on an OH mission trip to Ethiopia where she "bumped" into, and met her future son, whom she brought home just a few months later.

EVERYONE that is associated with OH has a personal story of how they helped CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE, and now want to help others do the same. That is why I LOVE what God has turned our organization into :)

As always.....Thanks for being an Ordinary Hero, and thanks to ALL the affiliates who participated and also those who bought items through our store during this OH grant to help boost their accounts!!

EVERYONE IS A WINNER!!

New Waiting Children.....and more!

First, I want to make you all aware that we have recently added new waiting children to our wait list. We are proud to have taken on new partnerships with International Adoption Guides, as well as Adoption Advocates, recently. We have children on our wait list from Ethiopia, Uganda, Eastern Europe, China, and some within the US that need a Second Chance. Please contact info@ordinaryhero.org for the password to view the waiting children. Your child could be waiting for you right now.

Second, if you did not get our recent mass email about the three families within the US that could use YOUR help, please contact Info@ordinaryhero.org to be added to our email contact list. Please CLICK HERE to see how you can be a blessing to ONE, or possibly THREE families in their time of need.

Lastly, we have two days left of our grant contest!! There are several of you that are ROCKING THIS CONTEST!! It is a tight race but there are going to be 3 top winners and others that have filled their accounts that are going to be VERY happy!! Can't wait to announce our winners of the top 3 OH affiliates. Contest ends at 11:59pm central time Sunday (tomorrow).

New Grant Contest Today through Sun Aug 28th!

DON'T MISS OUT!!

Are you raising funds for an adoption or mission trip? Then don't miss out on this week's OH Grant Giveaway! OH is giving $500 to the top three selling affiliates on top of the 40% that comes back to our OH affiliates. Yay! We love helping you CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE! If you are not signed up as an affiliate, find out how to become an affiliate by CLICKING HERE. 

We have just added a few new select items to our OH Store for this grant contest. Supplies on most items are limited so don't miss out. Here is a glimpse of what we have added this week along with our other awesome merchandise. 

Handmade African Flip Flops 

located in Accessories

 Amharic Children's Bibles

located in Product Donations

Handmade hats from Ethiopia

located in Accessories

Silver Africa Pendant/Charm

located in Accessories

Give A Donkey

located in Product Donations

This grant contest starts today, Fri, Aug 19, and runs through Sunday, Aug 28th at 11:59pm central time zone. 40% of each purchase made in your name as an affiliate is credited to your account. That will be applied toward your adoption or mission trip. It's never too late to sign up as an affiliate. You can try for as many grants as you wish. If you have any questions at all email our amazing OH FUNdraising coach, at Gina@OrdinaryHero.org. Gina keeps these grant contests fun and exciting by giving fundraising tips and advice throughout the contest. As always thank you for helping to CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE and thank you to those of you purchasing on an affiliate's behalf. Don't forget to click on their name in the drop down menu located in the checkout process beside "Affiliate Name".  

Ordinary Hero Grant Contest Coming SOON!!!

HEADS UP!!! There will be a GRANT contest starting THIS Friday, August 19th @ 12:01am and will run through Sunday August 28th and we will count all sales made through midnight!

We have some NEW items that we are adding to the OH Store over the next few days!!! So be on the look out for our NEW items to offer your friends and family!! :)

If you have not signed up to "FUNdraise" with Ordinary Hero to help raise funds for your Mission trip or your adoption NOW is the time to do so!!

Our last 3 winners of the last Grant contest fundraised over $1000 each in 10 days! It's FUN and its FAST money! and your friends get cool products as the help you Fundraise the money you need!

If you know someone in the Adoption process or planning to go on a Mission Trip PLEASE tell them about this opportunity!!! Help us spread the word around!!!

Sign up today to become an affiliate!!! Start compiling your email lists to send to family and friends-- the Contest will start THIS Friday at 12:01am!

Best of luck to everyone!!!

Gina Payne
OH "FUN"draising Coach

P.S. If you are an affilaite with OH and you did NOT get an email from me last night please email me and give me your email address. I had a few come back to me as "undelivereable"!

Kids are Back To School with Project Backpack 2011

 Our Third Annual Project Backpack was a success! Thanks to all of you who donated backpacks and school supplies, or funds to get them for these children. I love seeing their little faces light up as they see their brand new backpacks.

 A few awesome volunteers of Ordinary Hero met at the homeless shelter in order to pass out backpacks, and also connect with the children through a few crafts.

 I especially love that the volunteers bring their families with them and allow their children to experience what it is like to give.

 Bev, and her family, pictured below deserve a HUGE OH THANK YOU! Bev coordinates this outreach every year and does a fantastic job!

 So thank you, thank you, Bev!! I'm going to start calling you "Miss Project Backpack".

 I love the fact that I just moved into a new house....hired a painter...just met the painter this week....mentioned Project Backpack.....and here he showed up with his whole family to come serve. He told me he remembers what it is like to live without food growing up as a child. He wants to be able to help people and show his children how to serve. Now OH has awesome new Spanish speaking volunteers, which can really be helpful...plus he's an awesome painter!

 Again, many thanks go out to our volunteers and donors for this Project Backpack 2011. You Ordinary Heroes are the reason we continue to touch lives.