I am going back to Ethiopia and going to Uganda for the first time!!

On May 17th I will be traveling to Ethiopia for my fourth trip! But this trip will be different than my three other trips. You see, this will be the first time I will be traveling to Ethiopia as my non-profit Project 117!! On this trip all these years of this dream will finally come into fruition! I will be traveling, once again, with One Child Campaign and we will be installing water purification systems at some of their project locations. This has been in the works and something I have been looking forward to for so long! I am so excited the time is finally here!

We are hoping to installing about 2 or 3 systems. One system will be at a children's home location in Holeta, Ethiopia. I stayed at this children's home for about 3 days this past July and loved my time there. It will be pure joy to see this system finally installed! Everything is already set up for us and awaiting the system. The cement platform for the water tanks to sit on is already constructed and the 2 giant water tanks are already in place. We just have to come and construct and instal the system.

The next two locations we are hoping to install a system are in Shone and Combolcha, Ethiopia. Shone is another children's home location that was in the start up process when I was there in July and as long as they have a water source when we arrive in May we are hopeful to do an install. Combolcha is a location that we are hopeful has some type of water source that we will be able to give them a system as well.

A water purification systems will purify water to 99.99999% purified and is very cost effective. As long as a location as some type of water source we can install a purification system. A water source can be a lake, stream, puddle, rain water, water from the tap, etc.

After my trip to Ethiopia, I will be heading to Uganda for about 2 weeks! I am very excited to be heading there for the first time! I will be going to Bugabo village where missionaries George and Christie Magera live. They have built a school for the children, have found sponsors for the children, been able to have the people of the village see a doctor, and are currently trying to get a full time clinic funded, among many many many other wonderful things they do for this village on a daily basis.

I am so excited that I will be heading back to Africa. I am now in full fundraising mode! My first fundraiser this time is


an iPod Shuffle and a $15 iTunes gift card to get you started!!!!

To get an entry into this giveaway just donate $10 toward my trip. That's right, just $10 for a chance to win an iPod and $15 in free music!!! And you help me get to Ethiopia and Uganda!! Just click on the donate button on the right side of my blog! This will go on until February 21st, so you have one month to get in on this. But don't wait until then! Get in on this now so you don't forget! And spread the word to all your friends!!!

Thank you all very much for being a part of getting me back to Ethiopia and sending me to Uganda for the first time. 

Project 117

I know I owe you all an update from my time in Ethiopia. I promise I will get that to you. Right now I am excited to announce to you the launch of Project 117!! This has been three years in the making so I am very very excited about this! On my first trip to Ethiopia, three years ago, while stopped in cattle traffic (if you have been to Ethiopia you know what I am talking about!) I looked out the window and there was a little boy no older than 10 drinking water out of a puddle. My stomach churned as I thought about all the diseases this little boy could endure because of that dirty water. If you would even call it water. It was so brown it did not resemble any kind of water I had ever seen in my life. That is when it all began. It began with that little boy. My friend Caleb says it all starts somewhere. For me, it started with that little boy.

Through out these past three years God has been preparing me for this time. There had been a lot of junk He has cleaned out of my life and a lot of preparing He has done. He needed me to get to this point before letting me start this organization. I was anxious to get things started, but it was never the right time. He knew when the right time would be. I had to be ready. Ready in a way that I never realized. On this last trip to Ethiopia with One Child Campaign, God let me know it was time. I was finally ready.

As of Friday, August 18, 2011, Project 117 is officially a non-profit corporation!! What is Project 117 you might be asking? First, our name comes from Isaiah 1:17. "Learn to do good. Seek Justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows." That also happens to be our mission. Isaiah 1:17 is what we focus to strive for. Is the work we are doing really striving towards the message of Isaiah 1:17?

Our vision is to help make a sustainable impact in people’s lives by providing for their basic needs. Through helping provide these needs such as clean water, basic hygiene skills, better nutrition, and so on, we at Project 117 believe people can live healthier lives. By living healthier lives people can then attend work more frequently which in turn provides more of an income for them and their family. Also when the heads of the household are healthier, they can teach their children to be healthier and the children can then attend school more frequently. When their children receive a better education they are more likely to attain better employment as adults. So the cycle of sustainability continues. 


Our goal is by providing for a person’s basic needs we at Project 117 hope the people we serve will be able to live a healthier life and in turn be able to provide better financially for their family. We hope this will lead to a sustainable impact on their lives and on the lives on their family.


Over the last three years God has really showed me that you don't need to throw a ton of gifts and a ton of money at people to have a lasting impact. If anything, those things do not have a lasting impact. If you want to really change a person's life for the better, you want to provide them with something that will provide a lasting sustainable change. The very definition of sustainable is something that is able to be maintained or kept going. That is the key. What we do at Project 117 has to be able to be sustainable. It has be be able to be maintained and kept going. And NOT by us! But by the people of the countries we serve. We want to train and teach them how to do these things so when we are gone we don't leave them hanging. We do not want them to rely on us. We want to empower them. We want them to see the skills that are already inside of them and help them bring those out. 


Our ultimate goal? Work ourselves out of a job! We want to be able to show the people we serve that they can do this on their own. With the simple skills we show them they can live long healthy lives caring for their families. And we do not need to be around forever to do that. Yes, we will be around as long as they need us and will will NOT leave these people hanging. Will will ALWAYS be there for them. But our goal is NOT to do things for them. Our goal is to teach and train them how to do these skills for themselves. When we install clean water systems, we will teach them how to run and maintain them so they do not need us returning all the time to do it for them. So they can do it for themselves. So they can feel empowered knowing they can take care of themselves! 


We will be starting a Facebook page and a twitter account to keep you all up to date on everything we are doing. An email account will also be set up so you can contact us with any questions, concerns, comments, etc. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask! We are currently working on some things right now that we are very excited about and we can not wait to bring you more information on all of that! We are also very interested in partnering with other organization in anyway we can to help each other out. If you have an organization, and you thing we might be able to help each other out please don't hesitate to contact us! I will update this blog post once I have an email set up. 


I am so excited to be starting out on this journey and I cannot wait to see where God takes it. After all, this is all for His glory!!! 




ETA [Edited To Add, for those of you not in the know. ;)]: We now have an email address!!! It took a couple of days to get one!! Google kept telling me I was not old enough to have an email account! lol Our email address is Proj117@gmail.com Remember it! Save it! Use it! Any questions, comments, concerns, partnering possibilities, etc. We want to hear from you!! 

I have arrived in Ethiopia!!!

Wow! Ok! I didn't think this would work here, but I'm going to try it! I have arrived in Ethiopia! I know I have not updated the blog in a while! Life got really crazy! And then I found out about a week and a half before I was originally supposed to leave I did not have a flight. I did some scrambling and weeded through some ridiculously priced flights and found one. I left this past Monday night and arrived in Addis Ababa very early this morning local time! It's been a little crazy and stressful, but I am so glad I am here now!

Internet comes and goes as it pleases so my blog updates will probably be short. I have one HUGE request for you all. PLEASE buy my remaining Ugandan necklaces!! Spread the word!! I had so many donations to take with me I had to pay ridiculously high baggage fees!! Fees that were not the same as to those listed on the airline's website. I cannot even mention the number because I think I might be sick!! Honestly I figured it out based on what the website said and when I got there I was told a completely different price. Thankfully I had the money to put out, but I would so appreciate some help on this. So, please buy a necklace! Tell everyone you know about the necklaces! I think I have about 14 left! It won't cover the baggage fees, but it would make me feel a little better! :) They are $25 a piece and can be purchased on the right side of my blog. Just look for the Ugandan necklace tab and there will be a buy button. Thank you so much!

Please don't get me wrong in this. I am not complaining about bringing all these donations. The price is so worth being able to bring these donations for the children. I just feel very mislead by what the airline's website said as to what the actual baggage fee is. I would pay anything so these children could have these items, but I would just like to be properly informed so I could be prepared. And I was not prepared for this....I was about half prepared for this!

And because it is definitely a miracle!!! ALL 7 of my bags arrived in Addis!!! This is HUGE!!!!! Last time I was here all of my bags did not make it and it took a few days to get them all. So this is definitely an answer to prayer! Thank you all who were praying for my bags! It may seem so trivial to pray for bags, but it was so important for me to have all my bags arrive!

I will update as often as I can depending upon the internet. And hopefully I will be able to post a few pictures here and there. The internet just is so unpredictable you never know what you are going to get day to day...sometimes minute to minute! lol Please keep praying for my trip! I need all the prayers you all can give! Thank you all so much for everything. I appreciate it all so much!! All the prayers, all the donations, and all the financial support!! I would definitely not be sitting in this amazingly beautiful country right now if it was not for all of you! Thank you!! :)

Soccer Balls for Necklaces!!

Don't forget the campaign I'm working on right now!! I will be arriving in Ethiopia 2 weeks from today! Crazy I know!!!! So these next two weeks will be filled with collecting donations. I still have about 15 Ugandan magazine paper necklaces left. For every necklace I sell, I will be purchasing 2 soccer balls to bring to Ethiopia with me. The children in Ethiopia love to play soccer...erm...I mean football! They will use anything they can find to make a football. They will even tie up some trash just to have something to play football with! Lets see how many footballs we can bring them. If I sell all 15 necklaces I have left that will be at least 30 footballs!!! I think we can do it in 2 weeks. Spread the word. The necklaces cost $25 a pieces and that includes the shipping.

Also, I am collecting toothpaste. I have 288 toothbrushes that I will be taking over with me, but not nearly enough toothpaste to go with them!! I will take any size you are willing to donate. I will even take the travel size! I don't know if there is any on sale right now or any coupons out there, but I know AIM is always less than a dollar a tube. And I'm not sure what the rate is on children's toothpaste...that is not one I frequently purchase. ;)

I am also looking for donations of more children's clothing. Sizes from newborn through teenager. I usually seems to get a lot of the middle group (usually toddler-6ish), but the teenagers usually get forgotten. So if you have any of those I would love to take some with me! Or if you see a great sale and would love to contribute that way that would be awesome!!! But I will also take whatever you are willing to give even if they are the sizes I usually get. They still need those sizes as well!

I will also take any medical supplies you might have. Band-Aids, gauze, alcohol pads, ointments, medicines, anything you can think of. It's harder to get certain medical supplies over there and they can use it just as much as we can use it here, but they just don't have as easy access to it over there. They get cuts and scrapes like we do, but they can't run to Target to get Band-Aids and Neosporin to deal with it.

And CLOTH DIAPERS!!!! I know I am friends with a lot of cloth diaper mamas and if you are will to donate any cloth diapers I will be so grateful!!! I don't want to take any of your stash if you are still planning on using it for future kiddos (I know how expensive CDing is!), but if you are done and wouldn't mind parting with your CD I would love to take them to Ethiopia with me. Imagine them on some cute bums in Ethiopia! :) I have seen the cuteness of the pictures you all post of your adorable kiddos in their CD, now imagine that cuteness on an adorable Ethiopia baby! AHH! That is too much cuteness for me to take!! lol I will be sure to take some pictures (if I can) of them in action so you can see!

If you are not local, you can ship any and all donations to me! You will see my address on the right side of my blog. Just make sure there is enough time for the package to arrive before I leave. Thank you all for supporting my trip and for all of your donations! I appreciate them all!! And as always keep the prayers coming! :)

Buy a Necklace Send 2 Soccer Balls to Children in Ethiopia

First off I just want to say, I am on my way to Nashville and they have wifi on the plane. Who would have thought?? Okay, maybe I'm the only one facinated by this! haha :)

Anyway, buy one the beautiful Ugandan necklaces I have for sale and you can send 2 soccer balls to children in Ethiopia who would be beyond thrilled to have them. The children in Ethiopia love to play soccer (or football as they call it) and they will use anything as a ball. They will even tie up trash in the shape of a ball just to be able to place. Lets get them some real soccer balls so they can play. Each one of the beautiful Ugandan magazine paper bead necklaces I am selling are $25 each. That coms out to roughly 2 soccer balls each depending on how well priced I can get them for. Imagine the smile on a child's face when they see a brand new soccer ball they can play with! It would be such a great moment for them. A moment where they can forget about everything going on around them and be a kid.

You can purchase a necklace by clicking on the paypal button to the right (the one for the Ugandan necklaces). I think I have 15 left (it might be 14) so that is about 30 soccer balls! How awesome is that??? If you order a necklace between now and July 6th, I will mail it out once I return from Nashville. Thank you all so much! And just as a reminder some other donations still needed are cloth diapers, toothpaste, clothing, and medical supplies. Thanks! :)

100.

That is my new favorite number. As in 100%!! 100% funded!! Praise God!!! I am 100% funded!!! Both my trip and my flight are paid for!! :) Every time I go to Ethiopia, it always seems to come down to the wire with the funding. I just love how God works that way. I think He is trying to teach me patience. I so need to learn more patience. I knew all along He would provide every penny and just 18 days before I leave!

You can still help me, though! I am currently collecting donations to take with me to Ethiopia. I am still selling the Ugandan magazine paper necklaces. They are $25 a piece and for each necklace you buy you will send 2 soccer balls to children in Ethiopia! How awesome is that?!?! You get a beautiful piece of jewelry and children in Ethiopia will have a great toy to play with. Soccer is a huge sport in Ethiopia and children will use whatever they can find to make a ball just so they can play. They sometimes will tie trash into a ball and play with that.

I am also collecting toothpaste. I have about 300 toothbrushes I am bringing with me and I need some toothpaste to take along. I am also in need of some more clothes. I have some, but need some more. They can be new or gently used. All children's sizes including baby through teenager will be great. I am also looking for some cloth diapers. This will be something wonderful that I could bring to an orphanage that will really bless them. I will also take any other medical supplies and anything else you can think of. There really isn't that much that I will turn away. :)

If you are local, just contact me and I will come pick anything up. If you are not local, you can ship anything to me at the address at right. You can also donate financially by clicking on the donate button on right. I will be going shopping for some donations so you can contribute that way if you would like. Thank you all so much! Thank you for your financial donations so I could be 100% funded. Thank you for your donations so I can take items over to those in need. I especially thank you for all your prayers thus far! Please keep them coming as the trip is almost here. This is the crucial time when the enemy is really going to be rearing his ugly head! Especially now that I am fully funded!!! Thank you all for all your support! I love you all. :) I will keep you updated on the donations and what is needed.

Ethiopia is fast approching and I'm not fully funded!

Hey everyone! When I started out on this adventure of a third trip to Ethiopia, I told you all I was going to be as transparent as I could be on this blog. You all are helping me get to Ethiopia, so I want you to know what is going on. Well I feel the need to be open and transparent with you right now.

I leave for Ethiopia in 33 days! 33!! That is going to be here before we know it! However, I am not fully funded! As of today, I have $780 left to pay toward my trip. I need people to step out in faith and help fund my trip to Ethiopia. I know God has called me to go and He will have all the funds provided for me, but where He gets those funds from is up to Him. He may be calling you to give to my trip. Is He tugging at your heart? Is He telling you to help send me to do His work in Ethiopia? This is as little as 10 people donating $78. Or 15 people donating $52. Or 20 people donating $39. Or even 30 donating $26. Or maybe God has blessed you in a huge way and He is tugging at you to make me fully funded.

I need to be fully funded to be able to get to Ethiopia. God is going to provide and make a way, but His body needs to move and act when He is telling them to. I am paying out of pocket for my flight so I need donations to be able to pay for the cost of the trip itself. Please consider donating to my trip. Pray and think about it. If you would like to donate to my trip, you can do so by clicking on the donate button on the right side of my blog. You can also mail me a check (you can find that information on the right side as well).

Please continue to pray for my trip. Pray as I continue to fund raise, prepare to leave, and while I am in Ethiopia. I appreciate all of your prayers. I appreciate your financial support more than you will ever know. You are helping me do what God is calling me to do and that is an incredibly precious gift to me. Thank you.