Congratulations to Susan, the winner of the Cookie Dough Exchange Kit! Susan, please email Kimberly with your info, and she will get this out to you. Thanks to everyone for the great new recipes!
What do you get that person who has everything? Or maybe she doesn’t have everything, but she has the means to buy for herself what she wants. How do you choose something original and meaningful, that’s in your budget, yet she wouldn’t go out and just buy for herself?
How about a goat?
Last year, my kids gave a goat to a child in need, on my behalf. Really, I didn’t need another blouse, new slippers or even those really cool earring I had my eye on. When it’s in the right perspective of how much we really have, when there are people struggling for basic necessities, I was so thankful for the gift they gave. (and come on, what mother wouldn’t be proud of her offspring for making such a philanthropic choice that of course, she somehow had a part in through their upbringing!)
Here is a lesser known option that I only recently become aware of through my home church, Church on the Hill in San Jose. Two of our pastors, Scott and Elliot, traveled to Nicaragua to visit some sites where Compassion International is active, and where many of our church members have sponsored children. On that trip, they were introduced to a forgotten community, Bonete 7, left by the government to fend for themselves in an extremely remote area. (you can see more photos and information here on the page) Our church is raising money so they can build a well with clean drinking water.
This is their current well. It’s a little below ground level, and has no cover. There are people and animals that live here. This area is prone to flooding, and when it does, everything “left” by them is washed into the well. The water is far from clean.
This is a photo of a well that would provide clean water to the village:
If you’d like to buy a part of a well for someone, you can give online, and choose “Bonete 7” in the drop down menu.
Happy Shopping!
Samaritian’s Purse ( http://www.samaritanspurse.org) has a great catalog full of ways to give. You can donate as little as ten bucks and make a difference in a life. I like to tailor my gift to the individual so that it is relevant to them. For instance, my mother volunteers year round each Monday at a local food bank. Last Christmas I gave her a note which said I’d donated money to Samaritan’s Purse to feed a child for a week. I included the clipping from the catalog because I wanted her to see just how little it takes to make an impact. She was touched and blown away to know she’d helped feed people locally AND now globally.
My husband and I received this gift one year. What a joy to be apart of changing someones life. Far better than the socks or scarf I would otherwise receive. Makes my day to give so someone doing it in my name is twice as nice.