Big Toy goal Reached!!!

We have wonderful news everyone!  We have reached our Goal!!!  

The Big Toy will soon be a reality for the girls at Hogar Ines Riesco Llona!

Just this last Sunday, we traveled back to Othello to talk at the Nazarene Church (and get a wonderful dose of Othello Fair and Rodeo too :).  I truly believe that we were God's instrument, and that His love shined through us, as we talked from our hearts.  A special experience was being able to minister to the youth there.  I can remember when I was their age, and so eager to hear about different missions, and wonder excitedly where God may lead me some day.  God is truly at work in their joy and excitement, as they dreamed about the possibilities in their own future.  It was so beautiful and refreshing.

When we talked in Othello, we needed an additional $500 dollars to reach our goal.  We were blown away by the response!  Through their amazing generosity, we raised a total of $1,221. Praise the Lord!!!  The additional $721 will be sent down to Chile as well.  If there are any unforeseen costs on the Big Toy, Sister Rosita will let us know, and the money will be used for that.  When the project is completed, any additional funds will be used as the foundation money for our next exciting project - A Higher Education fund for the girls from the Hogar.  (More to come soon on that.)

Both Matt and I are so happy and content, beyond words.  We want to thank EVERYONE so much for your prayers, your support, and for opening up your communities to us.

There is much work still left to be done!

Stay connected with us on the journey!  We will be posting up dates on the Big Toy's progress!!!  

2nd presentation: St. Rita's in Tacoma

The weekend of September 12th, we were pleseantly surprised with an impromptu presentation at the Holy Names Society breakfast at St. Rita's in Tacoma.  It was wonderful to finally share with a community here in Tacoma, and we received such a warm and energetic response.  We raised a total of $170 and met wonderful and knowledgable people excited to work together with us on future fund raising projects.

A big Thank you to Holy Names, Fr. Saco, and to everyone that donated.  Every little bit counts, and helps make the ripple bigger, touching more and more people each time.

It's all very exciting.  Stay tuned for more updates!

First Presentation in Quincy

So we finally bit the bullet and did our first presentation about the Girls and the Hogar at the Quincy Church.  We thought it was fitting that Quincy was our first stop, as they had sent us off to mission almost 2 years ago when we started this journey.  It was a wonderful experience.  Wonderful to share our experience in a meaningful way with a community that means so much to us.  I had forgotten how many amazing and loving people had touched our lives in Quincy. 

I also wanted to give everyone an update on our goal of raising money for the Playground Toy.  We need a total of $2,000 US dollars.  We started with $600 dollars from donation gifts for last Christmas.  In Quincy we raised another $650 dollars, and another $80 dollars from talking with various people.  From all these amazing generous people, we have raised a total of ... (du, du, du!) ... $1,330 dollars! 

So, we've only got $670 left to go!  We'll be posting more news as the project progresses.  Keep watching!