Point of Grace Benefit Concert this Sunday

Local Brentwood woman, Katie Davis, is founder of Amazima Ministries International, (http://www.amazima.org/) a non-profit organization that supports the education of Ugandan children and assists with the adoption of Ugandan orphans. Katie herself has adopted thirteen girls. She has left them in the care of a good friend, and is back from Uganda for five weeks and will speak at a benefit concert this Sunday, June 28 at Fellowship Bible Church.
Katie's journey is an amazing story going back to December 2006 when she visited Uganda. While there, Katie met Pastor Isaac Wagaba who implored her to come teach Kindergarten at his orphanage in Buziika, Uganda, called Canaan Children's Transit Center. In September 2007, Katie returned to Uganda and began teaching. While working with the children, she began to see the hardships of children and families there. There are no public schools in this area, and families financially sacrifice for their children to go to school, but most cannot pay for their children's education. Katie decided to start a sponsorship program where a sponsor could pay $300 per year and provide a student with schooling, school supplies, two hot meals per day, and any minor medical care needed. By December 2008, Katie had successfully seen 150 children through a year of school. On Saturdays, Katie also provided a bible study, a hot meal, and a bath. Most importantly, Katie gave these children fellowship and the knowledge that others do care about their well being. Follow Katie's journey on her blog at http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/ and you will be touched at the devotion of this young Brentwood woman.
Katie also works diligently to help children get adopted. The Oatsvall family is attempting to adopt children from Uganda and Katie is speaking at the June 28th benefit concert that will help fund their adoption. Point of Grace is hosting and will perform at this concert. Tickets are $10 at the door. The doors open at 5 and the concert begins at 6. The Oatsvall Team will be selling many items to benefit their ministry including tshirts, homemade flip flops, necklaces, bracelets and hats. The concert will be at Fellowship Bible Church on Franklin Road in Brentwood, Tennessee. See more about the Oatsvall's journey at http://www.oatsvallteam.blogspot.com/

BHS Senior Collects Old Soccer Uniforms for Needy

A Brentwood High School senior is on a mission this summer to collect presently unused uniforms from past seasons. Here is information from Nick Koltz:

GOT UNIFORMS???
My name is Nick Kolts and I will be a senior at BHS. I have been involved in soccer since I was 4 years old and it has been a big part of my life. I have started an organization called "Y.O.U.", which stands for Your Old Uniforms. I am collecting old soccer uniforms and have a Y.O.U collection box by the welcome desk at the Concord Road and Maryland Farms YMCA. I am distributing them to organizations, both locally and internationally. I want to give back to youth that would love to play but do not have the means to purchase uniforms etc. Especially in this economy, there are many groups that cannot afford to purchase uniforms on their own. I am promoting this with the slogan, "Y.O.U. can make a difference in a child's life".

To date, with the help of the Brentwood Soccer Club and local high schools such as BHS, I have collected over 1000 uniforms. The first donation was recently sent to children in Honduras. More will be sent to an orphanage in Uganda in July and I hope to have some sent with the soldiers of Fort Campbell when they next deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you have soccer uniforms to donate, please drop them off at the Brentwood Concord Road or Maryland Farms YMCA. If you know of an organization with children who need uniforms, please contact me at cdkolts@aol.com.

Sierra Leone - Sounds pretty doesn't it?

Sierra Leone is a pretty name, like Brentwood, but in fact, it is rated by the United Nations to be the poorest country in the world and it is known as the worst place in the world to live. Think about that. The worst place IN THE WORLD. Can we even imagine that living here in our beautiful American suburb?

Erica and Jason from The Raining Season based in Spring Hill, TN recently spoke at the Leonard's home in Brentwood about their mission of food, shelter and education for families in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Their non-profit organization, The Raining Season, is named for hardships that Sierra Leone's residents suffer during their rain season. They only have two seasons there, rainy and dry. Their website describes the season, "We found that the rainy season is a constant struggle for the people of Sierra Leone. Roads are impassable, labor jobs are difficult to find and disease is rampant due to the stagnant water. malaria and typhoid fever deaths are at their highest peak during this difficult time of the year."

In a 2008 Christmas trip to the region, TRS coincidentally found a group of 80 children living in a facility with no food, water, beds, education or medical care. They were simply trying to visit a little girl who was in the adoption process for another couple in America. What they found was a lot more than they bargained for. Over thirty children were malnourished and in urgent need of medical care. Every child in the operation had not eaten in four days. The TRS members took the sick children to the hospital and found that one child was within two days of death by starvation. Thanks to sponsorship and feeding programs, that child, Festus, is now healthy enough to throw a normal toddler tantrum. Miracles are at work here.

TRS is on an urgent mission to open their own children's home for these 80 children called The Covering in September 2009. They are working diligently to raise all of the funds needed to: lease the building, hire staff and caretakers, and to cover all start-up costs associated with utilities, meals, and medical care. They are even facing the atrocity of children disappearing from the orphanage. Locals believe there is a possibility of human trafficking. To see a video of the orphanage: http://www.therainingseason.org/The_Raining_Season/Gallery.html

You can help by participating at their fundraiser close by at the Legends Golf and Country Club on July 29th at 8 a.m. where teams can register to golf with the proceeds benefiting the new children's home. Details below on their flyer. Contact TRS if you or a team of you and your friends would like to participate in a great day of golf for a good cause. Click on this site to register: https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:58855/mailingId:1905550/acctId:34631 .

A little history: Erica and Jason first found Sierra Leone while attempting to adopt their daughter five years ago. After discovering their adoption agency was fraudulent, they themselves went to West Africa to adopt their daughter. It took two trips and approximately twelve court appearances, but their persistence paid off with a beautiful daughter. After several years of normal Tennessee life, they just couldn't forget. They remembered all they had seen: the displaced families, the orphaned children, the lack of income. They decided to help one family at a time and that is exactly what they were doing when they found the orphanage. I hope you will take the time to explore their site and see their story through video. Thanks for taking the time to read my site. Peace and blessings!

...ONCE OUR EYES ARE OPENED WE CAN'T PRETEND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. GOD, WHO WEIGHS OUR HEARTS AND KEEPS OUR SOULS, KNOWS THAT WE KNOW, AND HOLDS US RESPONSIBLE TO ACT. -PROVERBS 24:12

Details are on their website for how to donate or sponsor a child. http://www.therainingseason.org/

America's Youth Address the Plight of Ugandan Children

On June 22 and 23, there will be a lobbying event in Washington D.C. that addresses the atrocious situation facing the Ugandan region and all of its children. The rally has been titled "How it Ends" and the tagline is "It's time for Africa's longest running war to be over, and this is how it ends." Backed by thousands of people, celebrities and politicians alike are showing up to lobby on behalf of this cause. The "How it Ends" website states, "The program will include lobbying trainings, VIP speakers, a kick-off rally and will culminate in an unprecedented outpouring of activism on Capitol Hill, with hundreds of meetings taking place between Members of Congress and their constituents."

The youth of America have been banning together as word of the children of Uganda's plight spreads through the schools, churches, and clubs through groups like enough!, Resolve Uganda and Invisible Children. I am most familiar with Invisible Children, a movement that has provided specific materials and instructions on how youth can make a difference. Overnight walks and mock kidnappings demonstrate through our youth the devastating actions of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Thousands of youth participated in a peaceful "sleep out" last month all over the country. Specifically, they made news by camping outside Oprah's studios and she invited them on the show to share their story.

On March 12, Senator Russ Feingold addressed President Obama and the Senate regarding the Ugandan crisis. His statement began, " Mr. President, I rise today to express my grave concern at the continuing massacres, kidnappings and terror orchestrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army, the LRA, in northeastern Congo and southern Sudan." Feingold's interest and actions regarding this issue go back to 2004 when he authored and Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act. The United States committed to vigorously pursue the end of the war. Negotiations have failed with Lord's Resistance Army leader, Joseph Kony, for over five years. In fact, when Ugandan, Congolese, and South Sudanese armies went on the offensive against the LRA early in 2009, Kony's forces struck back harder killing over 900 people in a two month period. The biggest struggle for most Americans is how Kony is reinforcing his armies - with kidnapped children.

Feingold stated, "We have come a long way in just a few years, thanks especially to young Americans who have become increasingly aware of and outspoken about this horrific situation." My three daughters have been involved in various ways through the Invisible Children organization and it is uplifting to see our children right here in Brentwood striving to make a difference for children halfway around the world. I applaud America's youth. See if you can make a difference or at least make yourself aware of the plight. I feel if it were not for my children and their friends, I might not have known myself about this atrocity.

Websites:

http://www.howitends.com/

http://www.invisiblechildren.com/

http://www.resolveuganda.org/

http://www.allafrica.com/

Invisible Children

Live Music in Nashville this Summer

I love Brentwood!! I really do, but I don't understand why I don't take advantage of our beautiful neighbor, Nashville. My husband and I just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary and went to The Melting Pot on Second Avenue. The food and atmosphere were great. The downtown area was packed and lots of fun was being had by tourists and locals alike. Every time I visit downtown, I wonder why I don't take the time to visit more often.
Wednesday night, we had a friend come in town from Los Angeles. What did he want to do? Go see live music of course! That's what we all used to do together growing up in Brentwood. We would go all over Nashville hearing music of all genres. The three of us went to see local Franklin boy gone good, Will Hoge. He's one of our family favorites and his 2003 CD, Blackbird on a Lonely Wire, gets a lot of play on our road trips. His brother Josh is also making his way on to local radio Lightning 100.1. It was a fantastic show but the only problem with the evening was our underage teens were feeling left out of the action. http://www.willhoge.com/
Will Hoge and friends will be playing every Wednesday night in June at Twelfth and Porter. It's easy to get to this venue as it is right off the Broadway exit. I encourage you to go check it out and support our local boy as he makes a brave comeback from a terrible vehicular accident.
Another great band my husband and I love is The Long Players. In fact, he will be mad that I have blogged about them because their shows are so well-attended there really isn't room for any more of you. We Long Players fans are very loyal and adoring. This is an ever-changing group of A-list musicians and singers who pick an LP album and play every song on the album for the first set. The second set is usually a compilation of the bands' biggest hits not included on that album. Recently, they have performed Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run, Jimi Hendrix' Are You Experienced, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You, and next will perform Prince's Purple Rain later this summer. My favorite performance was the first time I saw them perform Van Morrison's Moondance and I've been hooked ever since. The success of this band really hinges on the ability of Bill Loyd and his commitment to bring the best artists together for each album. As much as I'm not willing to give up my space on the front row, I encourage you to check them out. http://www.thelongplayers.com/

Youth and Adult Volunteer Opportunities North and South

Against the Grain in Franklin is on the look out for adult volunteers who could mentor a group of ten rising fourth and fifth graders. Please contact Against the Grain at info@atghope.org and check out their website for other volunteer opportunities at http://www.atghope.org/ . My neighbor, Liz, is volunteering at AtG and is really excited about the opportunities! Join her and you will love what volunteering can do for you while you are doing for others. It's a great feeling.

Harvest Hands Community Development is looking for volunteers teens and up to help with the summer program serving kindergarten through middle school age kids. Randy at Harvest Hands says they could use help Monday through Friday from 1pm to 5pm. Fridays are field trip days and are a lot of fun. They especially need help transporting the children every Friday. Last summer, for instance, the children went to the zoo and they were talking about that trip the entire school year. If you could help but not for the whole four hours, Randy said he needs specific help from 2pm to 3pm during the study time so that the children receive more one-on-one mentoring. HH would love to have volunteers commit to one day a week or for specific hours so that the children can look forward to their time with the mentors. Call 259-9900 or email Randy at randy@harvesthandscdc.com for more information.

We hiked Jackson Falls and Fall Hollow

Seven of us dodged all the storms yesterday and hiked two Natchez Trace waterfall trails. Knowing my brother-in-law, Ken, would be accompanying us yesterday, I checked in with the Natchez Trace park rangers of Leiper's Fork and they were extremely helpful with information about handicap-accessible trails. We also used the great directions from http://www.nps.gov/ website.
The kids loved the hike down to Jackson Falls but admitted the return trip up was very steep. The trail was paved for the most part so Ken could have easily have made the trip down, but coming back up was our problem. There were picnic tables and a shelter with accessible bathrooms. On the other side of the parking lot was a 1/3 mile trail leading to Bakers Bluff which provided an interesting view of a conservation-friendly working farm. This is also found as its own stop along the Natchez Trace.
Ten miles further south, all of us hiked in to see the Fall Hollow waterfall. The kids took off down the trail while Ken, Kendall and I strolled and enjoyed the scenery from the paved and bridged trail. The creek flows along flat rocks curving through the spring green of the forest. It reminded me of a famous waterfall in Ireland that I visited two years ago.
The paved trail led to a platform overlooking the waterfall where you could rest and see others hiking the steeper part of the trail. Kendall stayed with Ken this time so I could hike with the rest of the family. There are actually two waterfalls to view on this trail. At both falls you can actually walk in to the slippery area behind the waterfall. Great picture and video opportunities for the kids until my niece, Sarah Catherine, took a tumble. She was fine though!
Beautiful is the best word to describe the waterfalls and Fall Hollow was great for those who might not be able to access the entire trail. I hope to return soon and see the fifteen other stops we drove right by to get to the falls. We're so typical of a busy family that doesn't take advantage of the fantastic local tourism opportunities in our own back yard. I am going to make a big effort this summer to get outside this bubble and see middle Tennessee!

Natchez Trace Jackson Falls a site to see

Well, I have graduated my first child and the hectic holiday/graduation weekend is over. Looking forward to summer, I will be writing about many volunteer opportunities over the summer, but I also will time to time write about ideas for travel and summer fun outside the Brentwood bubble. My friend, Jackie, recently recommended Jackson Falls off the Natchez Trail and so I've looked into the idea. I am ready to pack a picnic and hike it tomorrow. It sounds like a great half day trip and I hope to take my nephew there tomorrow before he makes the flight back north to Rhode Island.

Jackson Falls is named for one of Tennessee's three presidents, Andrew Jackson, who was known to have traveled the Natchez Trace himself five times. The Natchez Trace is an ancient Indian trail that was later used as a return trip north from Natchez, MS by boaters who brought goods south on the Mississippi river. In the early 1800s, the invention of steamboats made travel upriver possible and the traffic on the trail greatly reduced.

Southpoint.com Travel Guide states about the falls, "If you only see one waterfall on the (Natchez Trace) Parkway make it Jackson Falls, mile 404. The parking area offers one of the nicest overlooks on the Trace. An old barn crests a distant hill and if you’re lucky the farmer may be plowing his fields. A steep, paved trail leads to Jackson Falls which is actually two cascades. On the uppermost and largest falls tumbles down a steep cliff in an unusual fashion while the lower falls is a more traditional tumble."

Miles are marked on the Natchez Trace by wooden posts so that you can easily find the sites along the way. Many more suggested sites can by found within ten miles either side of Jackson Falls including an old tobacco farm (401.4) and a campground/picnic site that houses the Meriweather Lewis gravesite (385.9).

The rest stop is approximately 50 miles West from Nashville's I-40 near Shady Grove, TN. It does have a pathed walkway and should be accessible to most children and adults. According to The Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway by F. Lynne Bachleda, "The at-most ten minute hike to Jackson Falls is paved, bridged, and stepped down to the falls themselves, which makes it fairly easy."

Personally, I will enter the Natchez Trace from Highway 100 and it won't be as far for those of already in Williamson County. Hope this fantastic weather holds so we can hit the trail.

Happy Summer to all!

Food Donations needed for "Feed Our Future"

From a BHS Student:
May 15, 2009
Dear Parents and Students,
My name is Victoria Calton and I am a YAC leader at Brentwood High School (YAC is the Youth Advisory Council sponsored by United Way). I am currently working with the United Way, the Williamson County Boys and Girls Club, and the Second Harvest Food Bank in a fight against hunger. I have recently met with the Director of the Franklin Boys and Girls Club and learned that there is a need for nutritious food packs for children during the summer. These children typically rely on free school lunches for their main source of nutrition during the day; however, there isn’t a guaranteed source of nutrition for these same children during the summer months when they are not in school. I am starting a program this summer to address this need in our community—a program I am calling “Feed our Future” and will start by providing weekly snack packs of nutritious staples for at-risk children in our community. These will be delivered in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club in Franklin.
Approximately 90 percent of the children (averaging ages 6-12) who attend the Franklin Boys and Girls Club are from single-parent homes and are at or below the national poverty level. These children need our help and I am asking you to help me by providing donations, so that I can deliver these items as part of a weekend snack pack. I am expected to deliver on average 30 meals per week to the Boys and Girls Club throughout the summer and will distribute these items in one-gallon baggies. A typical baggie will contain fruit juice, dry cereal, non refrigerated milk, crackers, small servings of peanut butter, applesauce, beans and franks, and other high protein and nutritious non-perishable items.
In order to have plenty of each item, I am asking for specific donations from each group:
· Classes of 2009 and 2010: juice boxes
· Classes of 2011 and 2012: single serving apple sauces and fruit cups
· Faculty and others: single serving cans of beans and franks or Vienna sausages (with pop top, please)

I know this is short notice, but I am asking for donations (food or financial) during the last week of school and at any time throughout the summer. I will begin assembling and donating snack pack weekend meals during the week of June 1st. You can drop off items at Dr. Calton’s office at Brentwood High School. You may also email or call me to make arrangements for pick up.
This is a difficult time for everyone, but especially for those in need. Please help me fight hunger and Feed our Future…these children really need our help and a case of fruit juice or protein-packed serving of food can go a long way. Please call me if you have any questions or if you would like to learn more about snack pack meals for this program during the summer…..

Thank you for your generosity and participating in Feed our Future!
Victoria Calton (972-3809, 309-8341 or 776-2513)
victoriacalton@aol.com

Against the Grain in Franklin Doing Good Works

• There are 12,129 single mothers in Middle Tennessee


• 5,721 have pre-school children


• 4,730 are unemployed


• 4,914 do not have a high school diploma


• 7,277 are below the poverty level

Do the above facts surprise you? A statement from the Against the Grain website, "That doesn't sound like much of a life does it? But that is the reality for thousands of single mothers in Middle Tennessee and they are begging for a way out. . . begging for dignity and a hope for their children."

Rob and Meredith Kendall at Against the Grain in Franklin, TN are on a mission to empower single mothers to become self-sufficient, knowledgeable, productive members of society. Their vision includes specific goals that include making a greater impact in Williamson County and expanding their work in to Middle Tennessee, opening offices in other areas of the country, and developing a residential community specifically for single mothers where their families can live while the mother going through Against the Grain training. AtG goes one step further by wanting to position themselves to help these mothers move toward home ownership after the AtG training is complete.

For single mothers, there is hope for their family by joining the 180 program. Taking part in the program is a two-year commitment of group and individual training. The program is designed to break the family cycle of dependence on governmental programs that provide food and shelter for the families. The participants take classes such as Budgeting 101, self esteem classes, Purpose Driven Life, and two six-week parenting classes. This part of the training involves a life-coach for each participant and lasts one year. The second year continues to include the help of a life-coach and the mother works to implement all the tools she learned through the program. AtG and the life-coach assist her with implementation of her customized plan and provide her accountability measures.

In April, five mothers graduated from the first year of the program and will spend the next year taking classes every other week and will continue working with their mentors. On the AtG website, one mother quoted, "As I came to class and met all the other mothers that had stuff going on in their life almost the same as mine it made me open up and stay focused. Now I rate my self esteem a 10+++. I have to thank the 180 program for my help they inspired me that there was life at the end of my tunnel."

To help reach their goals of helping these single mothers, AtG conducted two fundraisers last week. On May 7, they conducted a Golf Scramble at the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club where teams could play for $600. The weather was a big worry as to whether the event would occur, but the weather cleared and the tournament was a success. On Mother's Day, May 10, there was a Walk-a-Thon where the weather was not so cooperative. Walkers showed up to support AtG but lightning thwarted the walk after two hours.

In talking to Rob Kendall, I have learned that giving is down 32% this year for AtG. The fundraisers went well but not as well as the past few years. Individual donations from our monthly giving partners is down as well as our one time gifts. Realizing this is probably typical of non-profits this year, Rob still hopes gifts will continue to come in to AtG.

Against the Grain could use your support in several different ways. There is a donation page on their website http://www.atghope.org/ and another very simple way to support AtG is to make your homepage goodsearch.com. This is a search engine that is powered by Yahoo and has commited to give a penny to AtG for every search done with AtG as the selected charity. Instructions on how to do this are also on the AtG website.

Here is a list of items that are needed.

Wal Mart gift cards ($25 increments)

Gas gift cards ($25 increments)

Reliable Car for Single Mom

Land for Single Mothers Community

Volunteer Office Help

Babysitters for Thursday and Saturday morning classes

If you would like to donate any of these items please contact Meredith at 791-7885 or email info@atghope.org .

To read more about the Kendalls and how they came to work on this mission for single mothers, go to http://atghope.org/?page_id=34 and see the miracle of their story.

Miriam's Promise - Making Families

"One adoption won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one child" is the idea behind Miriam's Promise, a Nashville-based full-service non-profit agency serving families and children in Middle Tennessee. They are a full-service crisis pregnancy and adoption agency offering free counseling, real choices and open adoption. Miriam's Promise derives their identity of Miriam through the bible story of Moses. Moses sister, Miriam, is a heroine who looks after and protects her infant brother. She works to ensure his safety in a turbulent time when all male babies were in danger. Miriam's Promise trys to do just this and works to ensure the well-being of children before, during and after birth.

Several families I am acquainted with in Brentwood have greatly benefited from Miriam's Promise through the adoption process. These families hold this agency close to their hearts and continue to take an active role in their fundraising efforts in the hopes of helping other families. One board member became involved not through adoption, but in her interest to assist with adoption and hopefully help stop unnecessary abortions. But for whatever reason one might serve this agency, many volunteers are needed to keep this service available. It is a place of hope and peace, and a place where you can watch the miracle of families happen.

Here are several ways you can volunteer:

Miriam's Promise has been extremely blessed by the generosity of many local churches and civic groups. They regularly receive donations of infant clothing and baby care items for our clothing closet. These items are given to our clients and to other organizations that serve young moms. These gifts must be organized into bins by size, sex, and type so that these items can be easily found by counselors. Volunteers who could do this task are needed on a regular basis.

Babysitting for support groups is another way to volunteer. Approximately 16 ongoing support groups occur each year for adoptive families of older children, trans-racial families, waiting families, and birthparents. Many of these families have very small children who need babysitting services during the monthly support group in which their parents are involved.

Miriam's Promise holds two major fundraising events each year. In the spring, they have a dinner, art show, and live auction called Pasta and Promises. The artists selling at this event donate a portion of their proceeds to Miriam's Promise. Volunteer duties include tasks such as logistics, catering, decoration, artist development, silent and live auction, ticket and table sales, and communications.

In the fall, a team Golf Challenge is hosted by Miriam's Promise. For the Golf Challenge, players raise money before the date of the tournament, and then play golf and receive prizes based on how much they raised. Volunteers are vital to make these events a success. Miriam's Promise need help with pre-events, sponsorship development, prize development, catering, and "day-of-event" needs such as registration, golfer relations, beverage cart drivers, and accounting of contributions and pledges.

Volunteers are also needed in specific technical areas such as marketing brochure development, client information systems, and archiving closing records for adoptions. If you would like to know more about helping Miriam's Promise, please check out their website http://www.miriamspromise.org/ and check the "How You Can Help" section. You can also call their office, located at 522 Russell St., at 292-3500.

Harvest Hands CDC

Today, I want to share with you one way I get outside the bubble. I like to get out for fun (live music), for adventure (hikes) but mostly in service to others. In South Nashville, near the State Fairgrounds and Wedgewood Houston community, there is a growing community development group called Harvest Hands. My daughter(13) and I volunteer there every Monday afternoon for an after school tutoring program. No two weeks are the same. The kids that attend are so beautiful and open. Devotion can sometimes be an adventure when some tricky questions get asked. Some of these kids come from broken homes, some deal with a home life that which we in Brentwood have never dreamed. Yet, there are families that are whole and happy but struggling financially in this new country of theirs. Either way, I learn something new every time I am there. Each face lights up when my daughter is chasing them on the playground. Each face lights up with pride when praised for homework well done. Being with them and being part of their lives has changed the way I see the world around me. My political views are affected and my awareness of racisim and bigotry has quadrupled. I desire to be a better person and I believe as I reach out to them that they can help me with that goal. Check out their website and see if this is a partnership you may be interested in investing. It's a partnership of love, acceptance, patience, and joy.
http://www.harvesthandscdc.com/

Why do I want to get out?

I love my home, my neighbors, my town, and my church. Why do I want to get out of here? I grew up in Brentwood, went to the local high school, and married a nice boy from right down the street. We moved away for eleven years and had a great adventure moving eight times. No matter where I was or how much I loved the area and friends, I always focused on moving home to my family and my hometown. It's a great place to raise three kids-safe, convenient, fantastic schools, and growing. We have all four grandparents right around the corner and aunts and uncles too! It's perfect! Right?

I discovered a different world when I went on a mission trip with our youth group from Brentwood United Methodist Church. Common story, I know. But it's what you do when you get home that changes your world. BUMC is a place where kids are privileged. Some of them know it and some of them don't - they feel entitlement. Both kinds of kids were on this mission trip and they all came home different, just like me. I told them I was jealous that they got to learn this lesson so early in life. I was almost forty years old and I just "got it." I just saw what Jesus Would Do as the bracelets and bumper stickers are always pointing out. I got to be Jesus and live for others. First, it was New Orleans disaster relief and then the real bomb, Juarez, Mexico. I will never be the same after serving and working alongside one Mexican family as we worked together to build them a home and change their lives. I want to be out there but now I want to do it in Nashville, 10 miles down the street, where a whole other world is living a very different life. I'll talk next time about what I'm doing out in the world and I hope you will tell me what gives you the goosebumps!