19 Days!!!!!

A little less than 3 weeks and Sarah and I are heading to China! Crazy excited here! And feeling a little stretched and stressed.

First off--Could you be praying for us?

We need prayers.

Pray in these next couple of weeks that we will pack and collect the right and needed items for the orphanage (four suitcases and counting!). I have been told New Day needs some cleft palate bottles and other supplies. I am waiting to hear from a few distributors and companies to see about possible donations or purchasing these items at cost. We are collecting children's clothes and shoes too.

Pray for the family. In addition to gathering and packing, I am trying to get play dates for the kids and make sure things are organized on the home front while I am away. Rachel heads to Young Life camp the day after we leave, and Michael has a day camp at the community college to attend the second week.

Pray for our health and safety now and while on our trip. Sarah hurt her arm a few weeks ago at Youth Group and her heels are quite sore from soccer. I have had a real problem this Spring with allergies and some asthma. Pray our injuries will heal and the new medicine I am taking will help. We desire to be physically strong for the tasks God has for us in China.

Most importantly, pray that Sarah and I will have a loving attitude towards all we are called to do in these days leading up to and during this trip. We want to be a blessing to New Day and the team. We want to be full of thankfulness as we encounter different schedules and cultural boundaries. Pray that we will be full of grace and a desire to serve.

Secondly, we continue to raise support....

Sarah and I have had some generous gifts toward our expenses, but have roughly $700 still to raise. I am selling things on eBay again! Essen is joking around with the kids to hold on to their things tightly! Seriously, I am getting things sold that we have had around here way too long, and Sarah is selling snacks to friends at youth group events. If you would like to make a tax deductible gift toward the remainder of our expenses, you can do so with a check to our church, Tabernacle Presbyterian Church and write in the memo "China." These donations can be sent to the church at 1301 Red Top Orchard Road, Waynesboro, VA 22980.

We also have a desire to bring some much needed supplies--like the cleft palate bottles and some speech and oral motor/sensory tools for the nannies and preschool teachers to use with these special babies and preschoolers . If you would like to help purchase bottles or other therapy tools, email me at daleycrew@yahoo.com.

We are feeling a bit nervous, a bit busy, but so full of joy being able to give back to Lydia's birth country. What a dream this is to serve on this team and at New Day! Thank you for your prayers and all the love and encouragement you are showing us and our family.

19 Days!!!! WOW!

COW CAR WASH....What you will do for your wife...and orphans!

Our church supports a doctor in Peru that is a pediatrician for an orphanage there. This Spring I learned from a friend that the dairy cow that supplied the milk for these precious children had died. So, we organized a car wash to raise the needed money to buy a cow. It costs $700 to purchase a dairy cow in Peru. Well, our youth group was excited to help out! I got my dear husband to wear this quite ridiculous cow costume! Lydia was the adorable calf! What looks, car honks, and what generous donations we received! We raised $530! Thank you Youth Group for getting up early on a Saturday morning and working so hard! You were loving the Lord and these little ones at Josephine House with these efforts! And thank you dear hubby for what you do for me and for orphans!!! I love you!

Guatemala Coffee Fundraiser

We have a few more bags of Guatemalan coffee to sell. Let us know if you would like a bag! It is fairtrade and organic ground coffee and we are selling it for $14/bag.

You can email us and pay no shipping if you want to get some yummy "Coffee for a Cause."

daleycrew@yahoo.com

"Hooray for New Day!" Playgroup Pictures

We had such a fun time together this morning! We looked for China on the globe and saw it was pretty far away from where we live! We learned how to say "Hello" and "Good-bye" in Mandarin while singing and dancing. The kids and mommies worked at chopsticks and we made lanterns. Ended with yummy treats--Chinese doughnuts were a hit! Thank you dear friends for helping Sarah and I take some needed supplies to New Day and coming to have some Chinese fun! We love our playgroup!

Hooray for New Day!

Lydia has an amazing playgroup--"Playgroup with the Purpose" is a very special playgroup--a tapestry of kids, both biological and adopted. The moms of this group are wonderfully supportive and desire to take these play opportunities to make a difference in the world. They have taken on some pretty amazing causes. This month our playgroup is collecting supplies for Sarah and I to take to China! Come to Tabernacle Presbyterian Church this Saturday 10 am-12 pm to learn some Chinese phrases, sing and dance to Chinese songs, make a few Chinese crafts and eat a few Chinese snacks. We will meet in the toddler nursery. You can go the the playgroup website to see more on the specific items we are collecting for New Day.

http://www.playgroupwithpurpose.blogspot.com/

I will post pictures of this fun event later!