What’s in your Backpack?

Fall is just around the corner and I’m looking forward to the new season while relishing August, one of my very times of the year in Oregon. I love the warmth of the sunshine, the cool late evenings to visit and our carefree schedule that encourages spontaneity. I can’t help but want to push away the impending start of school, soccer schedules and homework for my kids. There is also a little bit of nervousness that rises up inside me as I know this year I will help prepare 134 children for fall, many of whom are also getting ready for school. For our children in Ethiopia, it’s not always a given to go to school and we get to stand and advocate for them and say “Yes, we will help your family allow you to go to school because your education is worth it!”

In only 6 weeks, with four beautiful women, I will take a 30 plus hour flight, a 2 day drive in our 20 year old Landcruiser and a one hour hike down a mountain to get to my other family across the world. We will be packed with hundreds of pounds of supplies that we can’t purchase in country, specific for already chosen children. We will prepare as best we can so our daily journeys are filled with blessing and tangible hope. Every morning in my little bedroom of the family’s mud hut in Ethiopia we gather together for an intimate team meeting. Our American visitors and our Ethiopian family leadership take time to pray and ask God to give us wisdom beyond what we have on our own. We ask God to go with us on our journey and hike for the day, to show us how to pack our backpacks of supplies both physically and mentally. We ask God to allow our hearts to be tender and strong, to be wise and humble, to patient and courageous. And then we are off on our pathway.

Packing our personal backpacks each day both physically and figuratively and being ready for our children we are helping to prepare for school, is only made possible because of beautiful people who share generous gifts, both sending of our team members, sending valuable clothing and in kind gifts, volunteers who pack treasured duffel bags for travel and our Bright Spot American friends who say yes to one child at a time. I am always in awe when we arrive and the miracle it takes just to get us ready to get us to that point.

So, as you can imagine, the next 4 weeks of packing are especially critical. There is no time to be lost and we need help packing, sorting, labeling, list making, weighing and double checking. Each child, one by one will have their backpack made perfect for them. We are assembling our team that is going to help send us with amazing gifts. Maybe you aren’t up for traveling to Africa but would you consider helping us in August in Tualatin? This month? We need you!