Can you be 1 of 500?

Meet Marina, Vasya, Lena and Ilona. 

These are the 4 sets of eyes you will see in this post... 4 children who are hoping that their eyes will get to see the USA this summer.

Do you want to be 1 in 500?  You can be. 

I'm looking for 500 people to partner with me to make this trip a reality.  And in a world of 500+ facebook friends and hundreds of blog hits- I know there has to be 500 people out there who are reading this and who I am praying can help.

 This summer I am partnering with my home church (Northshore Baptist) to bring 13 orphans from Ukraine to the Seattle area for 3 weeks in July and August through our new project called 'Window to Hope'.  While they are in the US these children will live in host families and experience many 'firsts', starting with flying on an airplane in late July! 

At first we planned on bringing only 9 children, but then because another hosting group backed out at the last minute we ended up having the opportunity to bring 13.  Though it required a lot of faith to begin to raise money for 13 kids when we didn't have money for 9, we prayed and sensed that this is where God was leading. It just didn't seem right to leave 4 kids behind!

But we need help to make this trip a reality.  Our fundraising efforts have been going really well, but we still need about $10,000 to make this trip happen.  This will include covering the airline tickets for all the kids and a chaperone, in addition to the costs involved in preparing their documents and receiving a US visa for travel.

I realize that the money left to raise can seem like a lot- but I know that God is a God of infinite resources- and I also realize that it just takes a lot of people doing a little bit to make things happen-- including raising money. 

 I really don't like asking people for money.  In fact I wasn't even a good girl scout because I hated going door-to-door selling cookies!  But I also recognize that this is an opportunity to be a part of something life changing for 13 kids-- and who wouldn't want to be a part of that?!  And since orphans are closer to the heart of God than thin mints I guess I feel it is okay to ask :)

It's really simple.  If 500 people each donated $20 than we'd have our target goal!  Would you consider and pray about partnering with this effort and asking others to do the same?  Can you give $20 or more?  Every bit will help.

We have our visa appointment on Monday and will then be moving forward in faith to purchase the airline tickets.  If you could prayerfully consider making a contribution in the next couple weeks it will greatly help us along in our process.

To make a tax deductible donation:

You can donate online here:  http://www.colinkonline.org/donate/?acct=828

Or you can send checks to:

CoLink

PO Box 82188
Kenmore, WA 98028-0188

In the memo write #828  and that will ensure it goes to our project!

If you make a donation, please leave a comment here and say that you are part of the 500 people uniting to bring a window of hope to these orphans!!

Thank you for your support and please be praying!

(**project blog: www.windowtohope.wordpress.com).