DONATIONS NEEDED for the orphanages!!

I'm currently in the process of shopping like a mad woman! I'm trying to get together everything that we'll need in the way of OTC medicines, like Children's Advil, Tylenol and Motrin, Benadryl and various cough and cold medicines that the boys might need.

As we are getting closer to going, we've asked friends from our LINK class (Sunday School) to help us get together clothing donations (gently used) to take to the orphanages in Ethiopia. We're trying to fill up 4 large suitcases so we can bless them in a big way :) We're also trying to get donations together for soccer balls, kickballs, etc., but deflated in the packaging (which is how they come to the sporting goods stores anyway) so that we can fit as many as possible into the suitcases. We'd also like to take some frisbees.

If you feel like helping us in this effort, please contact your local sporting goods stores and ask them if they will donate deflated, brand new balls and frisbees for us to donate to the children in Ethiopia. If you are able to secure some balls and frisbees, please email me as soon as possible so that we don't get too many and have to leave some behind.

Another idea-pages and pages of small stickers for the little girls. Many Christian bookstores and scrapbooking stores have large "books" filled with tear out pages of stickers that will allow us to hand out a page of stickers to children that we see in the streets. I'd love to bless them in some small way! If you think about it, it would be wonderful if we can get Lifeway or Family Christian Bookstore to donate pages of stickers for us to take . My heart's desire is that we can take stickers with scripture on them!!

One story to share...a good friend of mine had the same court date as us, the first time around-April 23rd. It was imperative that they pass court as soon as possible, as one of her children she's adopting from Ethiopia has tuberculosis and needed to get to the US as soon as she possibly could. Well, they passed on the first try, Praise the Lord! However, they traveled on May 22nd for a May 27th court date. When they went to get her daughter's Birth Certificate and Visa, the Embassy refused to give it because of the daughter's TB infection. They have been in limbo for over a week, searching the heart of the Lord, asking for direction on what actions they should take. They are currently waiting to hear whether or not all of them will be able to come home to the US together or if their newly adopted daughter will be forced to stay behind in Ethiopia with one of the parents. Can you imagine the devastation that little girl and family must be feeling right now? To have experienced so much tragedy in her little lifetime and then see a light at the end of the tunnel, only to have something like this happen, must be very scary for her.

Feel free to send me a private email with any thoughts you might have: hflippen@austin.rr.com

Much love to all :)

Heather