Hi y'all. Tara here.
Do you have the Timehop app? I pretty much love it. I love it because it reminds me how far I've come; how much has changed and how much hasn't. It keeps me humble, because, my goodness, I say some dumb stuff. And when it comes to Rwanda, it is a daily reminder of God's great love and faithfulness.
Yesterday, a link to this blog came up. It was written four years ago, as I was just moving out of my house and into my mom's in preparation for moving to Rwanda that summer. To sum up my ramblings:
I have been pouring through anything and everything I can about faith and trust and about daring to believe God for the impossible. Not by me, but through me. And I've gotta tell you, you're not going to believe this, but I'm a world-changer. It's true. I am.
And so are you.
I am disappointed in the fact that it took me so long to figure it out, but absolutely bursting at the seams to watch what happens. As it turns out, two of the most overwhelmingly apparent qualities in me, that seem to define most of my life, are about to work together for the glory God. Naiveté and optimism. On this specific journey, I'm naive enough to give it try and optimistic enough to think I can make a difference. Steven Furtick calls it "Sanctified Naiveté" and says that "when the scope of your vision seems a lot bigger than your base of knowledge or the breadth of your experience, you're in good company." A few young, immature biblical heroes include Jeremiah, Timothy and my personal fav Paul.
I had no idea why I was going to Rwanda, except that I loved little boy. I knew nothing about sewing, or running a business. I had zero thoughts about feeding kids. Reading back over that was cringe-y, to say the least, but I was smiling like an idiot because, even then, and long before, the pieces of this journey were falling into place. It's hard to imagine the ride that has taken place in four short years. In so many ways, that empty living room feels like a lifetime ago, yet I still remember the lost and lonely girl who cried out and found hope within those walls. God is faithful. And though it's still cringe-y to say, I am world changer. I have seen a little tiny piece of the world change because of a very small step I took, out of sanctified naiveté, followed by another, and another, and another...
So, you know what that means, you are world changer, too.
This isn't some kind of feel-good thing (unless you feel good about it), this really is a real thing. Have you heard that quote by Margret Mead? "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Now, I'm sure you are already contributing to world change, in your own way, but I want to tell you about another opportunity. A simple, yet significant chance to impact the life of a student you will likely never meet, but who will feel the effects of your generosity for a lifetime. And since you might never meet them, I'll tell you, they are the raddest, most excited group of kids. You have never heard so much cheering and clapping over food.
On April 1st, we will have our 3rd Annual 41Day. This is a day where we join with people all over the world, chose to give up our lunch for one day, and donate what we would have spent to feed students in our feeding program. One meal costs just $0.25. How much do you spend on lunch?
$1 feeds 4 children for one day,
$5 feeds 20 children,
$10 feeds 40 children...
Last year, we had a goal to feed 41,000 meals and we crushed it! We fed a whopping 56,488 meals! This year, we're doubling it. 80,000 meals.
You're going to be hearing so much more about this over the coming weeks. In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to get ready:
- Order a (sweet) tshirt here. Or here. (Use to code: CHANGE41 for $5 off)
- Join our Facebook event and invite your friends.
- Find us on Instagram. My goodness, it's 2015.
- Hit that little share button down there and tell your friends about us!
xo
