We Want YOU:: Campus Rep Program

Hey yall! I’m Lacey, and I am SO excited to be working with No.41 on their Campus Rep program. No.41 has had my heart since, well, the beginning; starting with a spunky girl named Fanny! As soon as Tara started posting about sponsorship and I saw Fanny’s smile, BOOM case closed. Since then I have been able to spend a summer with Fanny and her BABY Tarison who is almost one year old and the BEST thing ever!

I have also been able to see first hand the amazing work that goes on daily at the 41 house. I mean, that place is just full of so much hope and love, y’all. I have been so inspired by the big dreams that have gone on in that little house in the past year.  No.41 is so special, because it proves that dreams do come true (so cliché I know) but really this whole business is a dream in itself.  Living out their “For One” dream, one child at a time.

& hellooo everybody! I’m Rylie. Like Lacey, I’m thrilled to be working alongside No.41! First off, I am super unqualified to be here, but am so thankful to serve along side Tara, Alison, Lacey, & all of the No.41 ladies! The Lord has given me a heart that desires to see HIS kingdom come throughout the nations... So last year when I saw Tara (my good ole’ blog friend) posting about this organization she was starting, I was beyond thrilled & knew I wanted to help in any way possible. So, like most of you, I haven’t been to Rwanda to meet these ladies face-to-face (YET). But the Lord has a funny way of building community, & I’m not going to be one to argue. :) & besides, whether or not we have met them, they are real women (& mamas!), with real stories, & REAL DREAMS... & this is a real, simple way we can get involved in their lives.

So this fall we are working with No.41 and their Campus Reps program. The Rep program is solely run by college girls, spreading the amazing work of No.41.  So many things amazing things planned for this next year. If any of you college girls are interested, or know anyone who might be, in joining our team of dreamers contact Lacey (lhar23@yahoo.com) or Rylie (rylie.craft@gmail.com).

We hope y’all are as excited as we are! 

coffee talk

Oh, hey there, October! How is that even possible?! Now that Alison and I (Tara) are back in the States, we're not complaining one bit about the falling leaves, fall temperatures, and pumpkin everything. And I'll just go ahead and speak for myself here, and say that I have been consuming pumpkin like a boss. (Sorry, Amy, pumpkin goodness is headed your way, too.) This month, we're chatting about 5 Things You Don't Know About Us. And we're going to tell you those things about each other. Tara on Amy. Alison on Tara. Amy on Alison. Heeeere we go!

via alison holcomb photography

First up: Amy

1. The truth is, I haven't spent a ton of time with Amy, but that leads me to something you should know about her. Amy is a go-getter. She prayerfully seeks God's plan for her, but she isn't afraid to jump as soon as she gets the word. Amy contacted me, about this time last year, and we started formulating a plan for her to come and visit Rwanda, specifically, Noel (our neighboring orphanage where many of our girls grew up). Amy spent the week of Christmas with us, while I not so secretly tried to sell her on No.41. It wasn't long after she returned back to Texas that we were moving forward on plans to move her to Rwanda (this past June) to head up the day to day activities at No.41. We spent all of one month together, (Amy, Alison, and I) before Alison and I headed back to the States. 

2. Plans. I mentioned that word twice, already. That word is definitely unique to Amy. While the three of us share a similar passion, the way that we approach it could not be more different, which makes us a very good team. Amy's calm, level-headed, organized, needs-a-plan personality brings such a peace to all of us, yet Amy is such a hard worker, not at all afraid to dig in and get her hands dirty. We don't call her 'the ambition' for nothing.

3. Amy loves Swedish Fish.

4. Before moving to Rwanda, Amy taught 2nd grade at an inner city school in Dallas. She, currently, teaches preschool at Noel and has some big dreams and prayers about what He is stirring in her heart for these precious kiddos with so much at stake.

5. Amy is a great friend, consistent, supportive and encouraging, and the fabulous support she receives from her friends and family speak back to that.


Tara is up next..

1. One thing I love about Tara is her ability to quickly make a decision and stick to it. Move to Rwanda? Sure. Move to Nashville? leaving tomorrow. (literally.. she's leaving tomorrow. be sure to wish her a safe journey!) What's fun is, those decisions always pan out well. (except for the time she decided that I should help her dye her hair when we were sitting in our friend Robin's living room and he wasn't home. He died when he came in to find us.. Don't worry, her hair turned out super cute.)

2. She makes the best breakfast burritos. In Rwanda, they were the highlight of the morning.

3. The guy, Innocent, who we buy wholesale fabric from in Kigali is in love with her. She's not taking him up on his marriage offers yet, but maybe next time we go to visit she will.. :)

4. Tara will make anyone laugh their face off. Even if they don't understand English:)

5. She loves well. She would probably make a joke about how mean she is right now, but seriously. She's got an incredible heart and something I love and admire about her is that she accepts and loves people where they're at, no matter what. She's always encouraging and figures out a way to let people know she appreciates them.


We saved the best for last, Alison!
1. Genuinely kind!  I first met Alison last January back in Dallas when she was visiting home and I was thinking about coming to Rwanda and No.41.  She was so sweet to meet with me and just listen to my questions and share her experiences in Rwanda.  Alison asked really good questions and truly wanted to try and make me understand what living here was like.  When I moved here I spent 3 weeks living with her and she was always giving me things and preparing the girls and I for when she left.

2.  Makes a great batch of popcorn!  In fact I'm still enjoying her love of popcorn because I inherited all the popcorn seasonings!

3. Has a life long friend in our moto driver Jerome!  Both Tara and Alison did such a great job of creating a community here and introduced me to my favorite moto driver Jerome.  Even 3 months later Jerome still asks about Alison and wants to talk to her.  One of the sweetest things is to watch Jerome listen to a whatsapp message from Alison, his whole face lights up!

4. Tara and I have some big plans to cash in on a dowery for Alison when she marries the Pakistani man at the Foreign Money Exchange in Kigali. We are holding out for around 20 cows, at least 5 with horns.

5. Alison loves well!  From the girls at No.41, moto drivers, neighbors, family, and friends she values each person.  It was so neat to see her interact with the girls, check on them individually, share silly faces, and funny moments.  She is missed so much here and I'm always asked about when she is coming back! (Hint, hint, buy a plane ticket!)


Whew! That was harder than we all thought it would be!
One last thing, have y'all seen our new No.41 calendars? We aren't partial or anything, but we think they would make THE BEST Christmas gifts! Who doesn't like sweet photos and feeding 100 meals??  Happy Tuesday!!                                                      

41style and a giveaway

from time to time, people send or tag us in their photos with their no.41 gear, and to be honest- they make our day.. it's so fun to see our girl's work being carried around all over the place! 

we want to see how YOU style your no.41, and in return- we are having a little giveaway! 

at the beach, school, yoga class, the grocery store.. we want to see your photos.. on instagram, facebook and twitter! 

one winner will be drawn at random and the prizes are- one of our fabulous new t-shirts, a necklace and an apron! 

to enter is super simple! get those pictures up, make sure you tag us and use the hash tag #style41 

be sure to start today! the contest closes next Monday- September 16th. 

stay tuned for another giveaway on our friend wynne's blog! you won't want to miss it:) 

coffee talk

alison holcomb photography///click to shop.

Hey there!

Now that two out of the three of us have reasonable internet access, we thought it might be time that y'all got to know us a little better. Tara (the dream), Alison (the style), and Amy (the ambition) all share Rwanda and No.41 in common, but we all come at life from different angles. Coffee Talk is our new, once a month attempt sharing our unique perspectives on life, faith and the people and places we love.

::Tara::

Something New: Well, pretty much everything feels new since moving home to Oklahoma at the end of July. New plans, new opportunities, new direction. One of my favorite things is my newfound creativity. It's always been there, but it feel like it's been hiding for a very long time. Hey creativity, welcome back!

Something Inspiring: Y'all I would be lying if I said my creativity wasn't driven by Pinterest. It's seems so annoying and cliche, but it's so TRUE. Literally, anything you want to do (or never even knew you wanted to do) in your whole life, is there.

Something Disturbing: I am devastated by the amount of hair my dog, Jett, sheds daily. Wait, maybe I should check Pinterest for a remedy?! If not, look for No.41 wigs, coming soon!

Something I'm Listening To: Oh, I may be late on this thing, but someone posted the Shane & Shane video for 'Though You Slay Me' on Facebook today. It was my first time to hear it. I downloaded the entire album on iTunes. So good.

///Alison

Something new: I have to agree with Tara.. Since getting back to the states in July, everything feels new! I had a pretty hectic schedule before I moved to Rwanda, so now that I'm back in the states- I'm soaking up the down time. I love having time to actually catch up with people and be more intentional with people in my life. Just showing up at my grandparent's house to sit and chat with them is something I've been loving these days. Oh, and spontaneous road trips are nice, too:)

Something inspiring: A new season. I know it's not Fall yet (especially in West Texas..) but, I'm talking about a new season in life. The first of a month feels like a fresh beginning to me and now that I'm settled in a bit, I've been feeling pretty refreshed and excited to take on this new little season.

Something disturbing: 100 degree days kinda make me wanna cry, other than that- I can't think of anything.

Something I'm listening to: Lost in the Trees on vinyl. I missed my record player so much and have had fun falling back in love with it.

Amy~

Something New: This one's easy.... I moved to a new country!  So everything is new: new people, new food, new house, new language, new ways to shower or not, new joys, new sights, new sounds, new experiences..... A lot of new!!

Something Inspiring:  Rwanda's beauty!  Even though it is has been very dry and not a lot is growing I'm still taken back by all that I see as I walk out of the gate.  My favorite thing to do here to take a walk to and from the next small village as the sun sets.  Some days I live for that time where the whole country seems to be coming home and done for the day.  From the beautiful hills, glorious volcanoes, and very interested Rwandans that stare at the white lady just walking for fun....it all is inspiring.

Something Disturbing:  The rainy season is quickly approaching and I live with some amazing weather forecasters.  So I usually ask one of the girls, before I hop on a moto, if it's going to rain and they then proceed to stick their hand out of the window and say things like "not now, it will rain tonight."  or "yes, rain is coming"  What's disturbing is that they are always right!!!!  Maybe I'll be able to do this kind of forecasting before I leave!

Something I'm listening to:  Rain falling on the roof at night.  Mainly because when it rains at night that's all you can hear!

So, there you have it! It is our goal in life (or really just on this blog) for you to hear a lot more from each of us soon and a bit more often. Next month, for coffee talk, we are thinking of a little 5 Thing You Don't Know About Me. Do you think we should write them about ourselves or about each other? Cast your vote in the comments. Don't make us look like losers. :) Ready? Go!

one shirt = one HUNDRED meals

We've been working on some fun behind-the-scenes things lately at No.41, and we are so excited that our new t-shirts are now available in the shop for pre-sale!! Not only are they the most comfortable shirt ever, but for $25 each tee provides one hundred meals for a secondary student in Rwanda!

 I know, I know. We think it's pretty legit, too. Now get going!

Thanks for your support, we sure do love you guys a lot!

870 Ones

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility. I look at the individual. I can love only one person at a time. I can feed only one person at a time. Just one, one, one."   - Mother Teresa

These sweet faces greeted me today as an American group and I visited the school where the feeding program takes place. Each child greeted us with a smile and a big bowl of food. It was lunchtime and each student was enjoying their hot and healthy lunch, just like they do everyday. 870 kids eat everyday because you said yes. 

More are coming! The headmaster told me that the school will be growing next year and there will be over 1,100 students to feed. Families are hearing that at this school children get a hot meal everyday and are enrolling their children. Students that have never been to school come now because they can eat, this is huge, this is world changing. All because you said yes to one! One bag, one meal. It all starts with one!

You can buy a bag here! You can learn more about No.41 here!

Movie Stars

Y'all, we are always so proud of our girls, but this sweet video makes up want to absolutely burst! We hope you love it as much as we do! Thank you so much to Tash McCarroll, for your friendship and your mad photog/video skills. Enjoy!