What if?
Nov 9th by JonWhitney Houston tried to warn me. She belted out a proclamation that should have eliminated any sense of surprise in my tiny little head. And yet, despite her belief that children are the future, I didn’t see just how powerful kids were until mine started dropping nuclear bomb-sized ideas around our house.
Out of nowhere, my daughters will say something that is punch you in the stomach profound and then do a ballet twirl and go play with dolls.
That’s just how they get down on a fairly regular basis, but one particular thing my oldest daughter said more than a year ago is refusing to let me go.
We were looking at a book on storms and came to a page about drought and famine. In the corner was a little boy who was starving. His ribs were sticking out and flies covered his small face. I kept flipping the pages but L.E. made me stop and return to that one. She asked, “What’s that?” I told her, “That’s a little boy who doesn’t have enough food to eat.” She thought for a few seconds and then responded, “That’s not real though. That’s pretend right?”
Those are pretty simple sentences. On the surface, those aren’t deep by any means. But what L.E. was saying, what she was asking wasn’t so obvious. Here’s what I heard:
“Wait, wait, wait, are there other 6 year olds like me somewhere without food?
Is the L.E. in Africa starving?
Is the L.E. in Asia being sold into slavery?
Is the L.E. in Atlanta scared because she’s been home alone all weekend because her family abandoned her?
Are all these things happening right now dad? To little kids like me?
Why aren’t we doing something?
Why is that OK?
Where is the rescue? Where is the hope? Where is the sense of urgency dad?
If only you had a platform with hundreds of thousands of friends from around the world that could easily organize and radically change the world through the power of something like a blog. If only.”
OK, I didn’t hear that last part because L.E. is not that snarky of a 6 year old, but that thought is accurate.
Right now, right here, you and me and the Stuff Christians Like community have the chance to be much bigger than a blog. I am growing overwhelmed but the sense that God has given us all a tremendous gift called, “being alive on Monday” and He’s holding His breath in eager anticipation to see what we’ll do next.
And what’s next for Stuff Christians Like is that we’re going to build a kindergarten in Vietnam. (No segue whatsoever; we just jumped into that, didn’t we?)
L.E. was right, this can’t be real. So after years of supporting Samaritan’s Purse, I decided to contact them with an offer of help. And when I told them where my heart was and where my family was, they let me know about a kindergarten in Vietnam that needed to be built.
There are 240 little kids that need a six room kindergarten built in Hoang Then village in the Phong Tho district.
It costs $30,000. I’d like to raise it by December 31, 2009. (Since initially writing this, we’ve changed the goal to $60,000 and two kindergartens instead of one.)
I’ve never done this before and raising $30,000 feels like $19 million right now.
But after interviewing the staff of Samaritan’s Purse about how the money would be used, discussing Franklin Graham and a host of other subjects I felt like this was the right thing to do. Especially watching how much L.E. loves going to kindergarten right now. So my family is all in and will be starting off this crazy thing with a donation because we believe in this.
And I believe in you.
Whether you help raise money to build a kindergarten in Vietnam or do something else with one of the many other awesome charities out there, I believe in you. I believe you are bigger than a blog. I believe with God, in God, through God, we can all be bigger than ourselves.
Click here to donate.
(I set up a page with Samaritan’s Purse that will handle all the donations in a quick, easy, secure way.)
p.s. Abraham Piper grilled me about why I’m doing this, where the money goes and why I chose Samaritan’s Purse. Check out the interview here.
This is the type of kindergarten building SCL is going to build in Vietnam.
Comments
Already half way there! Amazing!
Email the post to your friends, family, and small groups people! Just do it!
peace | dewde
praying for you as this comes to fruition.
OMGoodness!! Day 1 and you are at $17,000 and it's only 11:30am where I am right now. Absolutely amazing!! I am praying HUGE that you reach your goal, that we all reach this goal, by midnight tonight!! Way to change the world!!
This makes me happy.
[...] To read more about why Jon is doing this (including the comment from his 6-year old daughter that inspired the project) and to donate to the cause, check out his post on SCL today. [...]
I'm totally down with Samaritan's Purse. This will be going in an upcoming charities entry.
We are already at 60% – which is ridiculous. Way to go, people, and keep it rolling! Please remember with the internet, we can expect this tremendous response at the beginning, but it requires dedication to get all the way there. Keep up the word of mouth, tell your friends!
I'm completely overwhelmed! I thought, wow 30,000 in two months, around Christmas? Yikes! Almost 20,000 already?! God is BIG. He has been pulling on me lately, I just haven't listened. Maybe its time to meditate, and have quiet time with God, instead of talking at Him all the time. How moving. What a community of people! I'm grateful, and blessed to be a part of it.
I hope everyone is promoting this as well and encouraging donations.
5 bucks is 5 bucks.
5 bucks from 6k people = goal.
This is amazing me every hour! What an awesome community God has brought together, using little ol' Jon. *wink*
Side note: Reading the comments/movie quotes on the giving page is cracking me up!
i guess i'm really bad with the pop culture references because i wondered about a few of the seemingly derogatory comments with the donations. thanks for clearing that up for me. i'm better at SCL references, so a big side hug to you, Shelly in Vegas.
Aww thanks, Patty! I finally figured it out after reading the "name" of the giver – then the quotes started making sense. Took me a while
Razzle Dazzle!
[...] this morning when I read about the kindergarten project on Stuff Christians Like my spirit was immediately lifted. “Yes! This is what it means to be a Christian!” I [...]
THIS IS AMAZING!!! Over $18K already! So Jon….what's next? Huge side hug, dude.
God.
Is.
BIG.
I'm going to try to send this to 50 people with a challenge to give 10 dollars. We'll see what happens.
"Preach the gospel at all times. Use words when necessary." St Francis of Assisi.
Jon, you are an amazing person! I am so proud to be a part of the community that we've developed here. I will be sharing this post on few pretty big Facebook pages. Dream big, and let's build two kindergartens, at least!!!
[...] to his blog. Read how his 6 year old daughter inspired this venture. Give a dollar or two and make an impact on [...]
Christ's hands extended
Toward the poor and needy
That's knowing Jesus (Jeremiah 22:16) Very cool idea…Go God!
$20,629.00
Jon, this site grows to be more of a Community all the time. Good job!
Jon, can we go after building two buildings. We are already over 20,000?
I request that my donation goes specifically towards the purchase of finger paint. That was what I was good at in kindergarten.
Awesome
Jon, I don't know where you are right now, but you gotta be down on your knees in tears of joy rejoicing that we serve an awesome God.
This is huge.
You have just be side hugged and leg dropped by God's amazing provision. Way to step out in faith.
Woah, I can't believe how quickly that number is going up. What if another 900 people donate $10…? Eeeeeeee! Exciting
Great idea… I love how a bunch of people can make a huge difference even giving a little… count me in too. Thanks for letting us participate.
L.E. is an amazing girl. Our God is an awesome God.
Dec 31? How about midnight tonight! This is so great, Jon!
Just saw the donation page, and that is AMAZING! You are so close to your goal after only one day! God is good!!!
Amazing… nearing $22k already! Thanks, Jon, for providing this opportunity to give to such a worthy cause.
Awesome everyone! My favorite comment so far on the donation page…
Beryl Gray says: I had to go to school–they should have to go to school.
ROFL!
[...] in Vietnam in the same approximate area where I have recently been. Check out the project here adn also read his interview with Abraham Piper who blogs at 22 Words here. When I last checked [...]
You delivered some Stuff this Christian Likes….great post! Thank you!
$19 Million might have been a good goal because apparently $30,000 is too easy
i was SO excited to read this post, and am more excited to let more people know about what SCL is doing
WOW! Praise God for this… It's amazing that this community of believers has already raised 24K! INTENSE! GOD will use your wit and your humor for more than just entertaining a whole bunch of Christians. This is awesome. Keep up the good work.
Holy freaking crap. Jon, you must be going out of your skin in excitement today. I keep laughing out loud with joy watching that number fly upward so fast! I love that you went forward with this crazy idea, unsure that people would give enough over the course of two months (i.e. "What will happen to the funds if not enough comes in to build the school?") and it looks like you'll hit the goal in ONE DAY. I also love that many of the donations are $5 and $10…the widow's mite in action, man. Love it.
So exciting! I keep refreshing the donation page to see the amount go up… God is amazing!
And you thought 30,000 was big… it's only 13 hours after you posted and you are already at 22000! That is amazing! Glad to see everyone giving back!
I love reading the funny and satirical blogs that make me laugh, but this warms my heart to see everyone come together.
I'm thinking you should change your self imposed limit to November 15th or sooner. way to go everyone
I'm convinced God has a sledgehammer personalized with my name on it, since He uses it so often to hit me over the head. This is a perfect example. I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea, about a man building schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and lamenting that I don't have the connections to single-handedly do such great things. But I CAN contribute to those who have the means to raise that kind of money. Thanks for giving me the opportunity. Off to make my donation right now.
[...] November 9, 2009 by gaylewiese What if? [...]
Wow… just saw the total go over $30,000. God is huge. Love it!
[...] I gave some of my birthday money to help build a kindergarten in Vietnam, because I have everything I need and these children have [...]
So glad to declare to my children and to the children of Vietnam that it's not ok to see suffereing and not do something about it! God is so very kind to let us play a part!
[...] $30,000 in 18 hours with many $5 gifts. You can read all about this project at the website here. His daughter inspired [...]
[...] of how Jon came to be raising $30,000 for a kindergarten in Vietnam. You can read about the project here and here, and you can donate here. Amazingly, folks have already donated $24,000 in the first DAY [...]
[...] he announced that he was partnering with the Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse to build a kindergarten in Vietnam. His daughter is a kindergartener, and seeing her love for school made this a good fit for him. He [...]
[...] contrast, Jon Acuff, author of the blog “Stuff Christians Like” posted an article with the intent of raising $30,000 by December 31 to help build a kindergarten in Vietnam. They did [...]
[...] 9:00 Pacific Time on Monday morning, I saw Jon’s post announcing the project. Armed with my credit card, I clicked on the donation link and was shocked to see that $15,000 had [...]
Jon, I love being a part of this. I read an article in the NY Times recently about how HIV+ orphans in Vietnam are being exiled from schools. These kids are some of the most stigmatized in the country. I'm pretty sure Samaritan's Purse has HIV programs in Vietnam that impact kiddos affected by AIDS with schooling, etc. I'd love to see us SCL-ers make an impact with some of these orphans. You can read that article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/world/asia/14or...
As another side note, for those interested… I was digging through Samaritan's Purse website. They have something called "Team Samaritan's Purse" where you can easily set up an online fundraising page just like this. You can donate your marathon, golf tournament, church event, wedding registry, birthday… or donate your blog in this case! AND… you can pick a specific thing you want to raise money for. I'm thinking about creating a page in lieu of my wedding registry to raise money for HIV+ kiddos in Vietnam
Very cool. Very cool.