Ok, so my dream probably isn't quite as big as the one Martin Luther King Jr. had, but it is a dream all the same!
I've been wanting to write this post for a while now (and alluded to it in the comments of my introductory post about Sister Mercedes, 'Completely Given to God'!), and finally feel as if it's all now collated enough to do so! So you'll remember that I've been writing a lot about Sister Mercedes and Nazareth House while I've been away, and this place has really come to be on my heart. One thing I don't think I've mentioned yet is that Sister Mercedes' home - where she lives with all her children - has been put up for sale by the owner. Thankfully, as of yet, no one has put in an offer, but they are living with the constant threat that if someone does, they will be out on the street with nowhere to go. This is joined by the fact that the price put on the house is way more than it is really worth and it was never purpose-built anyway. So our dream: To build Sister Mercedes a NEW house!
Fundraising for this project is something I'm going to be doing as much of as I possibly can this year. And I hope that you might all be able to join with me in this; in a small way or in a big way - for nothing is either too small or too big for God to use. If we can get enough money together to buy land and start the building process, next summer could see the first bricks being laid. Which would just be SO exciting!!!
One of my most recent fundraising ideas has stemmed out of the fact that for my birthday (my 21st < CAN'T BELIEVE I'M THAT OLD ALREADY!!!) in January, I am going to ask people to donate the money they would've spent on a gift to this cause. I was then talking to a friend who came out on one of the summer teams, and she is planning to do the same thing this year for Christmas. This started our brains turning and we've decided to kickstart a Christmas campaign called, "#EnoughStuff"! Basically, we've set up a JustGiving page (https://www.justgiving.com/enoughstuff/) for people to send their donations to - which can then claim GiftAid and goes straight to this project via Mission Direct. We are encouraging as many people as possible in as many different places as possible to take up this banner and say they have #EnoughStuff. Because really, for many of us, we DO have enough stuff. We don't need more things to clutter up the house this Christmas. So if you could help in this way - DO IT! Instead of asking your friends for gifts, ask them to GIVE; then give them the link to the JustGiving page and it REALLY is that easy! We're hoping also to put up some printable Christmas cards which people could then give to say they've donated in place of your present (because we know it is still nice to be able to physically give something at Christmas). Let's get back to the whole point of giving; and by doing this, perhaps we can not only make a real difference to this family and this need, but also show our friends and families that being a Christian is about loving those in need. And though society might be able to commercialise Christmas, it can never take that away from us.
I've been back in the UK now for almost 2 weeks. And what a strange fortnight it has been!
I got home on the Friday afternoon, had a week there (mostly working through my photos and making leaflets and things for a project I've taken on in the wake of my trip {more to come on that note!!!}) and then headed down the country for a debrief day for all the teams we've had out over the summer, then back home for 2 days before coming back to Cambridge for term to start for my last year of university! It's been great spending some time with my family and then being with my friends again, but I almost feel like there's been no time to breathe! It's nice now to have my room all set up around me, knowing I won't be leaving for somewhere else again in the next few days!
It's definitely strange being back though, after so long away. You realise things you didn't really notice before - like the fact that if I'm thirsty, it doesn't matter that I haven't stocked the cupboards full of things to drink yet, because I can simply go over to the sink in my room, fill a glass straight from the tap and drink it all! Or like the fact that I have SO MANY clothes - when you have enough underwear to fill a hiking rucksack, you're probably edging on the side of too many. They say it takes a bit of getting used to come back to your own developed country after working among poor communities for any length of time; just the stark difference between all the opportunities and options I have before me and the people I met who, for some of them, would struggle just to get enough food to feed their families each day.
I guess there's a slight tinge of guilt, even though everyone says you shouldn't feel guilty. Guilt that I have so much, and STILL bought that cool T-shirt, or book, or whatever. But I think feeling a small amount of guilt isn't bad; if that guilt makes me think more about whether I actually need another T-shirt or not, and makes me look at what else my money could do, then that is a good thing. And at the same time as that feeling of guilt, is a feeling of being immensely blessed - being privileged. I think, certainly in the culture around me, we shy away from wanting to be called 'privileged'; we think it takes away what we've achieved. But I am privileged. Privileged to have been born in this country, where I got to go to school from 4-18 for free; where, even if the system isn't perfect, I can get funding to go to university regardless of how much my family earns; where there is the NHS so that if I get sick or injured I get the care of trained and skilled doctors and nurses; where I have the right to vote and take an interest in how my country is run; where I can drink the water, for goodness' sake! So now I just need to work out how I can use my position here to make a difference to people who aren't so privileged - who don't have all those things that I do. And I'm not suggesting that will be easy; as someone told me, "If solving poverty was easy, it would've already been done." But we can make progress - though the Millenium Development Goals weren't fully met, SO MUCH progress has been made since then (thisis a brief, and cool video looking at how well they were met!). And now we have the UN Sustainable Development Goals to direct us in continuing that progress. Progress can be made; one starfish at a time! ;-D |
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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