Plane ticket in hand!

I just booked my flight to Swaziland over Thanksgiving break! I will be leaving November 19th and returning home to Nashville December 1st! It's a short trip, but a trip well needed.

Here are some goals for my trip!

Goal #1 Gather Profiles

Good news and bad news: We are out of children profiles for our Prayer Sponsorship Program. We should be able to gather a few more from the United States, but while I'm there in November I will be able to get all of the kid's profiles at the DIC.

What does this mean? We will be able to reach our goal of getting every child at the DIC covered in prayer!


Goal #2 Create Clearer Communication

Imagine talking to a Swazi woman on the phone trying to communicate with her about details and plans for the future. Her accent and mine makes it nearly impossible to make sure each of us has a clear understanding.

The solution: Set Gogo Abner up with an email account, show her how it works and supply her with the small fee it takes to use the internet cafe. This will clear up all communication errors and put all of my worries to rest.

Goal #3 Set up a Job Opportunity

As part of RHM's Battle: 2050 Create, we want to set up job opportunities for men and women in Swaziland. I am still doing my research, but it would be wonderful to start up a work opportunity for a small group of women while I'm there. Please pray that how and what needs to be done becomes clear to me.

Goal #4 Hand Deliver Letters of Love

You wrote them, I deliver them! This is going to be a great opportunity to capture the reaction of a child when he/she reads a letter from someone allllll the way across the world telling them they're special and loved!

Cross your fingers! I cannot promise but if you are currently sponsoring a child through our Prayer Sponsor Program, I hope to get your child to write you back! This will be a great way for you to bond with your child.

THE BIG PICTURE: To make this trip as productive as possible!

I want to thank everyone who has signed up for our Prayer Sponsorship Program! You are drastically changing the life of a child in Swaziland.

Two friendly reminders for those invovled

1. Don't forget to sign up for your $10 monthly donation on the website (You'll have to go back to the Prayer Sponsorship page and click donate)
2. The deadline for Letters of Love is coming up! Please have you're letters mailed by Thursday, November 5th
   

Not signed up but want to get invovled?

We need 70-100 more Letters of Love before I leave on November 19th.

What is Letters of Love?

A letter of encouragement to a child in Swaziland. You can draw a picture, write a poem, tell them about yourself, share a bible verse, etc. ANYTHING GOES! It does not need to be addressed to a certain child just write Hello! If you'd like to sign you're name at the end, feel free!

Where do you mail them?

Please mail all letters by Thursday, November 5th to

Roots of Hope Ministries
1016 Hawthorne Dr.
Charleston, IL 61920

If you feel so inclined to donate to my trip....

I still need to raise 300-400 dollars for my upcoming trip. This money will help cover living expenses while I'm in Swaziland. If you would like to donate, please mail checks to

Good Measure International
785 Harrison Ave.
Charleston, IL 61920
(*please write Roots of Hope or Tessa on the description line of the check)

OR

Visit our website www.rootsofhopeministries.com and click DONATE at the top. There you will find a picture of me and brief description of my needs. Click on that and you can donate online!

Thank you to everyone involved with and praying for Roots of Hope. We've grown a lot over the past month and it only makes me think we've got a lot more growin' ahead of us. ...And I'm up for the challenge!