GIVE LOVE Dinner Auction

So, as a rather large part of our fundraising efforts to get to Lesotho, Africa this summer, our team is hosting a dinner auction at the church on Saturday, April 24. Tickets are $20, or you can sponsor a table for you and yours for $120. Dinner will include a three-course meal and a chance to bid on items like jewelry, electronics, artwork and the like (and a pair of custom Tom Shoes painted by my awesome Dad). You can check out the website dedicated to our GIVE LOVE movement (with auction details) at www.napc.org/give-love

If you want to buy some tickets or donate some items for the auction, let me or Duncan know!

The Best At-Home Blow-Dry

Real Simple included instructions in the April 2010 edition for getting the best hair blow-dry at home. Here's a link to the article.

And, I think it worked... hence the photo below :) Thought I'd share in case anyone needed some hair help.

Whitney's Open Letter

Below is the support letter I mailed out last week as Duncan and I attempt to generate support as we travel to Lesotho this summer. I sent it to only a few, dear, and special friends, knowing I would also post in here for the world at large to view :) Below the letter is an image of the prayer card, and we mostly covet support in way of prayer. Please join in praying about and for this trip.

Duncan's letter is soon to follow!

Dear Friend,

I hope that this letter finds you well and enjoying life as spring quickly approaches. I’m writing to let you know of some exciting news in my and Duncan’s life that will be happening this summer.

As you know, Duncan and I spent a summer in 2007 abroad in Ireland. This was a significant time in our lives—forming the way we viewed the world and shaping future plans for how we wanted to spend our lives. This planted a seed of wanting to see more of God’s creation and a love for discovering ways to meet people of disparate cultures.

We’re excited to announce that we have been given the opportunity to share this joy of exploring the world, learning from people of other cultures, and extending a brotherly (or sisterly!) hand to others in need, with our church’s youth group this summer. We will be traveling to Lesotho, Africa with 7 teenagers as well as a handful of other adults.

In our 10-day trip, we will be working with North Avenue Presbyterian Church missionaries Frank and Nancy Dimmock, who are extensively involved in both healthcare education and the Ministry of Insured Salvation Orphanage among many other life-giving and life-sustaining organizations in Lesotho. Our primary efforts while in Lesotho will be working with local teenagers affiliated with Youth for Christ who are looking for ways to live out Jesus’ call to love others. By introducing these teenagers to the orphanage, we hope to create relationships that benefit both parties and that will last long after we return home. While partnering with Youth for Christ, we will be hosting an art camp at the orphanage that explores self-image, the character of God, and God’s love for these children. Lastly, we want to show North Avenue youth what extreme poverty looks like—something unlike anything we could experience in North America. We want to teach young North Americans that poverty does not equate to worthlessness or unhappiness, that God does indeed have a heart for the poor, and how much we can learn from our fellow human beings who live in poverty every day.

I distinctly remember when I was a junior in college the day when I realized that I needed to go to Africa. There was no sad television commercial or special sermon that tugged at my heart-stings; I just sat journaling out in the sunlight at the Ford Courtyard at Berry and wrote down the words I need to go to Africa. I did not know how I would get there, when I would get there, or exactly what it was I needed to do there. But I have carried that calling with me ever since. While I still cannot answer the question what I specifically need to do there, I am excited to see doors opening for me to go, and am most glad that God has brought me a partner in Duncan to share this experience with.

But I need more partners besides Duncan to share in this ministry with me, which is where you come in! First, I ask that you would partner with me in prayer. Leading up to our departure, Duncan and I are praying that we would be emotionally and spiritually preparing for what we will encounter in Lesotho, and that God would be preparing those we will meet in Africa to be receptive to what we can share, whether it be by way of health education, or just sharing God’s love. We will especially covet your prayers while in Africa, July 20-August 1, for safe travel, safety for our group once we arrive, and that the youth we take with us will have transforming experiences that shape them the way my and Duncan’s experiences abroad shaped us.

Lastly, I’d ask you to prayerfully consider financially contributing to this trip. You can check flights to and from South Africa, it’s expensive—and indeed, the bulk of cost for this trip will be airfare. While we will be participating in several fund-raising efforts to cover much of the cost of the trip, we are asking our friends and family to contribute as they feel led. Every little bit helps!

Duncan and I are excited to see where God is leading us in life. As you hopefully know, Duncan is just past the halfway mark in his seminary education, and as this last year and a half wraps up, I do not doubt that God will use this Africa experience to inform where we will next go.

I have included a prayer card that our team and those who choose to partner with us in prayer will be using as a guide leading up to the trip. You can also keep up with Duncan and me (both in way of our preparations for the trip and life in general) via our blog at duncanandwhitney.blogspot.com.

If you should feel led to contribute financially to this trip, you can send a check payable to North Avenue Presbyterian Church to our residence:

Duncan & Whitney Meadows

604 Kirk Road #33

Decatur, GA 30030

Wow, this was a long letter! Thank you for sticking it out while I tried to explain so much in such a small space. If you want to talk more about this awesome opportunity or just life in general, please email me at whitney.meadows@gmail.com.

With much love and gratitude,

Whitney Meadows

Lesotho!

So, it is official. This has been in the works for a while, but as support letters have been mailed out, it at least feels more official: The Meadows are going to Lesotho, Africa this summer.

In some circles where I have announced this, there has been a look of confusion when I say Lesotho, as in--where is that?! If it helps, Lesotho is pronounced luh-soo-too. But in case that still doesn't sound familiar, here is a map that might help orient you.

Lesotho is located within South Africa, but is its own country. Dictionary.com describes Lesotho as a monarchy in S Africa: formerly a British protectorate; gained independence 1966; member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 2,007,814; 11,716 sq. mi. (30,344 sq. km). Capital: Maseru.

We'll be traveling with our church's youth group July 20-August 1. More details to follow soon!