Kids Sacrifice To Raise Over $6000 For Missions

I am so proud of our kids! I have been the Kids Pastor at First NLR for the past 14 years and have been so amazed at the heart for missions that each child has cultivated.

Last year, we took up an offering to drill a well in the African village where we had planted a church. This year we discovered, although the people now had clean water, they had no clean containers to carry the water the often MILES from the well to their homes. They were using animal skins and other contaminated containers. So, I challenged our kids to change that!

Last Sunday, November 4, 2013, we took up an offering to buy five gallon buckets for the village. Our goal was for each child to bring $7 (the cost of purchasing and shipping one bucket). We average 400 Elementary aged kids each week, so that total would have been $2800 - 400 buckets.

The kids worked hard for over a month. Many of them sacrificed in a big way. Money is still coming in, but we have already eclipsed $6000 (850+ buckets) just from the kids' ministry offering. Here are some of the stories of sacrifice:

Morgan J. – baked and sold cookies – raised over $700

Morgan L. – sold all her American Girl dolls on Ebay; raised $120

Sarah H. – baked and sold cupcakes, gave $132

Ellianna F. – baked and sold cookies for neighborhood; gave over $100

Creed M. – sold his toys at a yard sale; gave $137

Savannah S. – made bracelets and sold; gave over $400

Tavia & Tiara H. – “Weave For Water” (weaved bracelets and sold them); gave over $100 each

Maddie & Shae S. – gave ALL of their report card money

Weston and Garrett D. – had a “Toy Sale” and raised over $100

Wyatt and Callie W. – did household chores to raise money

I am so proud of this generation of kids who are SELFLESS in their pursuit of God's best for their lives! There are so many more kids I could have listed here. Don't tell me that kids only think about themselves. NOT these kids! They have sacrificed and given so that many families can have Clean Water - and come to know the Living Water of Life!

I wanted to share a video that one of the boys made. Cade shared a little bit of WHY he decided to do what he did for Clean Water. Enjoy this video: