Two years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to travel
to Maria’s Big House of Hope, a special needs orphanage in Luoyang, China, and
while I was there I met one of the most amazing people I have ever encountered,
Mariah Bywater. Mariah is an American
citizen who serves as the head nurse at Maria’s and in addition to having a
heart bigger than the ocean, she has magnificent dreams for how to make Maria’s
Big House the best home-away-from-forever-home it can be for each of its
special residents.
Before I headed home at the end of my trip, I asked Mariah
to create for me a pie-in-the-sky, money-is-no-object, in-a-perfect-world wish
list of what she would like to see provided for the children living at Maria’s. Over the past two years, with a lot of help
from friends, I have been able to make several of those wishes come true, but
there has always been one unfulfilled wish nagging at me more than any other…
and today I would like to ask you to help me make that wish come true.
Two years ago Mariah shared with me her dream of having a
train table (with all the fixin’s) available to the children living at Maria’s
Big House of Hope. The sticking point
for this dream, however, has always been how exactly to get a train table
delivered once I figured out how to acquire one. Getting the trains, tracks, accessories,
etc., shipped overseas has never concerned me, but as FedEx and UPS do not
deliver to Luoyang, China, the actual table would have to be shipped via the US
Postal Service or hand carried as a traveler’s luggage, an expensive venture
either way. But now I have found the
solution!
With the help of some special friends at Show Hope
arrangements have been made for Mariah to order a train table from a supplier
in China and thus have it delivered to Maria’s without involving any
international transportation issues. I have
also been able to arrange for all of the trains, tracks and accessories to be purchased
here in the States and then delivered directly to Maria’s via a mission group
traveling to Luoyang later this summer.
So, now all that is lacking is the actual purchase power to acquire what
is needed to make this dream come true, and that is where you come in.
From now until July 4, I will be raising the money needed to
purchase one train table (approximately $500/US) and a full set of trains,
tracks and accessories (approximately $175) for Maria’s Big House of Hope. To accomplish this task I will be selling “tickets”
for Maria’s Big House Express at the
cost of $5 per ticket. The full purchase
price of each ticket will go directly toward the $675 needed to complete this project
and with each ticket you purchase you will be given the opportunity to send a
personalized message to the staff and children of Maria’s which will be
delivered along with the trains and track.
And the process couldn’t be easier. Simply let me know via blog comment, Facebook
or email how many tickets you would like to purchase (may I suggest purchasing
a ticket for each member of your family???) and make sure I have a current
email address for you. I will then email
you the “ticket(s)” which you will print out, sign (and add a note to if you
wish), and then you will mail me the finalized ticket(s) and payment to the
address provided. It is that easy!
So, what do you
say? Are you ready to ride the rails
with me and make this dream come true? 135
tickets sold and we’ve got this thing done!
Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
*Any money collected beyond the actual final total will be used toward
additional accessories or other needs at Maria’s Big House of Hope.
