Bye Bye Birthday

This year I will be 30 years old. What a milestone. A big deal. A reason to celebrate. Last year I told Le that I wanted an Alaskan cruise for my 30th birthday. And then we got the news we were infertile and began to adopt. And as it is with me a lot in my life, God used my selfishness of wanting a child of my own and opened my eyes to world of hurt, suffering and need. It's not just about Africa, though I am beginning to believe that my heart is now in that shape.
I saw this video last week and I made a resolve: I am giving up my 30th birthday. Did you know that one BILLION (yes, with a B) do not have access to clean drinking water? The man who started charity:water had a dream, to build a water well for those who couldn't get to fresh water. He gave up his birthday and asked people to donate $20 each and he raised over $14,000. This organization to date (in three years of existence) has raised over $10 MILLION dollars and provided clean water to over 700,000 people across the globe.
You know that I am selfish and one of the things that I don't like about myself is that I don't like water very much. Add some sugar, food coloring, and carbonation and that's my kind of drink! But plain ol' out of the tap drinking water makes me curl my nose. And there are a BILLION people who can't get what I can pour right out of my tap. God~forgive my selfishness.
This year, there will be no birthday party, no cake, no presents that I don't need. All I want you to do is donate $30 (for my 30th birthday) by clicking this link and supporting clean water. Oh and the coolest thing ever is that this year all the money raised in September will be going to build 333 wells in ETHIOPIA!! Which means that a relative of Le and I's children could directly benefit from MY birthday.