It's time for us to hit the road again! We're leaving tomorrow to come South for yet another support raising trip! We'll be traveling half the day tomorrow, staying with friends in Cincinnati, driving all day Wednesday, and arriving in Arkansas late that night. We would really appreciate your prayers for safe travels, our car staying in one piece, and protection over our hearts, minds, and relationship as we set out (things always seem to go wrong on these trips!)

We will be taking every opportunity we have to share on this trip. I'll be really honest with you friends, we HAVE to. We are really, really struggling right now when it comes to raising support, both in our personal support account (which is how we get a paycheck each month) and also for The Sound of Hope (donations for the children and our start-up expenses).

Our personal support account is not healthy. And by that I mean sick... admitted to the hospital, in ICU, on life support, SICK. For it to be healthy again, we need several thousand dollars in special gifts, and quite a few new monthly supporters. We also have $2,600 on our credit card for our plane tickets to Thailand and don't have the money to reimburse them. And, finally, we still have $2,000+ needed for our Sound of Hope start up expenses. We are in desperate need of donations for us to continue our work.

For all our needs to be met and our support account to be healthy again, we need $10,000.
Yes, 10 grand. I know that seems like a huge amount, but we know that our God is bigger than our needs! He always shows up when things seem impossible... so we are PRAYING that every cent we need will come in! We believe with all our hearts that we are doing the work God has called us to do. So PLEASE PRAY with us that the money we need will come in!

We have been working for the past month to set up speaking engagements down South. Those  scheduled are below. If you are in the area, please come, bring a friend (or a dozen), and pray about giving to our needs!

August 1 (Sunday) - First United Methodist Church of Monticello, AR
I'll be singing a special solo at the 9am service and 11am service. In between those services, we'll be sharing with the Sunday School classes about our new non-profit (The Sound of Hope) and about our upcoming trip to Thailand! We'll also be taking donations and we'll have merchandise for sale that benefits orphans (t-shirts, handmade African purses & runners, Hands of Hope orphan artwork, and notecards).

August 8 (Sunday) - Oxford, AL  &  Helena, AL

• 9:00 am - Friendship Community Church - we'll be sharing about our non-profit and our upcoming trip to Thailand
• 10:30 am - 1st UMC Oxford - we'll be introduced to the church, and we'll be available afterwards to answer questions/share info with anyone who's interested in hearing about our non-profit work. We'll also be accepting donations and selling merchandise that benefits orphans.
• 6:00 pm - private engagement - we'll be sharing with a friend's small group in Helena, AL

We also have some possible opportunities to share "in the works". These are not final yet, but as soon as they are we will post details on our blogs.

August 2 or 3 (Mon/Tues) - Fayetteville, AR
We are trying to set up an event at a coffeeshop or restaurant during the evening. This would be a time when you could drop by, visit with us, and find out more about what we're doing! You will also be able to donate to our needs or buy merchandise.

August 4 (Wednesday) - Tuscaloosa, AL
A friend of ours is checking into us speaking at her church this Wednesday night. We would also be accepting donations and selling merchandise that benefits orphans.

Aug 5 (Thursday) - Birmingham, AL
We are trying to set up an event at a coffeeshop during the afternoon/evening. This would be a time when you could drop by, visit with us, find out more about what we're doing and donate to support us or buy merchandise. A friend is checking with a coffeeshop for us, but if you know of somewhere we could go (and would be willing to help us set it up) please contact us!

We would LOVE to see you at these events! Stay tuned to our blog and facebook to find out more about the dates/times/locations we will be available. Also, if you know of anyone who might want to support us, we would love to meet with them and answer any questions they have. Our schedule between events involves a lot of travel, so contact us ASAP if you'd like to set up a meeting.