Sunday, May 1, 2011

Opportunity is Knocking ~ Right Here, Right Now...

Today while in Sacrament meeting a testimony was born which really touched my heart and mind. The brother speaking talked about an experience he had years ago, in which he was in a meeting and told that there were young men who wanted to serve missions who did not have the money to go. The men in the meeting were asked to do what they could to help out... hoping to collect enough for at least one of the boys to go.

This man thought about the amount of money they were trying to gather. It was overwhelming to him. He couldn't afford to give 6 or 7 thousand dollars, though he would have liked to. It didn't seem to him like he had enough money to make a difference at all. But then the thought came to his mind,
"I can't do everything;
but I can do something."

 So he decided to do what he knew he could afford, and commit to paying $5.00 every month to help with the missionary fund for the next two years.

Six months later, he sat in a followup meeting and the missionary fund was again addressed. Evidently, there were enough people who had the same idea that he had. In small increments from many individuals, they would not be sending one young man on a mission... but would instead be sending seven.

My heart was touched by this, because I too have felt much the same way as this man did. I have wanted to help with various organizations on so many occasions, but didn't know if my little bit would help. Somehow, I have always believed that it would; this story strengthened my testimony that the small things we do ~ do make a difference.

I feel that way now... the way the man who spoke did. Wanting to help a friend, but not feeling like I have much to offer.

I don't want to put anyone on the spot here today. And so I am going to disable the comments on this post. But I have a special request I would love to ask of each of you today. Maybe you can help. :D

I have friends who have a baby (Josie) with Cystic Fibrosis. The population with Cystic Fibrosis is very small, and so is the funding and research. But the research being done has already lengthened the expected lifespan of little Josie and other babies born with this disease. A few years ago, the lifespan for this disease was only a couple of years; now one with the disease can expect to grow to adulthood.

Little Josie's parents, my friends, sent me an email asking for support for the Cystic Fibrosis Research Team. How could I turn them away? They want their little baby to live, and be healthy and strong. How could I not offer to help with such a plea?

And so I committed to joining their team to gather funds by the first of June. I regret that I have not gathered funds yet, but I know it is still possible to reach my goal of gathering $500 to add to the effort by the end of this month. You see... last month I had over a thousand page views, and possibly around 300 unique visitors. If I get the same numbers next month, and each person gave only $5.00, we more than meet the goal, and would have, not $500.00, but instead have $1,500. So... if you make a small donation, it will add up to a lot! If we get only 100 people donating $5 each, or even get 50 people donating $10 each... that is still $500;... it all adds up!

I hope you will consider this opportunity to help out. Thank you SO MUCH for your kindness and generosity!

Making a donation is simple. Just look on my sidebar for the link to the Great Strides website (There will be a Great Strides donation walk on June 4th). At this site you will find information about Cystic Fibrosis, the walk. It will also show a link to donate at the top of the page. Or, you can click on the link below...


THANK YOU SO MUCH  for taking the time to read this, passing on the word, and for any amount of money that you feel comfortable donating. Feel free to send others on over to help contribute.  THANK YOU!!!! :D

I look forward to checking back on the Great Strides link to watch the donations grow throughout this month.

Thank you so much!
and 
God bless you! :D

Corine :D