The Hundredfold Gift & Courtney's Senior Project

Good afternoon, Friends!  I'm so glad you are here! If you are new to my Blog, Welcome! If you have hung in there with me for awhile, Many thanks!

I'm not sharing a "project" with you today 
per se.   At least, not one you can physically recreate.  Curious?

My Pastor recently gave a wonderful Sunday teaching, as he usually does.  But, what came out of this particular Sunday, really hit home with me.  He started out by asking if there was anyone with less than $10 on them,that was willing to give him one of their dollar bills. He made a point of saying that we "wouldn't be getting it back." I love my church and knew what I had in my purse fell into that category, so I held up a dollar for him. He asked me if I could bring it up to him, which I was happy to do.  He posed this question, "How much are we willing to turn over to God?"... (The dollar was symbolic, of course) He, then, did something I hadn't seen coming... He ripped off a portion of the dollar bill he believed most people were comfortable giving away.... which, I would guess, was roughly a fifth.  He went on to remind us that Bible says, in Matthew, that what we give to the Lord, in His name, we will get back a hundredfold. Then, to my complete shock and disbelief, he pulled a brand new $100 bill from his pocket and told me to come back up and take it!....

Is your jaw dropping??? Because mine was. I didn't quite know what to do. It was not my money. It didn't feel right to take it. People around me were clapping and I was waved up to come and get this $100. I told my Pastor to keep it for the church, but he smiled, that all too wonderful smile, that I have grown so accustomed to, and said,"No, that's yours".  

Okay, so you know how some comedians say, "I told you that story, so I could tell you this?" Well, that was true here.  I needed to tell you that story, so I could tell you the best part of this, God's "Hundredfold gift"


There is a beautiful  girl at my church, I should say young lady.  Her name is Courtney.  
This is Courtney.

She is a Senior in High School. She is beautiful, not just physically, to look at, but her Heart and Faith make her one of the most beautiful  young ladies, I have had the pleasure to meet in awhile.

Minutes before my Pastor started speaking on this particular story, I had read about Courtney and the "project" she was working on.  As a matter of fact, I had just marked a box, in our church's connections,  that I would like to volunteer to help Courtney with her 
"Senior Project."  Simply said, Courtney has a heart for God.  She saw her senior project as a way of making a difference, a very big difference, in the lives of some children. Not just any children, but some very specific children, orphans, to be exact. Not to build them a home, give them a trip of a lifetime , or have them as exchange students...but instead,  to provide for there most fundamental, basic, human need..... To feed them.   That's it! 

A finite amount of children at 3  orphanages, that needed daily food. How many high school Seniors do you know that are looking beyond their senior prom and pictures?  I wish I knew more!  Does that speak to your heart??  Because it spoke to mine.   So, when I was walking back to my seat with God's hundredfold gift, I knew immediately it was Courtney's. It wouldn't be enough, but I knew God had put it in my hand so that It could help empower her to help those children.

Courtney, with the help of her friends and family, organized and solicited volunteers and donations to set up and put on a beautiful dinner.  Not just a fundraising dinner, but also a very large raffle to benefit these orphans. I believe she had at least 50 different, donated, raffle prizes! Believe me, that itself is no easy task..  She, along with her friend and classmate, Julie,worked tirelessly on it.  They contacted the church and advertised in our Sunday "Bulletin", as well as, requesting people to volunteer to help with the dinner and raffle to ensure they achieved success.  Brilliant!! She went out and spoke on the radio, she spoke to classes about The Alkare Foundation's "Hungry Stomachs Have No Ears" program and pretty much answered anyone's questions and the word spread.

Her goal was this:  to fully fund 21 children in need. It was a gigantic goal! But one she didn't back away from. I'm happy to be able to share with you that Courtney's Fundraiser was a humongous success!!  With her dedication and hard work, 10 of the 21 children were FULLY funded by the end of the night . That is 10 lives that will be forever changed because of this 18-year-old girl!! Not to mention, generations to come will feel the rippled affects of her choice to do this.  Now, this is where you come in!!  I would love to continue to follow her example, and ask you to join me in funding the remaining 11 children. Courtney's donation page is still open!!  If this speaks to your heart, as it did mine, you can help her fund more children by clicking  HERE or you can go directly to The Alkare Foundation's page, Here .

 The ALKARE Foundation's site explains it's belief "that orphanages are a foundational place of social and spiritual repair in any society and, as such, are a perfect place to show God’s mercy, grace and hope. Providing nutrition, allows the organization to contribute in a fundamental and critical way to these facilities, allowing the administrators, educators and care givers to meet all the other needs of the children with lower burden." 

Courtney shared, in her description of Alkare and her "project" about this fundamental need..."The Alkare Foundation is a non- profit organization that  provides basic nutrition for Christian orphanages in highly economically challenged areas of Africa and Mexico." It's just that simple.

With my single dollar bill, this girl's hope & work, and God's promise, much was accomplished. Can you imagine how far it could go with your help? How about a thousandfold? "Nothing is impossible with God". (Luke1:37)NLT 

I will be sharing this post with the following Lovely Ladies:

Heather @ Stringtown Home's Tips and Tricks , Joy and Wanda Ann @ Yesterfood's Treasure Box Tuesday Marty@A Stroll Through Life's Inspire Me Tuesday,Anita @  Cedar Hill Farmhouse's Tuesday's The Scoop,Jami@The Blackberry Vine Stephanie Lynn @ The Sunday Showcase, Susan @Between Naps On the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday, Katherine's Corner's Thursday Favorite Things , Posed Perfection's, All Things Thursday Blog Hop, Debra@ Common Ground's Be Inspired, Courtney@ French Country Cottage's Feathers Nest Friday, My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday, The Charm of Home at Home Sweet Home

I Love and appreciate your comments more than you'll ever know!! Thank you for joining me!!