Thursday, October 13, 2011

Birthday Boy #1

We recently celebrated Brady's 3rd birthday! We met up with family the day of his birthday to exchange presents.
Later on in the week, we invited friends over to celebrate. That boy loves trucks so it was an easy theme.

Anyone who knows Brady, knows that it is very tough to get one of his smiles on camera.
This was our attempt to get a pic of all the kids at the party. Brady is not even looking at the camera.
He had a great birthday and has started his 3rd year of life out with a bang by moving to a big boy bed and potty- training. I am so thankful for this sweet but tough little guy.
Since Brady really only plays with cars, trucks and the iPad, we really did not want to overload him with more toys that he probably wouldn't play with anyway. So, instead of gifts, we asked his friends to give a small donation to help buy formula for a mother-less baby in Africa named Alama ( a name given to babies whose mother's die in childbirth). I met Alama's parents when I went to Africa last year and stayed in their village.

I was told by the missionary there that many times when a mother dies during childbirth, the baby "goes away." I don't really want to think about what that implies. The missionaries agreed to help with the cost of formula for the baby and they found another woman in the village who would care for him. The monthly cost of formula for Alama is around $140. The missionaries have had a few donations but are now pretty much paying it out of pocket. Alama will still be in need of formula for about 5 more months. Maybe you feel led to give and make a difference, not only in this little guy's life, but also in a village who have heard the saving gospel of Christ, but not embraced it. If so, leave a comment or send me an email and I will let you know how you can help.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."-John 13:35