Haiti Fundraiser and Giveaway: My cup runneth over...(Psalms 23:5)

I have struggled to write this post because my heart is so full of wonder and gratitude at the generosity, trust, and faith of my blog readers.  I also had to wait a bit to finish waiting for checks and waiting for my blog readers to comment on the post to be entered in the giveaway.  I had originally hoped and prayed for $1000, no small amount to send to Haiti, in an attempt to help relieve the extreme suffering and hunger there, especially of children. However, I was completely stunned when I did the final count, and my blog readers, 42 of them, plus me - together gathered $2200 to send to Haiti with my friend CY, who will be going as missionary at the end of the month.  To find that my readers and I had more than doubled the original goal set overwhelmed me and caused me to shed tears of thankfulness and gratitude.  Truly, "my cup runneth over" (Psalms 23:5) and God has blessed my small tiny effort with so much.  To all that contributed and trusted this effort, thank you so much.  Your generosity and kindness moved my heart so much that it is even hard to type this as I cry.

After some discussion with friend CY, and her discussions with a representative from Messengers of Mercy, $500 of the amount will go directly to water purification systems to be installed there.  Currently the systems they have for clean water are so slow, it is near impossible to have enough drinking water.

The remaining amount will be converted to cash for CY to take to Haiti and purchase staples to be given in the slums and orphanages to go directly towards feeding the children. She just recently learned that even in this, there are some difficulties, because some places, upon finding a surplus of food, will try and sell it to get money, instead of feeding the children.  We must pray for wisdom for CY, so that she wisely provides food for the needy so that it truly will go towards feeding the starving children there.

Friend CY promises to take videos and pictures for me so that I can show my WOM readers the way their contribution is helping those in Haiti directly.  I think I learned so much more about the kindness and generosity of strangers and friends than I had ever imagined to do so.  Thank you so much.

Now to announce the winners of the giveaway.  Originally the wonderful folks at Orange Circle Studios had given me two Eat Well Plan Well calendars, one for myself and one to giveaway, but after seeing the generosity of my blog readers, I felt I didn't even deserve to keep one for myself, so instead of one, I will be giving away both calendars.  The winners are (chosen at random by Random.org, the random number generator)

Sillie Smile and Ashley...YAY!!!! THANK YOU!!!  Could you both please email me with your address so that I can mail the calendars to you.  (joanne_choi AT yahoo DOT com)

For those who are interested in getting their own fantastic Orange Circle Studio Calendar...I really do love the tear off portion at the bottom which allows you to plan a week's menu (including a shopping list section) while the top portion is a monthly calendar for traditional planning.