11+ Charities Collecting Donations for Haiti

FROM THE DESIRING GOD BLOG:

11 Charities Collecting Donations for Haiti
January 13, 2010 | By: Abraham Piper | Category: Recommendations

If you're looking for an organization to channel your money through for Haiti—and you probably should be—here are some options.

1. Compassion International
2. Feed My Starving Children
3. Food for the Hungry
4. World Vision
5. World Relief
6. Samaritan's Purse
7. Love a Child
8. Northwest Haiti Christian Mission
9. Compassion Weavers
10. Mennonite Central Committee
11. Water Missions International

To these I would add: Crossworld, an evangelical mission agency working in Haiti for over 50 years.

Wednesday without Words

Through the Eyes of a Newbie

In the interest of sharing some insights about Malian culture, I want to defer to our friend, Annie Pettit, who spent the holidays with us. Annie teaches high school math at Dakar Academy and is a very good friend of Danielle. We always enjoy "seeing" Mali through the eyes of someone who has never been here before, so I am going to give you the link to her blog for today's Malian Life & Culture entry:

http://anniepettit.blogspot.com

Her three most recent entries are about her visit here.

Quote of the Week

Hey, I'm on a roll, lol! Even tho I just posted my "rebooting" message, it's Monday, so I'll share this cutie which my Facebook friend, Shirley O'Neill, posted today (btw, Shirley & I were close friends in HS, lost track of each other for decades, and have reconnected thanks to FB. Say what you want about wasting time on these social networking sites, but they can be a real blessing!!!):

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
- P. J. O'Rourke

Rebooting the Blog...

It's embarrassing to look at my blog and see how long it's been since I've posted anything. A few weeks ago I changed the name -- it was at first called "My Non-Political Blog" b/c so many of the blogs I've seen are political, but really that name was supposed to be a "place holder" until I thot of something more original or catchy. Finally, I changed it to the old phrase which we first heard from Ken Durst, Here Today... Gone to Mali.

My biggest problem, I suppose, has been writer's block -- a whole year's worth, from the look of things! Then I saw a format which my colleague/Facebook friend, Mali-Anta, follows:
* Sunday – Quotes for the week
* Monday / Tuesday – Life Model topics
* Wednesday without words – Malian photos
* Thursday / Friday – Anthropology and culture topics
* Saturday – Book reviews

I like the idea of some kind of structure; it saves me from having to agonize over what to write. So here is what I will try:
*Sunday/Monday: Quote of the Week (I collect quotes all the time, this will give me something to do with them for once!)
*Monday/Tuesday: Malian Life & Culture
*Wednesday without Words (WWW): Pictures
*Thursday/Friday: Book Reviews
*Friday/Saturday: Current Event Commentary or Personal Journaling

I may not post on every topic every week, and as you can see, I don't want to commit to an exact day for each post (only WWW wouldn't work on another day!). I will probably also post our monthly prayer letters as they are published, b/c they too give a glimpse of our lives.

And all this is assuming anyone even reads this!

THOUGHTS ABOUT CROCHET

This will probably only resonate with my crafty friends, esp. those who knit & crochet, but I think it's beautiful! I esp. liked the line: "Crochet is magically creating something from nothing."



The man seated next to me on the airport bus asked why I had come to Chicago. I told him I was going to a crochet conference. He looked rather perplexed, and then asked, "What is crochet, anyway?"

I said, "It's a method of forming knots with a hook and thread to create a fabric." He stared at me, so I added, "It's making doilies." He smiled and nodded, "Oh yes, my grandmother used to do that." I realized later that I had given him a pretty poor definition. Here's what I should have said:

Crochet is that skimpy little high-fashion dress prancing down the runway at a designer show. It's a warm hat and scarf in bright colors worn on a gray winter day or a soft, cuddly teddy bear clutched in a crying child's arms.

Crochet is a glittery shawl thrown over a shoulder to accent a little black cocktail dress or a sleek little evening purse encrusted with beads. Crochet is a fluffy blanket that welcomes a new baby to the world or a pair of socks with a zingy heel treatment for a teenager to wear with clogs. It's a Christmas stocking, a gift from one generation to another.

Crochet is magically creating something from nothing. It's the love one pair of hands gives to another.

It's probably a good thing I didn't say all this; he would not have understood. But if you are a crocheter, you understand.

Jean Leinhauser (former editor and publisher of Crochet! magazine)
Crochet!, March 2004

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