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1.  Africa-lovers: We REALLY want to start building a volunteer base as local Africans contact us about needing help and wanting to connect.  If you have a heart for Africa and would love to have dinner and build relationships (at many different levels!) with college-aged Africans and entire African families, you can fill out the volunteer form under the “Connect” heading on our homepage or contact us if you have specific questions.  Please open your heart and connect.  There are dozens and dozens and dozens of references in the Bible about God caring for the “orphan, widow, and foreigner [African immigrant can be applied here!]” and wanting us to do the same.  This is your opportunity!  FILL OUT THAT FORM!!!!

2.  Coffee lovers:  http://www.justlovecoffee.com/awakeandalive and buy some coffee to support Awake and Alive.  And an added bonus is if we get $75 in sales, we get lots of free stuff we can use as promos to raise awareness.

3.  Book lovers: www.ChristianBooksBibles.com.  Order your items and use Awake&Alive for a promo code (make sure you hit “apply” afterwards!) If you spend $50, you get free shipping from the best book distributor in the U.S. (Disclosure clause: Danielle is biased, because it’s a family affair) and Awake and Alive gets a chunk of the profits.  They even price match if you find something cheaper.  You can’t go wrong!!!

4. T-shirt lovers: We have extra Awake and Alive t-shirts like you see on the facebook page.  They’re only $15, and you can support our cause by wearing it!  We also have more, even trendier stuff in the works…

5. Jazz and social justice lovers: On Wednesday night, June 22nd the X/Stop project in South Bend is putting on a great event for you to see many (25+) of the local non-profits in the Michiana area complete with jazz music and lots of great raffle items.  Awake and Alive will have a booth there and we are excited to connect with other local charities and individuals.  You can buy a table or individual tickets at www.xstopproject.com.  Come and connect!

So, you see, there are no excuses  Well, maybe if you lived far away and didn’t like coffee, books, and t-shirts…but does that apply to anyone in the entire United States?  You could also give a monetary donation without buying anything–just puttin’ that out there!  Please get involved.  It really may make you be more fully alive!

1.  Hearing some absolutely amazing musicians during the general sessions who love Jesus and are passionate about the cause of the orphan.  Among then were the Desperation Band, Meredith Andrews, Robbie Seay Band, and, my personal favorite Sara Groves with her husband, Troy on percussion.

2.  Being with a group of people that are so diverse and yet love and fight for the cause of the orphan in a myriad of different ways.  It was my friend Shelley that suggested I come who is a fellow Ethiopian adoptive mom of two and newly-labeled foster mom awaiting kiddos to love.  Besides her, our small group included two other amazing ladies who were adoptive and foster moms, and then the whole conference was full of thousands of people that were passionate about fighting for and learning about how to care for orphans.  It was both refreshing and inspiring.

3.  LEARNING.  I went to six different break-out sessions on a variety of topics.  I learned about Microcredit projects in Africa from someone at the Chalmers Institute, a church that was doing it, and a professor of economics; Fundraising from the Timothy Group; Excellence in Short-term Mission trips; Passing a heart of orphans and serving onto your children, and Advocacy and the Arts (from Sara Groves, my fave!).  I took lots of notes and grabbed lots of business cards…as well as passed a lot out.

4.  Interacting with many of the people working for/volunteering with some 50+ exhibitions set up in the exhibition hall.  I learned about so many great projects in the U.S. and around the world that love the orphans, birthmoms, foster children, widows, and, generally, God’s children everywhere.  There were too many to name, but some that stand out to me were His Little Feet (an international children’s choir that we may have the chance to help house next year!!!  So exciting!!!), Show Hope, America World (the amazing adoption agency we used), Nonprofit Financial Solutions (always fun to talk to a fellow Taylor University grad with helpful suggestions), Lopa (beautiful artwork/jewelry made by Ethiopians), and Lifesong for Orphans (I showed them our family picture with Selah because they were so instrumental in our adoption process by providing us with a matching grant.)

5.  I loved the corporate worship through music in the general sessions.  I’ve missed this!  Our house church doesn’t at this point make worship through music a regular part of our time together and with that being one of my gifts and one of the biggest ways I connect with God it was, on a very personal level, a blessing to be able to worship with so many other believers in this way.

6.  Also at the general sessions, I was blessed to hear some amazing keynote speakers.  There were too many to mention (they packed a lot into the general sessions!) but Dr. Karyn Purvis, Tom Davis from Children’s Hopechest, Carolyn Twietmeyer from Project Hopeful, Florence Muindi from Life in Abundance, Russell D. Moore (author and administrator at Baptist Theological Seminary), and Luther and Rebecca Ellis (ex-pro football player and adoptive parents to MANY kiddos!) were some of my favorites.

So, there’s just a brief, brief snapshot of my time in Louisville.  Feel free to ask questions and I will be happy to try to answer.  The whole thing, I think, was essential as Awake and Alive gets off the ground and grows into what we want it to be.  I am so honored and thankful I got to be there.