SPONSOR CLOTHES FOR YUE YUE!!

I went to Target, and I went crazy. REALLY crazy. :) FINALLY, an excuse to buy all those darling GIRL CLOTHES! Pink, lace, bows, glitter...Heaven. Puffy, frilly, HEAVEN. So, what was my excuse? Katie's darling little girl, YueYue. As I said before, YueYue is in need of some warm clothes. (I remember how cold it is in JingMen! Maybe that is why I feel such a need to send her some warm clothes!) Needless to say, I don't have any hand-me-down girl's clothes, and I think this sweet little princess deserves some lace and frill in her wardrobe, rather than Taiger's old BOY clothes. So, I bit the bullet, took my savings money and went to Target. And can I just say, spending money for others (ESPECIALLY when that person is a sweet little girl who desperately NEEDS some warm clothes) is so much more satisfying and FUN than spending money on yourself?! Now, since I am poor, I am doing a fun little fundraiser. You can look at all these CUUUUTE clothes I bought, and you can SPONSOR and outfit for YueYue! And the best part? YOU get to pick the price! Want to sponsor the cute little D*ORA outfit (did you see the sewn-on tutu?! Come on! How CUTE is that?!)? You can sponsor it for WHATEVER amount of money you have! Have $5.00 to donate? Sponsor WHATEVER outfit you want for those five bucks! YOU choose the item, YOU choose the price! Fun, huh?! I thought so, too! :) So, here are the pictures. Use the Paypal "DONATE" button on the sidebar and in the "comment" section of your payment, tell me what outfit you want to sponsor! Thank you so much, and happy "shopping"! :D

Darling pink and grey DISNEY PRINCESS outfit, with glitter stripped grey pants. (You can sponsor homemade hairbow separately.)

Check out these bunched, puffy sleeves! PERFECT for a REAL PRINCESS!

HOMEMADE PINK TULLE HAIRBOWS WITH CURLY GREEN RIBBON.

Here are all three "PRINCESS" outfits lined up. On the right, you see this sweet D*ORA the Explorer outfit. Notice the frilly cuteness on top! The matching stretch pants have a pattern of grey and dark pink ballet slippers and pretty little curley-ques. Thepink tulle tutu is attached to the pants.

The hairbow sitting on the shoulder can be sponsored separately! It is made of puffy tulle and curled pink GLITTER ribbon.

Here are TWO pair of SNUGLY, CARTER'S brand "feetey" pajamas. These are so soft and cozy, and sure to keep YueYue warm at night.

This Sleeping Beauty shirt is for a real princess for SURE! Every princess needs a special fairy, and this one comes with a "real" diamond holding her hat on! What more could a girl ever want? This darling top matches the glitter grey pants that come with the Disney Princess top, OR the tutu attached pink pants that come with the D*ORA top.

Here we have THREE snugly sweatshirts! HANES brand ensures comfort and durability. Each shirt has a GLITTERY image on front, either a butterfly, flower or heart. PERFECT for a little girl on a cold wintry day. Each shirt matches BOTH pair of sweatpants, one pair plain baby pink, the other grey with pink and purple flowers, hearts and butterflies.

Update on Katie

I talked to Katie yesterday. She was full of kindness and being polite, and finally I just told her, "Katie, I don't know about Chinese etiquette, or how to be polite and gracious according to Chinese customs.. I want you just to tell me straight what you need." So, she set aside her "politeness" and admitted what she needed: warm clothes for her little girl. So, yesterday afternoon I went to Target and blew through all of my savings buying little YueYue some warm clothes. :) And I couldn't think of a better way to spend my money. (I had talked to Taiger before hand and explained Katie needed some warm clothes for YueYue. I asked him how he would feel if we used our money for some warm clothes for YueYue rather than saving it for fun things for us. He remembers Katie and her house and insisted we use our savings to help Katie and YueYue. I LOVE Taiger's heart!) I KNOW for a FACT that Katie and her husband need some warm clothes, too, but she was more concerned for YueYue. HOWEVER, if anyone has some warm women's or men's clothing, I would love to send some to Katie and her husband, too. So, if you feel like you want to help Katie and her family, there are four ways: First: PRAY!! Katie could use all the prayers she can get! She does not know anything about God or Jesus, so she cannot pray for herself. Any prayers sent up for her would be greatly appreciated. Second: You can donate MONEY. I will be donating money monthly to them. Third: You can donate MONEY to cover the cost of SHIPPING clothes to them. Fourth: You can donate CLOTHES for their family. THANK YOU, ALL! And let me know if you are interested in helping in ANY way. :) Thank you.

Please.

This is for EVERYONE out there who loves a child. To all the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. To the teachers and the social workers. To the loving neighbors, the doctors and nurses. And this is to all the MOTHERS out there. Imagine the child you love. The child of your heart. Imagine the child that is your world. That makes you laugh when she laughs. And when she cries, you think your heart will break in two. Imagine those hugs. Imagine how some days you wish you could take a break, but other days, you wish she would never grow up. Imagine holding her hand. Imagine when she looks in your eyes. Imagine when she falls asleep in your arms, or cries for you at night, or hugs you first thing in the morning. Imagine that you missed all those days. All that all those cuddly hugs will never be yours. Imagine that you are only able to see that little child once (ONCE!) each year. For only a few days each year you get to hold her soft hand. For only a few days each year you get to stroke that hair. Imagine knowing each day that she misses you, and that someone else is caring for her. You know how you treasure each of those little kisses on the cheek because you know they will be gone all too soon? Imagine if you only got to experience that a few times because the next time you see her, she will be all grown up and won't want to give you those wet kisses on the cheek any more. Imagine someone else seeing her off on her first day of school. Imagine someone else holding her when she is feeling sick. Imagine someone else teaching her the words to her favourite song, or showing her the way the sun shines through the clouds at sunset. Imagine missing all of that! Now, imagine this is the story, the REAL LIFE story, of someone you know, and love, and who has served you tirelessly, and has given you so much and helped you so much and loved you so much, and made you smile when you were feeling your most sad, and was your best friend when you were most alone. Would you FIGHT for this mother to be back with her child? Katie is the friend that gave me everything when I needed her. Now, it is MY turn to help HER. For five. long. years. she has been away from her daughter. I can't do this on my own. Please help me reunite Katie and YueYue. YueYue needs her mommy in her life, and Katie needs her daughter in her arms. Will you help me? Please.

Katie

I have written and erased this blog so many times. I just don't know how to say what I am feeling and thinking. Please bear with me as I try. I have a good friend in China. She has been my friend for over 10 years! I call her my "sister", because I care about her that much. Lately, I had a feeling she needed my help. I couldn't call her from my house phone, but I felt desperate to contact her. While I was in China this last time, I went to visit her. Her life was terrible when I lived in China, but it is just as bad (if not worse!) than it was when we first met. I cannot tell you her whole story here, nor can I adequately express how much I love this girl. I know you would love her, too, if you met her. She is kind and loving and giving. She has nothing. She is poor. Really, honestly poor. But she is happy all the time, and would give you anything she has, even if it is her only treasure with no hope of ever again buying something so wonderful. I have seen her give away her shirt when she only had one other. She would sacrifice her life for someone she loves. She may live in a country where Christianity is not recognized, but she is one of the most Christ-like people I know. When I saw her, she was in a dire situation. She and her husband were working at a factory in Southern China, and were living in the factory compound. The two of them shared the bottom bunk of a bunk bed, in a cold, cement room with seven other beds. Their bed, with only a piece of plywood where a mattress aught to be, was their only space in the room, so all of their belongings are kept on the bed. They have no warm running water. They have no washer to clean their clothes. They clean themselves with a hose. But the worst part of their lives is that they have a 5 year old daughter who lives far away with her grandmother. Katie and her husband work seven days a week with very (VERY!) little pay, and so can only manage to go visit their daughter once a year, and that only if they have managed to save enough money over the year for the train tickets (about $15.00 each). Katie and her husband love their little girl so much! They long to be with her. They are trying to save enough money to move to the city where she lives. They wish to open a shop there so they can work and afford to live near their daughter. Can you imagine having a 5 year old daughter you have only seen a handful of times? And yet they love her with all their hearts. When Taiger and I visited them, they held Taiger and snuggled him and bought him little candies with the last of their money, and they loved on him, and all the while they talked and talked of their little girl who was the same age, and I could see in their pained eyes that their arms longed to hold her and kiss her and be with her. A few days ago, I figured out how to call Katie from skype. It was such a blessing to talk to her. To hear her voice. I told her I have some money to send her, and she cried. I told her I want to help her get the money to move north to be with her daughter and she cried. She is desperate. So, dear friends, I am here to ask for your help for Katie. I am here to be her advocate. I am here to be her voice. I am here to speak for one who cannot speak for herself. I am here to BEG for your help. Katie is saving every tiny bit of money she gets so she can have enough to move and live with her daughter. But she cannot do it alone. She is trying! She is really, really trying. But I know on her salary, she will never make it. SO...lets help. Lets all help get Katie and her husband back with their little girl. Will you please help? Please??

My Road Paved With Good Intentions

I forget that while I walk down my road paved with good intentions, that someone is waiting for me. That someone is counting on me. That someone is suffering as they wait for me. That someone is DYING waiting for me. How long will I make them wait? I don't like to look left or right as I walk along. My road is smooth and nice. Look HERE. Where is the Good Samaritan? Who will be the Good Samaritan on my road? Because it looks like I am not stoppin' to help.

Prayers Lately

There are some things I have been praying for lately, and I just wanted to share a few of them. Some things are personal, but some things need to be shared! Have any of you been reading the blog about sweet baby boy TRIPP? I love him so much and have been praying hard lately for him. If you haven't heard about this amazing little man, go HERE and read all about him. He is a fighter, he is a miracle, he is my example. I LOVE TRIPP! I have posted on facebook a few times links to THIS blog. I still remember when I first learned about Sudan and what was happening there. It is what first opened my eyes to the horrors that are taking place around the world, the injustice, the INHUMANITY! It was learning about the Sudan that I first learned about REAL apathy. Please read THIS blog and join me in praying even harder for the people in Darfur. Some posts, like THIS one, are so powerful, yet contain graphic images, so make sure you are reading them ALONE and not with little kids hanging over your shoulder. THIS family is amazing. They have adopted so many children, been on many mission trips, and are in the process of adopting two more kids. I know there is more to serving and loving than adopting and serving missions abroad, but for some reason, people who do those things really catch my attention. Anyway, the older daughter was dating this guy and he was going to pick her up for church and he got in a motorcycle wreck. I was DEVASTATED for them and have, for some reason, felt compelled to pray and pray for Karl. Isn't it funny how we can feel connected to people we have only "met" in the blog world? People for whom we can feel so deeply, and yet they may have no idea we exist? Well, anyway, if you want to read about this family, go HERE. This is another AMAZING family with a heart for orphans. They absolutely AMAZE me. Their son has been in the hospital and I am praying so hard for this sweet little boy. Read about him HERE. Those are a few of the prayers on my heart. What are you praying for these days? Won't you share, so we can join our prayers with yours?

Hey there, I'm Brytt! You want to read this post, I promise.

Hi! I am a member of Sixteen Small Stones and am also sister to that awesome girl, Breclyn. I'm that girl that has some good ideas, but never really knows how to follow through with them. You've heard of me, I know you have.

So, I recently learned of this sweet little Girl and her amazing Story.

What a precious selfless act for someone, ESPECIALLY a young girl, to do. Her parents must be so proud and I'm sure Rachael is as well. For Her 9th birthday, all that Rachael wanted, was to raise $300.00 to fund clean drinking water projects in developing nations.

An 8 year old wanted this.

Rachael made a very selfless decision in Heaven. She knew that She would come to this earth to help, to love, to teach, and to be an example, all in a short time.Last month Rachael was injured in an accident and was in critical condition. A few days later, She was taken off of life support and went back home to heaven, leaving such an amazing legacy behind. This precious girl had a goal, it was to raise $300.00. She has raised $758,386 and counting. She is in Heaven, and I know She is smiling. Because of Rachael and her wonderful heart, over 37,919 people have been served. Rachael has saved so many people and has taught us all so much. Rachael is an example to us. It is never to late to serve. It is never to late to love. It is never to late to just act. What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world, remains and is immortal. ~anonymous donor. Please Donate to Rachael's Charity if you can. If you cannot, please pray for the people who are in need of clean water and help all over the world, and please be sure to pray for Rachael's family. This is the a link to Rachael's charity. Please go read it. http://mycharitywater.org/rachels9thbirthday *************

Sixteen Small Stones is a group of Volunteers that through small steps and small acts, are helping people all over the world. Rachael's story teaches us that it is never too late to act. Sixteen Small Stones wants to help many people all over the world, but without your actions, your help, it is very difficult.

Matthew 18:4 "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

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And don't worry, I am still working on that "special surprise" Breclyn mentioned in the last post. I received some very sad and devastating news, and because of this, I am holding off on announcing anything until I get further information. But please remember SSS and every single person helping with us and those we are trying to help, in your prayers. With everyone's help, we can serve.