info on the thirty hour famine...happening january 30-31


so i am moving to haiti for a few months and i would like to see as many of you as possible before i go...as my going away party we are going to host a 30 hour famine. basically it is an event created by world vision to bring awareness to and raise funds to combat the problem of world hunger and all goes with it. we will all begin fasting on friday at 12 noon on our own and then anyone who would like is invited out to the marketplace on saturday starting around 10 am for a day of activities that help us see the world a little more clearly. the fast will end at 6:00pm but conveniently enough we will be at a restaurant where i happen to know the food is great, the service is fantastic, and the atmosphere divine!

fasting is not required to participate in saturday's activities and participating is not required to fast with us. typically people fasting raise money for the cause by getting sponsored for each hour they fast (kind of like in a walk-a-thon) and there are packets available if you are interested in that. another idea could be to figure out how much you would have spent on food during the 30 hours and donate that. participating in the fundraising part is completely up to the leadings of your own hearts...

this has been a very powerful event for me in the past and one i have been wanting to share with the beautiful communities i love and am going to miss! its a heavy subject but it will be a fun and beautiful time together too. i mean, how can a whole day at sunny brooks marketplace not be good?

this is a vague schedule for the weekend...don't read to much into it though b/c i am in charge and so not only will we probably be late...we will change everything if the spirit leads!...

FRIDAY

12pm - stop eating ... only water and then juice at "mealtimes"

SATURDAY

10ish - gather together for a little info and opening type thing

11ish - assume your "famine identity"...don't worry...if you come late you will get yours then!

11:30 - game: clean water game: getting to school

12ish - juice break

12:30 - game: rebels

1ish - service project at sunny brooks marketplace

3ish - game: protect the harvest

3:30 - juice break/ help set up for evening

4ish - worship and a word from me (casey)...ok maybe more than one word

6:00 - communion with beaver

after this is over i would encourage anyone who can to stay and have dinner at the marketplace...its super fun!

side note...students from steps of faith will be performing in jesup on sunday morning so anyone who would like to come on home with me and spend the night at the farm is welcome...we will just need to make sure everyone has rides and rides home of course!

i know people are plannning to do this with us from afar and i would love to know who you are so i can include you!

come out anytime...don't worry about the time...


feel free to call or facebook or email with questions!

something in the way HE moves...

so we have returned from our capitol adventure...and it was capitol! we got a personal lecture on train safety care of the conductor himself after some antics of a family member that shall remain nameless...then we had quite the party car as new friends stopped by to chat on their way in and out...breakfast with our friend samantha borders...the mlk library...the national portrait gallery....an amazing birthday lunch of indian cuizine....hoppin the metro to our actual destination, fairfax virginia and the home of the lovely willet family. sunday with the willets and all of calvary hill baptist church was great...i had a great time with the youth and kathy had a wonderful chat with the ladies of the church...kathy shared a little of her heart and what is MUCH ministries in the morning and i took my turn during the concert that night...which was fabulous by the way....and after years of threatening to tap dance whenever someone put me in front of people i actually ended my talk with a couple of time steps....in a baptist church of course! they took it upon themselves to bless me anyway and the concert was a huge success...not just musically but they raised over 3 thousand dollars to fund our work in haiti! holy holy! on monday we got to visit more art and history as well as a beautiful place called convergence: a creative community of faith...it has some of the same vision as the marketplace but is reaching out specificially to artists - really cool stuff!

the trip was really good and successful in many ways but for me the biggest thing was the moment that i realized that we had traveled 12 hours on a train to share 10 minutes of our hearts with people who either didn't know us at all or had known me for a week and none of whom had ever seen the marketplace, met the brookses, been to haiti...nothing to see how amazing what god is doing through all of this really is....on the surface it made no sense...and yet....one 17 year old girl - because she is listening to the heart of god - decided to put all this together to benefit this thing she didn't even fully understand...so there i was, and not only was it overwhelmingly fruitful financially....it was so evident that what god was doing with our presence there was so much more and was really just the beginning of what he plans to do...what amazing proof that his ways are not our ways but there is something in the way he moves...something really really great!

now that we are back home it is back into life and getting everything ready before i leave again...this time for haiti!! please pray for focus and energy and the wisdom to put my heart and mind and energy into the right things during this time.

everywhere i'm goin i ride trains...

so tonight at about 6:50pm mama kati and i will board the amtrak in good old jesup ga and head for washington's union station. we are actually heading up to fairfax virginia where an amazing youth group who i love very much has put together a benefit concert to raise money for our efforts to love on children and families in the nation of haiti...can i even tell you how excited i am...this is great in so many ways...trains...the capitol...the beautiful people of CHBC...a concert...helping haiti...oh and seeing our very own samantha borders too! not only that but i will get on this train as an 84 year old woman and get off the silver meteor an 85 year old woman! whoo hoo...what an adventureous birthday!

and can i just say...this train has helped me be late to many a place during my 20 years calling jesup home...its about time it actually helped me get somewhere!

are these dots or polka dots?

alex...taylor....any thoughts?