Last summer we took Clubhouse Jr‘s Summer Challenge and collected shoes for people in Haiti. It was a BIG DEAL at our house and my then 4 year old Lydia collected over 700 pairs of shoes, doing a lot of the work herself! I have been eagerly awaiting the June edition of Clubhouse Jr. so we could join in the 2011 Summer Challenge and spread the word to you! And now, it’s here!

Kids living in a garbage dump in Kenya.

Clubhouse Jr has partnered with 2 orphanages/schools in Kenya. These ministries are home to children without parents or parents who are unable to provide for their children. Usually because they are suffering with HIV/AIDS. The challenge is to collect new toys and school supplies for these children. (You can read all the details here!)

Honestly, I was not as excited about this challenge because outside of me approaching big companies to donate supplies to me, all Lydia and I were going to be able to do is go to the store and buy stuff. And I wanted Lydia to do something hard.

So, I tried to think of a way to make it a “hard thing” for her to do. I said, “Lydia, maybe you could raise some money. You know, work for some money. Or sell something. Then use all that money to buy stuff for the kids in Kenya.” She LOVED this idea. We talked about a Yard Sale, a Bake Sale and then for some reason I mentioned bread.

We have been hand making our own bread for a few months now (in a bread maker) and she loves it! She wants to help and it’s always a fun time in the house. So, we decided to start Lydia’s Purple Bread Store. (In honor of the first Lydia in the Bible…not the amazing purple yam bread picture I found on flickr. Although, I may want to try that one day…)

This month, Lydia is going to make bread. And sell it. I made a photo-cookbook for her so she can “read” the recipe all by herself. We still have a little work to do on forming the loaves but she’s already pretty good at it! Then we’ll walk around the neighborhood and hit up our church friends and family to buy her bread!

Our goal is to sell 34 loaves of bread which will give her $100 to spend on supplies and toys. She is SO excited about this. Yesterday, we were doing sidewalk chalk and after drawing a funny face, the first thing she wrote on the sidewalk was, “Lydia’s Purple Bread Store.” This “store” will only be open for 1 month. I don’t think I can run a bread store out of my house for too long!

YOUR TURN

On July 6, I’m going to report back about our bread making business, how much money we raised and the gifts we bought for the orphans in Kenya. And I want YOU to report back then, too! That’s right, I want you to join this challenge! Start off by reading the info from Clubhouse Jr. Then show your kids the pictures, tell them the stories and decide how you can collect for Kenya! You don’t have to start a business or even raise money. Just a trip to Wal-Mart armed with coupons & a good list is fine! Any way you choose to participate is fine!

When I report back on July 6, I’m going to ask you and your kids to report, too! We’ll have a big facebook party (or somethin’) and post pictures, tell stories and show what our kids did for God!

Will you help spread the word? Grab the Collect For Kenya button in my sidebar, share this on facebook, tweet it out (#collect4kenya), smoke signals or whatever you do! I’m excited to help our kids do experience “pure and faultless religion” by loving on orphans! (James 1:27)

So, who’s in?!

photo source 1, 2, 3

I am not affiliated with Clubhouse Jr. Just a mom who loves the idea and wants to share it with you.

A few days ago Lydia and I went to Target alone. (How did that happen?) And the first place we stopped was in the Dollar Spot. Two whole shelves were 75% off! Now, we didn’t need even ONE thing on that shelf. But we decided to start shopping for Operation Christmas Child!

We filled up a bag of great stuff–sparkly belts, purses, socks, rubberband bracelets, books and more! I mean, everything was 25 cents! We spent $8 and got 32 items! How awesome is that?

When we got home we put our bag of treasures into a big shopping bag. We decided to fill up the whole bag this year. We are on the look out for great deals on gifts! Lydia was so excited to pick out all the gifts and every time she glances at that bag she is happy to remember that we’re collecting presents for kids around the world!

I want to keep a lifestyle of giving (via Operation Christmas Child, our sponsored kids, etc.) at the forefront of our lives. I think this is an easy way to keep my kids excited about giving AND we’ll be able to do more this Christmas since we will be collecting all year! (And I’m totally keeping the receipts so I can see how much we spent!)

To make this Operation Christmas Child even more exciting, I just found our my sister-in-law (who is a missionary in Mexico) got Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this Christmas! She just put pictures up on her facebook. How incredibly fun is that? Here we are making videos and packing boxes, while my sister-in-law is recieving them! It was so awesome for my kids to see the boxes go full circle!

Have you thought about NEXT Christmas?

A few years ago I taught a lesson to kids at church about Thanksgiving. It was a two week series that broke the word Thanksgiving down into–THANKS and GIVING. The world jumps on Thanksgiving, the Pilgrims and pumpkin pie. And they spout, “Give thanks!” but to whom? and why? and how?

As Christians, we are to give thanks to God for everything because every gift comes from him anyway! Then what do we do with that thanks? It should turn us around to give. Thanks AND Giving. I think this verse sums it up perfectly:

Give thanks to the Lord. Worship him. Tell the nations what he has done. 1 Chronicles 16:8

When we give thanks to God and worship Him, we will want to turn around and tell others. One of the best ways to tell others about God and His goodness is by GIVING. Anyone can give and serve others. And if we do it as a response to God’s goodness, it will be a witness to everyone!

Read my full post at The MOB Society today to see the cool Thanks & Giving tree we made…