Giving Archives - Good Medicine

One of (the many!) things I love about Young Living is the ever presence of the Young Living Foundation. My husband and I were able to have dinner earlier this year with Asher Telleen (founder of Sole Hope), and Ben Cooley (co-founder of Hope for Justice) while we were in Salt Lake City. Hearing their very personal stories about how each organization came into being, and how impactful the Young Living foundation has been on the lives that are changed by both organizations was one of the deepest meaningful conversations I’ve ever been a part of.

Lives aren’t just changed. They are saved. Please. Round up on your orders if you don’t already. Someone’s life depends on it.

xoxo~ liz #sharingiscaring #ThanksYL #Betheoneforsomeone #givingisgoodmedicine

https://www.younglivingfoundation.org/…/celebrating-our…

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My partner in crime, love of my life, bff, and hubby of 25+ years and I love to give. Over the years we’ve found various organizations that have pulled at our hearts. We’ve also been duped on more than one occasion. (It’s amazing how many organizations and individuals are out there who either improperly manage funds and/or who just want your money so they don’t have to work quite so hard.) Sad but true. We have gotten fairly good at vetting what and who we choose to give our money and our time to…. thank goodness! After all, we have extraordinarily busy lives with jobs, a farm, and a passion that combines all of the above. Ain’t got no time for nonsense, right?

This season is generally a time where hearts grow and giving flows, and I thought I’d give a shout out to one of our favorite international organizations, Reach Out Honduras. ROH was/is the vision of dear friends, Alex & Laura Waits. Not everyone listens when God speaks, and even fewer act on what is being spoken to the heart. You see, Alex and Laura lived the typical American dream….. great jobs, comfortable life in the country, a couple of kids and pets. All was well in their world.

And yet….

God asked, and Alex and Laura said yes. You can see the result of their ‘yes’ here.Charlie and I have been closely tied to Reach Out Honduras since day one. You see, Alex and Laura lived in our community and attended our tiny church. We watched their vision grow from a thought to an action and then a movement. We have both been on their Board of Directors (I have since ‘retired’) since day 1. Charlie spends countless hours in the spring each year putting together a benefit golf tournament that raises money to build school buildings. The buildings you see in the video are the result of combined donations of ‘average joe’ people. Ya’ll, this is a grassroots organization with no corporate backing, no one church denomination, no political affiliation. It’s just the result of good people doing good things with the gifts God gave them.

Getting to Puerto Lempira, Honduras is no easy feat. It is in one of the most remote parts of Honduras…. there are no roads to get there, so small plane or small boat is it. Travel generally takes two days to get there.

The airport at Puerto Lempira, Honduras.

Charlie and I went down last summer for a week of work projects, and got to meet the kids and teachers at Reach Out Honduras’s school, Vida Abundante. Ya’ll, this region of Honduras is the poorest of the poor. Going to school beyond 6th grade requires payment to the government with money that most don’t have.

No money = No Education = No chance for betterment = The poverty continues.

The vision that God gave Alex is changing all of that. In less than 10 years, the poverty cycle is beginning to show signs of change. We have kids in college who want to come back to their remote home and make a difference for others. There are income producing jobs at the school for those who had none, and there is a spirit of hope that is literally tangible within the gates of the property.

Vida Abundante has become a place of self pride and hope in a region where there was very little of either.

Imex. One of my favorite students! He is gifted in so many areas. Imex is an orphan and was badly burned as a child.

The School! Vida Abundante means ‘Abundant Life.’ Named after the verse John 10:10 referenced above, these words speak to everything God has waiting for the students of Puerto Lempira. There are ‘thieves’ everywhere, literal and figurative. The thieves of drug addiction, drug trafficking, prostitution, poverty, hunger and more rob these students of the abundant life that God has waiting!

Last weekend ROH had its second fund raising event of the year, the annual banquet. It is humbling to be in a room full of those who are there to give abundantly to a worthy cause expecting nothing in return. Most of the people will never meet the kids they sponsor, and yet they give anyway. They may never step foot in Honduras, and they give anyway. This is love, generosity, and hope’s hands and feet.

While ROH is a Christian based ministry, this organization is supported by all walks of life regardless of politics and religious beliefs, because we all believe in a common thing:

Love

…… and the greatest of these, is Love. (1 Cor 13:13)

If you are looking for an organization to donate to this holiday season, there are over 240 living breathing hope filled individuals who have aspirations in life, and are praying for the opportunity. Please consider showing a little love and making Reach Out Honduras one of your charities of choice!

http://reachouthonduras.org/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReachOutHonduras/

Walking in Faith, Liz

Lovin’ On My People

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