GIVING
How Many Cupcakes to Build a Well?
By Cindy Savage and Kara Lavengood
The 700 Club
There are people in this world who are crying out to God for help this very minute. You can end hunger and thirst, bring medical and disaster supplies, provide jobs, and give hope to millions of hurting people. When you join, you help preach the Gospel in 136 countries and 42 languages around the world. Do something that will last for eternity.
Find out more about how CBN partners are making a world of difference... |
| |
|
| |
CBN.com
– Heather Bailey was surprised to learn that some people don’t have clean water to drink.
Like most 4-year-olds, Heather usually watches cartoons. But one day, before her mom could switch the channel, another show caught heather’s attention. It was The 700 Club.
“There was a video on about an elder lady and her grandchildren,” Heather’s mom says, “and it began to talk about how there was no clean water in their village.”
“They would have to walk five miles so they could get clean water,” Heather says.
Heather felt sorry for the family and wanted to help. She told her mom she wanted to sponsor a well.
“I wanted to build a well so the people could get clean water so they didn’t have to miss school or work,” Heather says. “If they drank the water in their village, they would get sick and wouldn’t be able to do those things. That’s why I decided to build a well.”
Her parents said they would match any money Heather wanted to give. She soon discovered that the $25 they came up with wasn’t quite enough.
I said, “Okay, Heather, I’m going to send our $25 in,” says Mrs. Bailey. She said, ‘Is that enough to build a well?’ I said, ‘No, it takes a lot. It takes $1,000 to build a well.’ She said, ‘Well, I want to build a whole well.”
“You think like a 4-year-old,” Mr. Bailey says, “we’ll send a little money and help the efforts. We started out just giving part, but we know that’s not what Christ wants. Christ wants your whole life. We needed the whole $1,000 to dig the well, so we had to go out and get it.”
The Bailey family decided to do some fundraising.
“Mommy and Daddy helped me,” Heather says. “And Daddy squeezed some lemons with me, so we could make lemonade and then we sold it. I really had a lot of fun because I would say, ‘Do you want some lemonade? Do you want some lemonade?’ I really wanted people to buy some.”
Heather also sold cupcakes and some of her own artwork. In three months, they raised more than enough to drill a well.
“I raised $1,070,” Heather says. “It really made me happy to give other people a well.”
Her dad shares in her joy. “I really enjoy giving, and I hope that’s what we can instill in Heather through this process.”
An inscription will be placed on the well that reads: “Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”
“You can meet a person’s physical needs,” Mrs. Bailey says, “but physical needs are only temporary. If through this well we can meet their spiritual needs as well, then that’s where the real gift is.”
Raising that kind of money is a big project for a little girl, but Heather says she didn’t have to do it alone.
“Jesus helped me to raise $1,000,” she says. “That’s a lot of money!”
For as little as 65 cents a day, $20 a month, you can partner with a ministry that is making a difference in people's lives everyday. Providing life-giving water to families that need it is just one of the many outreaches CBN is committed to. Please join with us today and help bring life and hope to people around the world. Join today!
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
|
|
