The Christian Broadcasting Network


Bekah Read
AND A CHILD WILL LEAD THEM

Eleven-Year-Old Takes on Challenge to Help Afghanistan Children


It started with a challenge from President Bush. "I am asking every child in America to give not a dime, but a dollar to a specific cause, a relief effort for the children of Afghanistan," President Bush stated.

Rebekah Read heard that plea. "He said he wanted every child to donate a dollar, and I decided a dollar wasn’t enough," she says.

But all the money in her piggy bank wasn’t enough, so Bekah talked to her mom, Laurena.

"She said, 'Mom, my hands won’t let me do a car wash, and they won’t let me pour lemonade, and if we did a bake sale, you’d have to do all the baking,'" Laurena explains.

Rebekah has cerebral palsy, but that’s never stopped this feisty 11-year-old before. "Even though I have a disability, it doesn’t mean I can’t make a difference," she says.

"I said, 'What do you love to do, because God will work through what you love,'" Laurena Read told her daughter. "She said, 'I love to ride my bike!'"Bekah with her physical  therapist

So Bekah went to her physical therapist, Sam Raider, with an idea. Why not hold a telethon—just like the ones she’d seen on The 700 Club? They could call it a "pedal-a-thon" and get sponsors to pledge.

"I thought it was great, so we started training for it," Sam explains. "When we first started, she could go like 7 or 8 times in a row, and then her legs would just shut down."

Amazingly, in the actual pedal-a-thon, Bekah did a total of 150 pedals! That’s 150 pedals at an average pledge of ten cents a pedal. Bekah was able to raise an incredible $1,544.53!

By December, she had collected every last cent. But the check Laurena and Bekah sent to the Red Cross fund never got there, due to an anthrax scare.

"Every time she would see these pictures of these grandmas and babies eating their grass bread, and she would just cry, 'Mommy, why isn’t my money getting there? Then there was the earthquake. 'Oh, Mommy, they need my money so badly right now,'" Bekah's mom explains.

One day, Bekah and her mom were watching a story on The 700 Club and a thought popped into Bekah's head. What about giving to Operation Blessing?

"I saw this light just go on in her head," Bekah's mom says. "She said, 'Mom, do you suppose they have an Operation Blessing Afghanistan?' I said, 'Well, we’ll call and find out.'"Bekah and her mom

A CBN founder, Laurena was thrilled to find out that Operation Blessing did, in fact, have an outreach to the children of Afghanistan. That’s all it took. Bekah knew her money would be going to the right place and that she’d be sharing the love of Jesus as well.

"When she got the letter from Pat stating that the money was on its way, oh my goodness! That was truly an answer to prayer," says Laurena.

"I was so proud, so I just didn’t know what to say," Bekah remarks. "I was so happy that the money was on its way."

Bekah has become quite the celebrity in her little town of Camas, Washington. Many consider her to be a hero, and she’s an inspiration to her classmates.

By being a part of CBN and the ministry of The 700 Club, Bekah and her mom know they are changing the world by reaching people for Christ. That’s why they keep giving.

"Your money is being given to the Kingdom—literally," Laurena says.

"I love the fact that they help people believe in God so strongly and help them become more attached to God," concludes Bekah.

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