Friday, March 18, 2011

25 by 25 update!!

Well, here I sit, we are almost 4 months into 2011 and I thought that I would give an update to how my 25 list is going. So far, not too bad. The only thing that I have missed was going to the Carnival D’Hiver in Quebec city. This has been a great challenge for me and although I am worried about just how much of it I will accomplish before December rolls around I know that it is the journey that transforms us and not simply the arrival at the end of the goal.

I would like to take this post and use it to highlight my plans for Lent. As many of you know, Lent is the season in which we give up that which makes it difficult to focus on the upcoming celebration of Easter. We take time to meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus and the ramifications of His undeserved death on the Cross. I have never been good at deciding what to give up for Lent and usually end up making a hasty decision the night before and forgetting about what I have given up with a week and a half. This year I thought that I would do it differently. That I would attack the idea of “giving something up” from a whole new angle.

That was when I stumbled upon the 25 Campaign by Invisible Children. Invisible Children is a organization that strives to end the war caused by Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army. For 25 years these rebels have been terrorizing Northern Uganda and now have attacked villages in Southern Sudan, the DR Congo and the Central African Republic. The LRA consists of 90% child soldiers, many of whom where ripped from their families and schools and are now forced to carry out unspeakable acts of violence and torture. These attacks have forced many Ugandan citizens into Internally Displaced People’s camps and have separated families for nearly two generations.

So, this year, for Lent, I am giving up whatever distracts me from participating in this event and I am giving up forgetting the victims of this war and accepting it as a way of life. On April 25th, Easter Monday, I will go silent for 25 hours. I will silence my voice so that the voices of those impacted by this tragedy can be heard.

However, I can’t do this alone. I need your help to raise money for the Protection Plan, a fund dedicated to providing isolated villages with the means to communicate with each other and to provide rehabilitaion for those left in the wake of Joseph Kony’s terror. My goal is to raise $25. A small goal, I know, but I am waiting to be amazed.

This war has gone on for the span of my lifetime and I feel that it is time to provide the people of Central Africa with a chance to heal and to just experience rest from this conflict. My suggestion is to pledge one dollar for every hour that I am silent, that amounts to only $25, less than a week’s worth of lattes from Starbucks (I know, I work there!) Your donation goes directly to the Protection Plan and allows Invisible Children to continue their work in Central Africa.

One of my greatest desires is to see this war end in my lifetime. And it is possible.

Here is the link to my donation page…

You can also find out more about Invisible Children and the 25 Campaign at www.invisiblechildren.com

Donate today!!

Thank you!

http://ic.stayclassy.org/member/ic-fundraising?fcid=25064