Today is #givingTuesday.  And this involves a story, clean water, coffee, and dare I say, more coffee?

This year my son learned how to make espresso.  I can’t make a better cup than him, and I have been crafting fancy coffee drinks for over 16 years.  These days we tinker with how fine we grind the beans, the crème at the top of the pulled shots, and the quality of our water.

I’ve been so concerned about getting the fluoride and chlorine out of the most drunk beverage in our house due to health issues.  Yet, the reality is that my water, even unfiltered, is significantly better than many parts of the world.

I recently discovered that this deeply concerns my children.

Caring About All Things Water

It really is quite fitting that our family cares about water.  The Engineer is a Civil Engineer, who specializes in water resources.  His job is all about moving water.  When we served in India, he helped design water and waste water systems for facilities used by local Christian ministries.

I suppose living in a hot climate, such as India, and the value of filtered water left an impression on me.

The Compassion Christmas Catalog

There aren’t many catalogs my children flip through, mainly because we don’t receive many except for when Oriental Trading Company slams us with 4 in one day.  (Can I get a witness?)  But each year when the Compassion Christmas Catalog arrives, my eldest pours over it.  This year was no different and this year, he wanted to act upon the burden God placed on his heart.

In particular, as a family, we want to raise money for a well.

Photo Courtesy of Compassion International

Children in poverty, specifically in rural areas, often travel an hour each way to collect water. This journey often puts young girls in dangerous settings, and for many children the time involved in gathering water means time away from school. And the water they collect is often contaminated and makes them ill.  (read more here)

From my current spot on the couch, I can help my son’s dream of providing a safe water source a reality . . . with your help.

(First) Broaden Your Child’s Understanding

Help your child understand what life is like in developing countries throughout the year. Compassion Explorer magazine puts a face on poverty in an age-appropriate and engaging way, and will help inspire kids to make a difference for others.  This free resource features crafts, devotions, recipes from other countries, and stories about children living in poverty.

Sign up here (no credit card required) and the option of an ipad version is included!

(Second) Purchase Coffee From Brickhouse Coffee Roasters

Today, we are partnering with Brickhouse Coffee Roasters.  We are combining our love of good coffee with our desire to serve the Lord by raising money to provide clean water.  Who knows, the money we raise could provide fresh water for the two Compassion Children we support!

Why Brickhouse Coffee?

For starters, Brickhouse is a local coffee roaster that crafts AMAZING coffee.  They make the only decaf coffee that tastes like it is fully leaded.  Seriously.

But more importantly,  because coffee is the 2nd highest traded commodity next to oil, Brickhouse has chosen to use it for a Global Purpose.

Brickhouse desires to provide a model of sustainability by providing vocational training, fundraising opportunities (like this one), and partnering with faith based organizations that support the farmers through direct trade (which pays the farmers up to 10 times more than fair trade). The proceeds from these beans go back into the training model, ministry, missions and the community.

Brickhouse Coffee is going to freshly roast your coffee and sell it to our family for wholesale.  The profits we make from your purchase will go towards raising $300 to provide clean water to 10 families.

For every bag of coffee you purchase, we will be able to dontate $5.

We need to sell 60 bags of coffee today.  Won’t you join us?

The Fine Print

Each bag of coffee is $15.  I promise you it is good and fresh.  We will mail all coffee out next week, after it is freshly roasted.

Shipping:

• 1-2 bags – $6.00
• 3-4 bags – $12.00
• 5-8 bags – $17.00

You may choose decaffeinated or regular.

Call To Action

I’m being quite blunt.  I want you to act now.

It is #givingTuesday, after all.

Help us sell 60 bags of coffee today.

1. Purchase your coffee today.  Be sure to list how many bags of coffee and if you want regular or decaf or a combination. All bags will be sold as beans, not ground, to maintain freshness.
2. or donate online thru Compassion.  (Will you let us know you did this?  I really want our children to see what their compassion has stirred up in others.)

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