Rice Night!

We have been actively looking for ways to save money for our adoption as well as ways to raise awareness in our lives and in the lives of others about the plight of the orphan.

We have a creative idea that accomplishes both . . . Rice Night! One night a week we will be having rice for dinner. Just rice. Yep . . . just rice. :)

Since we will be eating rice frequently and the fact that I usually get rice too done or not done enough, I bought an inexpensive rice cooker. I'm excited to have fluffy rice for once! I also bought short grain brown rice from Whole Foods because it will be much better for us than white rice and I like the texture of short grain a lot better than long grain.



First Baptist New Orleans encouraged their members to do a rice night during World Hunger month last year and I thought it was a great idea. You eat only rice because that is what many people in our world eat for a meal, often their only meal of the day. You take the money you would have spent on fixing a regular dinner and give that to support the alleviation of world hunger.

We will be eating rice on Monday nights. Each month we will put $20 from our normal food budget into our adoption fund and will spend time in prayer for the hungry around the world, especially for the people of Ethiopia, our son's birth country.

Remember some of the statistics that led us to adopt from Ethiopia:

• Malnutrition is the underlying cause of more than half of all child deaths.
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa.
• The majority of the population lives on less than $2 a day.
• 1 out of every 10 children will die before their 1st birthday.

We've been trying to give people creative ways to partner with us in our adoption journey. Would you consider having a rice night? We would be honored if friends and family would make this commitment with us . . . praying once a week for the hungry, for Ethiopia, for our son and giving to our adoption fund the money you save by eating rice.

I know that idea might seem crazy and would probably take people WAY out of their comfort zone, but is that really a bad thing? Anything that takes our focus off us and puts it on the "least of these" that God cares so much about is a good thing. You might be thinking "I could just send you $20 a month and skip the whole rice thing." We are appreciative of any support, but when something is a sacrifice, such as a normal well balanced tasty meal, the way God will use that to bless others and also refine your heart is a blessing that you wouldn't want to miss.

God has been using this adoption to refine our family in many ways. It has been intense, but we have experienced such joy and have grown closer to the Lord and each other in the process. I would wish nothing less for you!