Back on Schedule!

It's been a while since we've shared thoughts on a Mars Hill Church Sermon so here is #3 in the series we've slowly but surely been following.



Susan has already watched and I am trying to watch and give you my discussion piece within the next few days! With the weather getting nicer I've made a bad habit of not updating this regularly but I made a promise to myself last night that I would certainly keep up. It is too easy to say, "Oh, I'll take care of that another day" and God, just as anything you love, care for and have faith in, is not someone to place on the back burner. I'll be back with a discussion soon! Feel free to watch this video and share in discussion using the comment box!

Harvest of Blessing UPDATE : I continue to collect both monetary and item donations. It must be noted that it can take up to 6 months before a package is delivered. As I've mentioned before, one package of items is still in transit to Asingan from the US that we've sent with items donated from various people. We appreciate the continued support. If you'd like to know more please check out our facebook page and help!

Harvest of Blessing UPDATE and new literature!

Sorry I was MIA again. We went to visit my parents so I was unable to post the daily Promises from God. I brought along with me a bunch of donated clothes from a few friends of ours and the check for $52 that we've raised so far. My mom is going to cover the rest of the balance to ship the clothing that's been donated to the Philippines. I think this shipment will help some of our relatives out as well as others in their community who are also in need of the items. Mom has shipped one box already that should arrive there in about 6 weeks and that was covered solely by her but included many items of clothing donated by Susan. The next shipment willbe using the money collected as well as clothes so I've requested photos to be taken of these 2 shipments. I'll let you all know when the next shipment goes out and hopefully I'll receive photos so I can show you all where your generous donations have gone!

On this trip home Susan and I and our families were able to get together and she gave me a wonderful gift of 3 books to read. The Decision of a Lifetime : The Most Important Choice You'll Ever Make by Marilyn Meberg and Assurance for a Lifetime : Knowing and Living in the Confidence of Christ also by Marilyn Meberg. She also gave me Women of Faith : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs : New King James Version. I have not opened any of them yet as I'm still catching up with past reading but I'm so excited and thankful for these gi

fts. Currently Micah and I are finishing How to Pray : The Best of John Wesley on Prayer together and then we plan to read Crazy Love by Francis Chan which we're both looking forward to. How to Pray is interesting and very basic. It's very helpful on how to focus on prayer and to go about what it is you're seeking. I feel that I sometimes think I know what I'm about to pray for but when I actually begin my prayer I'm not sure how to put something into words or what it is I'm really asking of our Lord but this book seems to put everything into perspective. The book is also a great reminder of how God works with us even if it's not always plain as day.

Another book I have just begin on my own is Their Eyes Were Watching God. This is a very short book and may seem like a quick read but the 'voice' of the book is very unique. You are reading the character's words as they said them so it takes a little getting used to. For example,

"Don't think Ah don't feel wid you, Janie, 'cause Ah do. Ah couldn't love yuh no more if Ah had uh felto yo' birth pains mahself. Fact uh de matter, Ah loves yuh a whole heap more'n Ah do yo' mama, de one Ah did birth. But you got to take in consideration you ain't no everyday chile like most of 'em. You ain't go no papa, you might jus' as well say no mama, for de good she do yuh. You ain't got nobody but me. And mah head is ole and tilted towards de grave. Neither can you stand alone by yo'self. De thought uh you bein' kicked around from pillar tuh post is uh hurtin' thing. Every tear you drop squeezes a cup uh blood outa mah heart. Ah got tuh try and do for you befo' mah head is cold."

This is the language of this book. I was reading the other day and my daughter was sitting with me so I read aloud and I found that I was actually hearing/feeling the story more this way so any time I'm feeling like I'm skimming the pages and missing the content I read aloud during the character's dialogue.

I'm really excited to finish some of these books so I can begin sharing my thoughts with you. If you've read any of these please feel free to share your thoughts with me here as well!!

Back in business!

Hello everyone! I am so happy to see Debbie's posts while I was away and I'm so glad to see she has people thinking, including myself! I already feel as though I'm gaining so much from what Susan and Debbie have to say and their thoughts assist me in growing as a Christian. I thank God for allowing my family safe travels over the past week. I had a wonderful time seeing old faces that I have missed so dearly. This was my first time back to Chicago since becoming Christian and I had much to share with my friends. I was so excited to give testimony to dear friends of mine on how God has been working with me in my life. When I'm discussing my relationship with God to friends I feel as though he is right there with. I almost get overzealous in my excitement to share but part of me feels as though God is so happy for me that his joy is just rubbing off on my own! You know how when someone starts laughing it makes you want to laugh too? That's my feeling when discussing joy but instead of laughter it's pure happiness. I feel God's happiness for me and it pours out of me while I'm in conversation.

Harvest of Blessing - Don't forget to 'Like' this link! We're always seeking donations to assist us in this project. If you would like to donate please use the "ChipIn" box to the right! All of the details are on our Facebook Fan Page! Please share both this blog and Harvest of Blessing page with others so that more can have the opportunity to give! Thank you everyone who has already contributed - we're so close to our first shipment and I know we can do it ahead of schedule :)

Harvest of Blessing - How this will work!

For those who have some confusion let me first say the list of items needed is posted under 'Info' on our Facebook page. That said, this is the process of events once we have enough money to ship a box and for each future box we raise money to send ..

1. Items from the "Items Needed" list can be donated by contacting me at annalisa.tuttle@gmail.com. Those in the Oneida or Glens Falls area will be designated a drop off location or if you'd like to ship items I will also give you a location to send.

2. Money and all items will ultimately end up at my mother's house and she will do the packing of boxes while documenting with photographs so that I can share them with you all!

3. She will ship items through Cargo Plus.

4. The items will be sent to my cousin Aleli (my mother's niece) in Asingan, Philippines who will take care of distributing items to those in need while documenting so I can share with you also.

(Note : Both my mom and Aleli have been doing this for years but this is the first time we've ever raised $$ to do so. Before my mom would send what she could when she could with her personal finances when she could afford to.)

5. Last but not least - as soon as I have photos to share with you, you will see firsthand the gift of giving.

Thank you everyone, we are so grateful for this opportunity to help others in need.

Harvest of Blessing

We just want to thank everyone again for the donations. As you can see we are over halfway there and once we meet our goal of one box being shipped we will surely continue on to ship more and more boxes!!! Please check out our Facebook fan page link to the right to find out more details on our charity project! Thanks!

PROJECT 18 - aka Harvest of Blessing on Facebook!

First let me again say thank you to our contributors for such generous donations. We are currently $70 to our goal which is fantastic. The more donations the more boxes we can ship. Some of you who are new readers might be wondering what I am talking about! That is sort of the problem. There isn't anywhere that I can consistently update you on Project 18, which we're now calling Harvest of Blessing, without it getting shuffled into the archives and not as easy to navigate to specific posts. As a result I've created a Facebook Fan Page solely for Harvest of Blessing. Here you can get all the details on what Harvest of Blessing actually is as well as the list of items needed. I will use this page as a way to update you on where we're at with donations and once we finally start making shipments we can update you on that as well. I'm hoping to send a digital camera to my cousin who will be handling shipped items so that she can document the distribution of items. Check out the page and 'Like' us!! Thanks again everyone for all of your support. God is so good.

PROJECT 18 - DONATIONS

Hello everyone! Just wanted to remind any of those who may not be aware .. to your right you'll see a 'blurp' of words. These are keywords that you can click to find coinciding posts. If you click 'project 18' you'll be able to view posts relative to our charity work. There you can see a list of items we are able to send as well as details into how it all works. None of this will be possible without your financial assistance, though. When you click the "Chip In" box it is very simple to enter your debit or credit information and donate any amount. $1 can truly go a long way if enough of you decide you have time to do so. After your donation you have the option to retrieve a receipt as well. There is no requirement to register for anything. If you have an existing PayPal account you may use that as well. Please think about helping our cause. Thank you!

PROJECT 18 - Donations

I thank everyone who has come to check out this blog. For anyone interested in making a money donation you can click the Chip In button to the right and truly, if you can give $1 that is $1 closer to our goal. You can use credit and/or debit. This would help so much and we would greatly appreciate it. If you would feel better donating with a check or money order feel free to leave your email address in the comments and I will email you my address. Anything helps!

A special thanks to my 'Christians Like Me' friends who have been sharing this blog and bringing in readers. Thank you all!

PROJECT 18 - UPDATE

PROJECT 18 is an effort to provide the people of Pangasinan with clothing, medical supplies, information pamphlets on childcare and breastfeeding, school supplies, towels, footwear, toys and small luxuries like jewelry, watches, etc. Cargo Plus will send 1.5' by 2.5' boxes to Pangasinan for $95, $85 if they're having a sale and for possibly less as this is a charity. We've set our goal for $95 for one box and with continued donations we can increase shipments. This is a flat fee so the weight of the package does not matter. Please help us in raising this money. We've received $5 as you can see from our Chip In box. If we could have 90 people to give $1 we'd meet our goal!! Please join our effort!! Even better, the more people donate the more boxes we can send over!

Items Needed :

TSHIRTS - men, women, children
LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS - thin cloth, for men, women, children
PANTS/SHORTS - men, women, children
SHOES/SANDALS/SNEAKERS/SLIPPERS - men, women, children
CHILDREN'S TOYS
SCHOOL SUPPLIES - pencils, paper, notebooks, folders
MEDICAL SUPPLIES - medicine, medical equipment, gauze, tape, etc (expired items as well)
TOWELS - bath towels, hand towels, washcloths
UNDERWEAR/BOXERS - men, women, children
SOCKS - men, women, children
OTHER - jewelry(obviously not a necessity but something that would be greatly appreciated), watches

PROJECT 18 - Update

So I was a little off on the box size, it is about 1.5 feet by 2.5 feet I think. Also, more details on how the shipment would take place. My mom uses a service, Cargo Plus that ships to the Philippines. The cost, as I said before is $95, $85 if there's a sale and she said they may have a larger discounted price for charity.

http://www.cargoplususa.com/

As far as items needed, here is the list I posted before with added items!

TSHIRTS - men, women, children
LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS - thin cloth, for men, women, children
PANTS/SHORTS - men, women, children
SHOES/SANDALS/SNEAKERS/SLIPPERS - men, women, children
CHILDREN'S TOYS
MEDICAL SUPPLIES - medicine, medical equipment, gauze, tape, etc (expired items as well)

TOWELS - bath towels, hand towels, washcloths

UNDERWEAR/BOXERS - men, women, children

SOCKS - men, women, children

OTHER - jewelry

As you can see it does not take much time, $$ or effort to help this cause. All I need are items to send and if you'd like to submit funds that is totally up to you. I can accept paypal. As of right now I have $5 which is 10% of a recent order from on Betty Jane and Company! I will find a way to share where we are at financially. Other than that, if you're reading and have things to give, used or new and in good condition, I hope to hear from you!!

Thank you all!

~Al

PROJECT 18 - Join us in lending a helping hand :)

Susan and I have finally discussed our ongoing project to help those in need. I mentioned before the conditions in the Asingan, Philippines and the lack of access to important information on basic infant care and breastfeeding. We found out through my mom that we can send a package, via an acquaintance of hers that she currently ships through, to the Philippines for $95, $85 if there's a sale and possibly for less since this is charity work. The package/box is pretty large, I'm not exactly sure of the dimensions but around 3x3 feet I believe. The fee is a flat fee despite the weight of the package.

The idea is to package and ship items that could be used in Asingan. For now our first goal will be one box. To raise money we will accept money and 10% of any money I make through bettyjaneandcompany.com I will put towards this! We're very excited to be able to do this. As far as retrieving items to send overseas we will rely on friends and family that are likely to have items they no longer have use for. Of course, if you're reading this and would like to help out in any way we'd love to hear from you! You can contact me at annalisa.tuttle@gmail.com and we can discuss in detail.

Along with items to send, Susan and I will be constructing some sort of brochure or pamphlet with basic infant care and breastfeeding information. Of course we will be referencing reliable sources!! Both Susan and my mother are nurses, as well, and we will be sure to consult with whoever necessary to make sure our facts our straight for this information piece. All of this will be shipped to my cousin Aleli in the Philippines. My mom currently makes shipments to her and has for quite some time. When Aleli receives the package she can immediately distribute items to those in Asingan and there is also a clinic next door to her that has volunteers to assist in distributing information pamphlets we send over. The goal is to distribute the information pamphlets to each household with the hopes that even if they don't directly need the information they may know someone who could benefit from it.

Here are a list of items we'd be happy to send over :
TSHIRTS - men, women, children
LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS - thin cloth, for men, women, children
PANTS/SHORTS - men, women, children
SHOES/SANDALS/SNEAKERS - men, women, children
CHILDREN'S TOYS
MEDICAL SUPPLIES - medicine, medical equipment, gauze, tape, etc

OTHER - jewelry

I still need to talk with my mom to find out other items they could use or that would simply be worth it to have for them (ex. they don't NEED jewelry but they would be grateful to have jewelry if it were given to them)

We would love to hear feedback, ideas or a willingness to help in some way so keep in touch by commenting here or emailing me and we will keep everyone up to date!!

Asingan, Pangasinan, Philippines

Sue and I have been thinking of ways to give to our communities and/or elsewhere. We've discussed many ideas and I think we may have something in the works finally. I've been talking with my mom about her recent trip to the Philippines as well as relating my experiences there. As a result I know there are two things we can do that would directly affect, in a positive way, people in my mother's province.

When we were talking on the phone she mentioned to me that the items Mom Vitale had given me (shoes, clothes) "went right away." Basically, when my mom brings items to the Philippines they are in large boxes. I remember one time being in the Philippines when she opened one. The box was outdoors of the house by the cool, concrete wall. There's a lot of dry dirt, very dusty, floating all around and I remember there being people of all ages, as young as 2 and as old as say 85-90. Everyone's talking and I could pick up a few words here and there but didn't understand anything. I was focusing on how this distribution was going to happen because there was no organization whatsoever. My mom opened the box and at a time when you would think chaos would ensue-well, nothing happened. Everyone around, my cousins, unfamiliar faces, aunties and uncles patiently waited for my mom to begin handing out things and everyone on their own made sure they were not greedy and that everything was equally dispersed. It was actually a very relaxed scenario. For some reason I wasn't assisting in the process but I imagine that I was set back observing everything. I didn't really appreciate what was happening because in my mind I always knew all our clothes we didn't wear anymore were sent here and I saw plenty of my childhood outfits, my dad's clothes, mom's clothes on relatives and complete strangers around me. Well, I have a deep grasp on the little they have there and how important my 10 year old t-shirt is to those in Asingan. Susan and I are in the works of attempting to collect, package and send at least one box this year stocked with clothes, shoes, toys.

Mom also mentioned to me that a relative of mine was having trouble with breastfeeding as well as basic infant care like burping after feeding. Now, it's not that she neglects her daughter, or forgot how to breastfeed. She simply was never taught basic infant care or given assistance in breastfeeding. There are no programs such as Planned Parenthood or just your general hospital providing information unless one was to go seeking the information which not everyone knows how to go about that either. What they need is information to be distributed to households with children or not. This information is pertinent for everyone because if one person directly will not end up having their own children then they can pass the information on to their siblings or other relatives. It's truly devastating for mothers and fathers alike to not have this information in basic care and it's extremely simple to purchase some extra printer ink and paper and make my own brochures to send and have distributed by relatives of mine in the area.

These are ideas in the works. I'll keep you posted on this venture Susan and I working on.

~Al