You've been driven to this site by Emilie and Greg’s desire
to decline any material/monetary personal gifts as a result of their upcoming/recent
nuptials. Instead, we would like to
direct your attention to a cause that has affected our relationship, challenged
personal decisions and built our faith.
We are asking our friends and family to assist in
fundraising for Emilie’s second trip to Mozambique, Africa with The Gathering
United Methodist Church and The Mozambique Initiative. The Gathering UMC
donates 50 percent of their Easter and Christmas Eve offerings to The
Mozambique Initiative’s water well digging program. (The other 50 percent goes to a local
non-profit, Kingdom House.) Currently,
The Gathering has assisted in funding 12 water wells with 5 in progress. In Mozambique, your proximity to clean water
directly affects your standard of living.
Inadequate access to safe water denies children their right to
education, forces women to spend large parts of their days fetching water,
prevents sustainable development, kills or sickens thousands of people a day
and results in diminished opportunities for thousands more. Despite these statistics, Mozambicans are rich with culture,strength, happiness, hospitality, perseverance, faith and, Emilie can't go a day without daydreaming about the deep, sincere hugs. Mozambicans show affection towards one another in a way that we do not experience in the west. They hold hands, embrace, connect ... in a way that our society has moved away from because we spend commutes in cars, days in cubes/offices, rely on technology as a sole form of communication and seclude our families inside our homes.
In March 2013 the second group from The Gathering will
travel to Mozambique to build relationships with community and church members
directly affected by the wells we have funded, assist with construction on the
Gondola Training Center, work at the Carolyn Belsche Orphanage and assess additional
humanitarian needs. The cost for each
participant is $4,000 ($2000 for flight travel expenses, $1000 donation to area
churches, $1000 food and lodging). Each
member of the team is responsible for their own fundraising. Greg is unable to take an extended leave from
work to attend. However, he is fully invested in the cause and plays an
incredible role in maintaining our life in St. Louis, MO. That life includes our home, child, 2 dogs
and one insatiable cat. As you can
imagine, his support is crucial to Emilie’s involvement in this portion of the project.
During Emilie’s first trip she was afforded the unforgettable
opportunity to travel without the group to a village currently on the waiting
list for a well. Their nearest access to
clean water is miles away in a neighboring village. Upon visiting that well she was overwhelmed
to see a horde of women and children waiting in an 8 hour line to fill
their large, yellow containers with water.
Once full, these five gallon jugs will weigh 40 pounds each, greatly
slowing their long walk home.
From Greg: While I will not be on the flight to Mozambique, I am one of the project’s biggest fans. It is an incredible undertaking to help bring water to the masses and I am grateful to get to see a solution present itself in such a personal way. The past successful trips have dramatically improved the lives of Mozambicans and the future trips will further the trend.
Emilie’s trip last fall had a significant impact on both of us. If you imagine a world without running water, you would almost certainly go crazy. When you seriously consider how much of a difference having a safe, consistent source of water makes in the life of a human, this trip and the initiative as a whole has so much riding on its success. The group is trying to solve an enormous problem and it cannot be solved with one or two trips, but each trip, each small step forward is helping the lives of so many individuals.
The initiative’s successes cannot be praised enough and the project’s future goals cannot be cheered on enough, but what Emilie and I gained from her last trip is not just perspective, but also some of our closest friends. This trip helps ensure healthier lives of Mozambicans and raises the collective standard of living exponentially, but it also creates lasting relationships with those who are a part of the project and understand the plight of the average person in rural Africa.
All that said, I am honestly not very happy to be apart from Emilie for three weeks. Last fall we had an exceptionally brief conversation fairly early on in the trip and then there was very spotty communication for the remainder. I am lobbying to have free wifi installed throughout rural Mozambique, but they insist on the water wells first. I guess I’ll allow water first, then we can deal with internet.
I’m excited for Emilie and our peers to embark on another journey. It is not easy to part with someone you love for even just a few weeks, but the amount of good that comes out of these trips is worth the sacrifice.
We want to thank you for the role you play in our lives and
the support you provide us. We appreciate all donations and well wishes
you have for us. We also understand if you choose not to or are unable to make a
donation. We'll update
this site as the planning process continues and again when Emilie returns from
Mozambique. We will try to update during the trip but we can't say for certain that we will even be able to communicate with one another!
To make a donation online: use the PayPal button at the top right. Easy Peesy!!
To make a donation via check:
Please write “Hoffman – Mozambique” in the memo line. (This is very important to the allocation process.)
Mail to: The
Gathering UMC, 2111 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63143
If you mail a donation to the church, please drop us an email so that we can make sure we can track it with the accountant.
In any case, we'd love to hear from you. Leave comment on this blog or send us an email: hoffmanee@gmail.com or gregmo@gmail.com.
