I’m a planner…a strategist…and a worrier by nature. When we have a goal, I want to know how we’re going to achieve it, and what our backup plan is if Plan A doesn’t work out.

So I have to admit that, as excited as I was to see us hit 67% completion on the Adami Tulu project, I was a little worried.

The “low hanging fruit” had been picked. We still had a third of the mountain to climb and it looked a lot steeper from here on out.

And once again, I was proven completely wrong.

Yesterday morning, my phone rang and it was our Adami Tulu teammate Casey Picker. “I just had to call you,” he said, having just stepped out of church to make the call. “Somebody looked up how much we had left for Adami Tulu and handed me a check for $12,000.”

Amazing. Mind-blowing. World-changing.

As Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the lonely in families.” And there are a lot of orphans in the little village of Adami Tulu who may never know a permanent family, but through the incredible generosity of every single person who gave – whether they gave $1 or $12,000 – several hundred more will have a “family of teachers and classmates” and a building will rise on this construction site.

Will our one little project singlehandedly solve the global orphan crisis? Not by a long shot.

But together, we’re laying the groundwork. Piece by piece, brick by brick, to change the world and equip these children with the education and skills they need, so that they can break the cycle of poverty and build a sustainable future of hope that brings the global orphan crisis to an end.

I know I speak for the entire fundraising team, and the team that will head to Adami Tulu, Ethiopia to complete this project in August, when I say…we just can’t wait to see it filled with kids and in operation.

To each of you who helped to make this happen…a heartfelt thank you.

Photo Credit: Ryan and Cassie Williams, Judy Johnson