Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
July 20th "...the house is coming along" (click on the picture for larger view)
Top picture: The older of the Alfaro girls
2nd pic: Sonia (white shirt) my point of contact in Honduras. She does a lot community work
3rd pic: The house is coming along great
4th pic: The handyman who is building the house
Last pic: Mrs. Alfaro (white t-shirt) with her 3 little girls & people from the town
The Alfaro family went from having a house made out of plastic walls to this. All thanks to YOUR donations. Please be so proud of this accomplishment.
July 9th 2008 "Getting Started" (click on the picture for larger view)
1st picture: My mom (white t-shirt/jeans) & one of the Alfaro girls leaning against her mother
2nd pic: My mom with one of the volunteers helping one of the Alfaro girls do her homework
3rd pic: Mr. Francisco Alfaro with blue hat and two of his kids watching him work
last pic: Clearing the area to build the house
2nd pic: My mom with one of the volunteers helping one of the Alfaro girls do her homework
3rd pic: Mr. Francisco Alfaro with blue hat and two of his kids watching him work
last pic: Clearing the area to build the house
LOOK AT WHAT YOUR DONATIONS HAVE ACCOMPLISHED!
This has been an amazing journey. The yardsale was a complete success! I personally did not have too much stuff in my house to sale so my husband and I were worried we would not be able to raise a lot of money for the Alfaro family. Amazingly enough the week before the yardsale neighbors kept dropping stuff off. Everyday we would come home and find stuff in our porch and the donations just kept coming and coming until the point when we could barely fit the stuff in our garage. We sold $600 at the yardsale plus over $100 the Christiansen family donated for their yardsale. My mom also asked for donations in New York from friends.
One night, after having the yardsale, I checked my e-mail to see if Sonia (my point of contact in Honduras) had been able to get a "real" estimate of how much it was going to cost to build the Alfaro's a house. Keep in mind that she had been trying to get one for the past month but because the Alfaro's live in the mountains it is very hard to find a "handyman" who would go out there and do and estimate. So that night I received an e-mail from her telling me it would cost $3,000. This includes materials and labor. I thought I was going to have a heart attack!!! I thought for sure I did not have that amount. I knew I had more then $1,000, which had been my original goal, but $3,000 no way. So after reading her e-mail that night about 11p I decided to count all the cash from the yardsale plus checks plus the deposits from the paypal account plus donations my mother had gathered in New York. I must have counted that cash (a lot of coins and dollar bills) over and over and over!!!! I couldn't believe it!! I knew I was miscounting. I knew I was counting an mount twice because there is no way we could have raised $3,067!!!! I just wanted to cry. I was soooo thankful to my Heavenly Father for this. I could not believe it. And because I still wasn't convinced that miracles could happen, I went to the Bank first thing in the morning to deposit all the cash and checks to see if this was real. I was so nervous standing in front to the Bank Teller, waiting for her to count all the money and give me the total. And sure enough it was a miracle!
I handed the money to my mother and she flew to Honduras July 1st (she had been planning to spend the summer in Honduras since last year). I called her the day after she was able to go meet the family. She could not find the words to express how horrible are the conditions they live in. She said that the real thing is nothing compared to the pictures posted in this blog. My mom said that the family is extremely humble and could not stop thanking her for this donation. She also mentioned that the kids have such sweet spirits. Apparently, it has become quite a famous story in the little town of "San Jose de Colinas", everyone is amazed that people from the United States is helping this family. Sonia told me that the Mayor of the town is not charging for the City to run a water supply to the house (they had no running water before). A whole bunch of high school kids helped taking all the supplies to the location. (There is only one elementary, middle and high school in this town). Ladies from the area kept bringing drinks and food to the people who are helping in the project. The story is going to be on the local T.V. news. What was originally a project for one family has become a community project. To me, this is really important because when you live in such a poor town in which people are too poor to help others within their community, the fact that this event has made them realize that if a lot of people come together and unite, amazing things can happen. I lived in this town for 2 years, so I really pray that this will be the start of many great things to come.
My mother found out that this family belongs to a local Christian Church. She was talking to a neighbor of the family who also goes to their church and mentioned to my mother that the entire Church had recently been having prayers for this family because their living conditions were so horrible. He said they had been praying so hard for a miracle to happen.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS MIRACLE A REALITY FOR THE ALFARO FAMILY.
YOU made it happen!!!
Also, just to let you know, my mother has been involved in the entire process to make sure every penny is going to the family.
One night, after having the yardsale, I checked my e-mail to see if Sonia (my point of contact in Honduras) had been able to get a "real" estimate of how much it was going to cost to build the Alfaro's a house. Keep in mind that she had been trying to get one for the past month but because the Alfaro's live in the mountains it is very hard to find a "handyman" who would go out there and do and estimate. So that night I received an e-mail from her telling me it would cost $3,000. This includes materials and labor. I thought I was going to have a heart attack!!! I thought for sure I did not have that amount. I knew I had more then $1,000, which had been my original goal, but $3,000 no way. So after reading her e-mail that night about 11p I decided to count all the cash from the yardsale plus checks plus the deposits from the paypal account plus donations my mother had gathered in New York. I must have counted that cash (a lot of coins and dollar bills) over and over and over!!!! I couldn't believe it!! I knew I was miscounting. I knew I was counting an mount twice because there is no way we could have raised $3,067!!!! I just wanted to cry. I was soooo thankful to my Heavenly Father for this. I could not believe it. And because I still wasn't convinced that miracles could happen, I went to the Bank first thing in the morning to deposit all the cash and checks to see if this was real. I was so nervous standing in front to the Bank Teller, waiting for her to count all the money and give me the total. And sure enough it was a miracle!
I handed the money to my mother and she flew to Honduras July 1st (she had been planning to spend the summer in Honduras since last year). I called her the day after she was able to go meet the family. She could not find the words to express how horrible are the conditions they live in. She said that the real thing is nothing compared to the pictures posted in this blog. My mom said that the family is extremely humble and could not stop thanking her for this donation. She also mentioned that the kids have such sweet spirits. Apparently, it has become quite a famous story in the little town of "San Jose de Colinas", everyone is amazed that people from the United States is helping this family. Sonia told me that the Mayor of the town is not charging for the City to run a water supply to the house (they had no running water before). A whole bunch of high school kids helped taking all the supplies to the location. (There is only one elementary, middle and high school in this town). Ladies from the area kept bringing drinks and food to the people who are helping in the project. The story is going to be on the local T.V. news. What was originally a project for one family has become a community project. To me, this is really important because when you live in such a poor town in which people are too poor to help others within their community, the fact that this event has made them realize that if a lot of people come together and unite, amazing things can happen. I lived in this town for 2 years, so I really pray that this will be the start of many great things to come.
My mother found out that this family belongs to a local Christian Church. She was talking to a neighbor of the family who also goes to their church and mentioned to my mother that the entire Church had recently been having prayers for this family because their living conditions were so horrible. He said they had been praying so hard for a miracle to happen.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS MIRACLE A REALITY FOR THE ALFARO FAMILY.
YOU made it happen!!!
Also, just to let you know, my mother has been involved in the entire process to make sure every penny is going to the family.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Please help this family (click on the picture for larger view)
***YARD SALE WILL NOT BE ON MAY 24TH DUE TO RAIN. NEW DATE IS SAT JUNE 14TH**********
Personal Information:
Father: Francisco A. Alfaro 44 yrs. He's a farm worker who gets paid about $4 a day.
Mother: Maria Concepcion Ulloa stays at home to take care of kids.
Boy: Yelsy Lenin Alfaro 12 yrs old & is in 6th grade
Boy: Norlin Adalberto Alfaro 11 yrs old & is in 5th grade
Girl: Bella Sarahi Alfaro 9 yrs old & is in 3rd grade
Girl: Audy Dariela Alfaro 6 yrs old & is in Kindergarten
Girl: Kelsy Petrona Alfaro 3 yrs old
I don't even know how to start telling you how this story started. I guess it started with me watching Oprah (like I always do) and watching how much she helps people in need. So, for a long time I've had the desire to do something for someone who really needs help. I have to admit that I've had this feeling inside me for quite a while but unfortunately had not done anything about it. Lately I had really pondered and prayed about it. I really did not know how to get started but I did know I wanted to do something for someone in Honduras (that's where I was born). Of course the Lord answers our prayers and searching online I came across a lady from Honduras who has a website with tons of pictures of all the poor people an organization called "CEPUDO" help. I kid you not, when I found this lady it was so clear to me this was going to be the person to help me help someone in Honduras. My family in Honduras know this lady very well so I know is someone trustworthy.
I've decided to help a family who live in a small town called "San Jose de Colinas" . I lived in this town for 2 yrs when I was 13 yrs old. This is an extremely poor family from Honduras who need our help. Inhumane doesn't begin to describe the way this family lives. No running water, barely any clothes, their house is made out of plastic walls! They have to keep their belongings in plastic bags to protect it from the rain. By looking at these pictures, can you imagine what this mother does when there is a thunderstorm and she has absolutely no way to protect her small children from the cold rain? The pictures you are seeing on this blog speak for themselves.
My intentions are to raise $1,000 for this family. I would like to be able to build a house for them and give them a few chickens and supplies so they can grow their own food. I don't want to just build a house and not provide them with any means to be able to become self sufficient. They need to learn how to provide for themselves and "CEPUDO" can help them with that.
The plan of attack....I'm having a yard sale Saturday June 14th at my house: 6333 Imperial Oak drive, West Jordan, Utah 84088 Home phone (801)282-5899. EVERYTHING I sell will go to this family. So if you have anything you want to donate please drop it off at my house or contact me and I will gladly pick it up. I am also going to go to a few grocery stores and see if they are willing to donate some hot dogs and buns and water bottles so I can sell them that day to raise more money. Since the yard sale alone most likely won't be $1,000 I need to get creative. I've never gone to a store asking for donations and I'm kind of nervous so please keep your fingers crossed for good luck. I'm also kindly asking all of my friends to donate $5. I have a lot of friends so if I can get all of them to donate $5 it would be AMAZING!!!! and it would just help me reach my goal.
So, if you are my friend and are reading this right now, please donate. If you know me then you will know that I have no need to keep this money for myself and that I will give 100% of this money to this poor family in Honduras. If you live out of state you can use the PAYPAL link at the top of this page (paypal does keep 45 cents of every $5 donation) or mail me a check. My mother is traveling to Honduras July 1st and will be staying there for one month. My mother will be taking this money and she will be monitoring every step of the way. Making sure the entire amount is used for this family and that it is used wisely. I will be posting pictures of the family and all of the things that are bought for them periodically.
PLEASE HELP ME HELP THIS FAMILY. I will forever be thankful.
And our first $5 challenge was donated by Marilyn Clayton from Jordan School district Nutrition Services. Thank you Marilyn!!!!!!!!!!
People who have stepped up to the $5 challenge:
Marilyn Clayton (Utah) First person to donate!!!!!
Amanda Bishop (Utah)
Tamra Ashby (Utah)
Marcy Johnson (Utah)
Tara Thompson (Las Vegas)
Kristi Amasio (Utah)
Michael and Shelle Napier just donated $100!!!!! (Japan)
Christine Prieto (New York)
Kari & Jeff Brimhall (Virginia)
Jake Andersen (Utah)
Sherika Thomas (Utah)
Jerri Oborn (Utah)
LaDean Swasey (Utah)
Sebasthian Varas (Utah)
Peggy Dwyer (Utah)
Donna Bodell (Utah)
Karen Jermyn $10!!!(Utah)
Amber Pond (Utah) $5 and helped in yard sale
Mindy France $10!!! (Utah)
Carmen Valencia $10!!! (Maryland)
Tomas Simon $10!!! (New York)
Alicia Fore (Utah)
An anonymous person just donated $500!!! Thank you soooo much.
Larry Searle $50!!! (Florida)
Airleen Fernandez (New York)
Linda Packer (Utah)
Katie Roberts $20!!!
Rob Walker (Utah)
Eric Robinson $10!!! (Utah)
Anonymous $198.57!!!! We have reached $1000!!!! Thank you anonymous person!!!!
Pat Monish $10!!! (Oregon)
Danny & Chikako Schneider $50!!!(Wisconsin)
Laura Jenson (Utah)
Judy Jenson $10!!! (Utah)
Edgardo Aguilera $40!!! (Honduras)
Fernando Aguilera $69.25!!! (California)
Brittany Oler donated stuff for yard sale!!! (Utah)
Glenn & Bonnie Pond (Utah)
Mark Nielsen (Utah)$30!!
Kami Clarke stuff for yard sale !!! (Utah)
Kelly & Cherish Newman $100!!! (Utah)
Angie Naudauld (Utah)
Kristin Hillman stuff for yardsale (Utah)
someone left stuff for yardsale on my doorstep may 31st weekend (Utah)
The Santos Family $24!!! (Utah)
Sandy Smith $20!!!
Mateo Flores (NY)$20.00
Oscar Barriga (NY)$20.00
Cynthia Perez(NY)$10.00
Maria Crowdly (NY)$20.00
Jessica Zirbes (NY) $10.00
Festa Hamilton(NY)$10.00
Mariela Barrera(NY) $20.00
Susan Gregory (NY)$20.00
Cecilia Capdevila (NY)$10.00
Jose Beltran NY $20.00
Nancy Alegria NY $20.00
Wendy Pittini NY $ 20.00
Claudia Vaca NY $10.00
Alexis Jovel NY $20.00
Arthur Spitzli NY $ 50.00
Daniel Cook (Wisconsin) $50.00
Sydney Nielsen (Utah)
David & Dea Miller (Utah) yard sale stuff
Stacey Breeze (Utah) lots of yard sale stuff
Len & Heather Carson (Utah) $10
Dustin Pead (Utah) $50!!!
Melanie Stewart (Utah) yard sale stuff
Aaron Wood (Utah) his yard sale donations alone made us over $200!!
Tricia & Scott Young (Utah)a lot of yard sale stuff
Julie Baker (Utah) yard sale stuff
The Christiansen Family (Utah)$133.28 and helped so much at yardsale
Anne Marie Anderson (Utah) $5 & yard sale stuff
Lyndee George (Utah) yard sale stuff
Melinda Flynn (Utah) yard sale stuff
Grace Chapman (Utah) yard sale stuff
Loni Watson (utah) yards sale stuff
Fernando Aguilera (CA)just donated $500!! on june 18th
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