Power of A Parrot Piggy Bank

LaLa's Luau-themed birthday party was held this weekend. In lieu of gifts, my 4-year old girl decided she would instead ask guests to contribute to her PARROT PIGGY BANK, collecting donations for Bridges of Hope, Intl. in South Africa. The incredibly empowering mission of this non-profit organization, established by our former pastor who now works and lives with his family in South Africa, is to battle the AIDS pandemic by community transformation, providing hope and a sustainable future to those with neither.

One of the aspects of the Bridges of Hope ministry involves caring for AIDS street orphans in the ghetto of Phillipi. One deeply compassionate, powerfully compelling woman, Agnes, took in over 20 orphans into her shack there and just cared for them. She has nothing. No help, no food, no money, no sustainable income - she just cares! And her fuel is her love and prayers that she would be able to keep these children safe and make a home for them in her humble shack. And when I say shack, it was truly that. Delapidated tin roof, cardboard or plasterwood walls, dirt floor. Bridges of Hope was able to rebuild her home this past year with more sturdy materials (concrete, wood, windows!) and LaLa collected donations for new beds and bedding for these most needful children. They now sleep in a home where they are loved and cared for by Agnes and the BOH teams. Even without traditional family, these orphans are tasting LIFE and LOVE and HOPE.

We were awed to be able to play a small role in that transformation.

My little girl, with her deep-welled heart and sensitive soul, was upset when she was told that these children in South Africa have never had a birthday party. She wanted to give them one somehow. First, she suggested that we invite them all to her party. We explained the logistics of that one being unfortunately above our capacity to afford. So she decided that they needed their OWN birthday celebrations.

Her next idea was to send all the toys she would likely receive as gifts at her party to the children "with no Mommies and Daddies in South Africa". I calculated the international shipping on big boxes of heavy toys and gently guided her away from this option.

In a matter of days, she decided to have a parrot piggy bank at her party, collecting money for the orphans' birthday celebration and gifts from our guests INSTEAD of gifts to herself.

So, I sent out the party invitations with that request (please no gifts - in lieu of anything you might have wanted to offer, please consider donating to our PARROT PIGGY BANK to benefit Bridges of Hope Intl. - bringing caring hope to AIDS orphaned children in South Africa).

And guess what?

She raised $500. Five Hundred Dollars. And twenty-five cents.

Little LaLa was thrilled! She scoured the piggy bank for every last dollar, thanked and hugged each guest who contributed, and is so excited to send this money to the children for their party! (and warm blankets and cake and presents and the whole shabang)

This remarkable child of mine moves me with her capacity to give so joyously and selflessly. She brings me to task, challenging me to show my love of others so purely and without hesitation. Her actions brought me to my knees - she is making such a world impact at the tender age of FOUR as I could not imagine and am humbled to witness.

May I never stand in the way of her ability to reach beyond herself and pull a miracle out of a parrot-shaped pinata turned piggy bank. May I stand with her as she reaches out to share from the abundance of her own heart to share generously with children she has never met. May I always encourage her devotion to caring, creating joy for, and positively impacting the lives of others.

Praise God for allowing such a miraculous Happy Birthday to soon bless some of the word's most deserving children. And for my own child, who blesses my life unspeakably, I am forever grateful.