never say never...

I grew up a poor kid. Not like poor I-don't-have-a-home, but poor like I-wish-I-didn't-have-to-shop-at-thrift-stores. And I-wish-I-didn't-have-to-drink-the-donated-guava-juice-from-church. And I'm-never-going-to-wear-hand-me-downs-anymore. Yeah, that kind of poor.

As a child I vowed I would never be poor again. I would never wear donated clothes. I would never ask for a handout.

Never say never.

I have been invited to go into the slums of Kenya, meet the amazing people from Mavuno church, and physically be the hands and feet of Jesus to live out the commission to love my neighbor as myself. I believe in the organization I'll be traveling with whole-heartedly... but there's this one thing I just can't get over: their STRICT fundraising policy. [see below]

So--I'm starting the Post-it Project. Everywhere I go, people who I touch, you will be able to be part of this journey. I'll be blogging and Tweeting about our adventures and if you want to be part of this adventure, you can! Below are some instructions on how to help send me to Africa.

Go to http://www.marinersoutreach.org/giving

Click on the link that says "Give towards a Faith Adventure"
Step 1: Fill in your information.
Step 2: Designate Faith Adventure Donation
Team Member Name: [Bianca Juarez]
Trip Name: [Kenya, June 2010]
Step 3: Fill in your account information.

I appreciate your help, love, and support. If nothing else, I appreciate your prayers!

because it's my blog...

I never win contests. Like, never win. The best thing I've won has been a neon pink fanny-pack after registering for the Long Beach Marathon. Needless to say, I never claimed my prize.

But Internet, I felt lucky. I mean really lucky. After checking out totally amazing Story Chicago and the list of speakers, I knew I had to enter the contest which included 4 tickets to the conference, 4 tickets to the additional workshops, 4 books by Dan Allender (love him), and a 2-day hotel stay in Chicago. I wrote the required essay with a heart, soul, and a little bit of [totally planned] humor.

Apparently I'm heartless, sans a soul, and as humorous as a box of rocks because I didn't win.

Please let me wallow for a minute in disappointment by turning off my comments and boycott posting my blog today. How can I write stories if I can't even win the STORY Chicago contest? Excuse me as I bang my head on my desk and eat an entire bag of something delicious and fattening.