Tuesday, July 10, 2012

6 churches. 6 weeks. one mission.

PVC pipes. Color Coding. 6 churches. All with one common goal:  To share the mission of Sweet Sleep in a unique and different way with children in Oklahoma and Arkansas this summer!

Alyson Walker, from Oklahoma, shares of how her, her friends at South Tulsa Baptist, and 5 other nearby  churches have chosen to partner with Sweet Sleep this summer! They are in the middle of a 6 week journey of "building beds" and sharing with kids the need for a good night's sleep!  We will continue to keep you updated on this ongoing and awesome journey of theirs!

"Sweet Sleep and Oklahoma!

As the preschool minister at South Tulsa Baptist, I attend LifeWay's Kids conference.  In 2009 I came across the Sweet Sleep booth in the exhibit hall at the conference.  When I heard about what Sweet Sleep does and saw the old nasty bed and mattress I was floored!  I had never thought about how and where children around the world were sleeping before.  The Children's Minister and I said right then and there our VBS offering should go to Sweet Sleep!  So that next summer it did.

I started following Sweet Sleep on Facebook and got more and more information about Sweet Sleep. Then in 2011, we did it again during VBS and our offering went to Sweet Sleep.  But by the time of this VBS, I had gone on my first Sweet Sleep Journey to Uganda and saw first hand what Sweet Sleep means to these children!  I was forever changed and convinced that Sweet Sleep is doing some amazing things. Actually, I should have said God is using Sweet Sleep to do His Amazing work!  I have now been on 3 Sweet Sleep Journeys and I pray many more to come!

Because of all of that, I of course love to talk about Sweet Sleep. So all of the area Preschool & Children's Ministers have heard my heart for Sweet Sleep and they have also jumped on board. We have a summer kids camp we call KMAK (Kids Mission Adventure Kamp) we have 6 weeks of Kamp and churches from all over Oklahoma and a few from Arkansas come. We have a mission focus each day and last year one was Sweet Sleep. We showed a video and then we made pillows. We made close to 1,000 pillows.

This year we are doing Sweet Sleep again but instead of pillows we are giving each church a puzzle. This puzzle is made out of PVC pipe. They don't know what they are making but they work together and when they have finished they have put together a bed. Then we will show a Sweet Sleep video and share w/ them the fact that there are children who do not have their own bed to sleep in. Some might have to sleep w/ 6 or 7 others in a twin bed. They will have that "twin bed" in front of them to actually see what it might be like to have 7 people in one bed.  Each child will get a bank they can take home and fill up for Sweet Sleep & they can give any money left on their canteen card to Sweet Sleep. In one week we collected $310.

Now normally the last day the children will spend all of their money left on candy. One little boy gave his card to this weeks director and said he spent half on himself and wanted to give the other half to Sweet Sleep!

I'm excited that we still have about 2 more weeks of Kamp to go!!  The Lord is doing some great things through KMAK for Sweet Sleep and doing great things through Sweet Sleep!!  Every penny counts and we are seeing that this Summer!!!
Alyson Walker <> Tulsa, Oklahoma"


Have you chosen to serve along side of Sweet Sleep in a unique and creative way?  
If so please email us and tell us how!  We are always looking for ways the Lord chooses to use people to step out and be advocates of orphaned and abandoned children!

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