Thursday, November 15, 2012

My Sweet Sleep Story




We are so excited to introduce you to our dear friend Eddie Humphrey, Minister of Childhood Education of First Baptist of Belton, TX. Eddie was introduced to Sweet Sleep while attending the LifeWay Kids Ministry Conference last fall in Nashville, TN with his wife Kelly.  We’re so thankful Eddie’s Sweet Sleep Journey has just begun!

 “After my introduction to Sweet Sleep last fall, I really sensed that God was calling me and our church to perhaps focus on Sweet Sleep for our upcoming VBS missions offering.  I began praying about that at the conference and then the months to follow.”
For each VBS, the children, families, and teachers are asked to bring offerings to be used towards a good cause of their choice; this year they decided to use Sweet Sleep’s mission project, Build-a-Bed.
“I felt the mission of Sweet Sleep, kids helping kids, would be something that our children would be able to hear and hopefully relate to. 

They chose to have a boys v. girls and weighed the change brought in each morning of VBS on their “Scale of Wonder.”  

“The families and kids responded so graciously this summer. For our church it was the largest VBS offering we’ve ever been a part of! We set different goals, and if we hit $5000 the kids could shave my head on stage; they were able to do just that! (pictured) We felt led to send our money specifically to Gulu, Uganda.  In Gulu it costs $50 per child to receive a bed, malaria net, and bible. $5,000 was raised meaning over 100 beds for the children of Gulu!”
Eddie continued to pray through the summer how their relationship with Sweet Sleep could be a lasting one.  After receiving encouragement from his supervisors and pastoral staff, they decided a mission journey to Gulu, where they could meet the children and work with local ministers, would be an incredible opportunity for them to continue their partnership with Sweet Sleep.

Just so it happened a church from Minnesota was planning a Sweet Sleep mission journey to Gulu on November 16-25!  Eddie and his colleague were invited to join the team on this bed distribution trip to carry their experiences back to their church while deepening their partnership with Sweet Sleep! 

“I’m just elated and very humbled to be a part of this journey.  I look forward to seeing how the Lord will use our team and the power of his spirit.  I’ve had the chance to speak to the team members from Minnesota on a conference call and that was a joy to hear their heart for the Lord and hear how the He has stirred this need in their life as well.  We’re forever grateful for this great body of people in Minnesota to let us jump on their team. 

I’m looking forward to finally arriving and actually being able to meet, shake hands, and hug the necks of the kids—that’s what I’m most excited for.”

Eddie shared that another priority in going to Gulu is to gather pictures and video footage to bring back and share with the children and members of his church.  For next summer, he plans to partner with Sweet Sleep again and incorporate his personal experiences in Gulu into the mission focus of VBS!

Stay updated with Eddie and the team through the Sweet Sleep Blog and Facebook page  as they show God’s love to the the orphaned and abandoned children in Gulu through the provision of beds, bibles, and life-saving mosquito nets!

No comments:

Post a Comment