Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser

   Today, March 14, 2015, my homeschool friends and their moms, my church friends and their moms, my mom, and I all helped.  There were an estimated 27 helpers who were constantly on their feet.  The helpers served the main foods(pancakes, bacon, and grits), drinks(assorted juices, water, and coffee), and sides(red velvet and salted caramel Tastykake mini donuts and fruit cocktail).  Other people helped out with cooking all the food, entertaining the kids and making sure they don't go crazy, wash dishes, collecting the donations, greeting, door openers, supervisor, and putting people in certain spots.  Along with myself, there were many people who didn't have a specific job.  I made sure those people checked in with the other people helping to ask if they need a break or want to eat.

    There were many behind the scenes helpers.  People who were not seen but were definitely a big part of the fundraiser.  I will not use names, but will describe what they did.  The person who hunted for the best price and bought all the bacon.  The persons who picked all of the 82 flowers we used in the vases.  The person who was up really late last night cooking grits for the morning and making the vases look pretty.  She also woke up really early to deliver everything and stayed the whole time to help cook and make sure everything was going smooth in the kitchen.  The person who put this fundraiser in the church bulletin and wrote a really nice, descriptive paragraph about it.  The person who helped decorate the whole fellowship hall.  The person who put the fundraiser all over the Facebook and planned most of it.  And lastly, the person who bought all the supplies like the drinks, cups, silverware, plates, donuts, coffee, and pancake batter.

   The turn out was amazing!!  We had an estimate of 120 people show up, donate, and eat.  Some didn't even eat or stay!  I was amazed how people are so generous.  Most of my homeschool friends' families either helped or just ate, but they all donated.  People who I hadn't seen in years came and I was able to talk to them about my trip.  Most of my church came and supported.  My grandparents came and talked to some older friends they hadn't seen in a while.  It was an incredible turnout and to see how many people who care for me!

   Since it is pie day, my mom came up with a great idea to bake eight pies to use to raffle.  When people donated, they got one ticket per a family.  We called out two tickets per a half hour and who's ever ticket was called out they either got a pumpkin pie or a vanilla oreo cream pie.  Our announcer also said they could through their pie in my face for an extra $20.  Luckily, no one did it, but all my friends wanted to.  It just made everyone laugh.

   Another fun thing we did was to sell the yarn flowers I made for $3 as prayer reminders.  Many people bought those and that helped with getting more money for my trip.  Plus, now I don't have to figure out what to do with so many flowers!

Baptism: What It Means

  Sunday, I was baptized by my youth pastor, Mr. Clint, as a public commitment to God and a statement of your faith in Him.

  Many people think batism is a thing to do when you are young, and/or when their friends are doing it, but that is not what baptism is.  I always thought baptism was just a fun thing to do.  My sister and I would pretend to be mean, nice, old, young, or snotty people then we would baptize each other, in the pool, playing those roles.  Now when I look back at that, it makes me laugh.  I now realize the true meaning and the symbolism of baptism.

  The meaning of baptism is that you are publicly stating the commitment of your faith.  In order to be correctly baptized, your heart has to be there.  You have to feel the urge and need to do it.  That's why I was baptized at an older age.  I realized that my heart was not ready to be baptized when I was younger.  It was sometime during the Move Conference in Athens, Georgia, that I realized I hadn't been baptized and my heart was ready.

  Baptism is very symbolic.  When you are dipped into the water it means you are dying of your old self and your sins.  This means you are dead because of your very nature and all of the sins you have.  When you are in the water, it symbolizes that you are being washed from your sins.  Being raised out of the water means to be raised from death through Christ and now are Holy and have eternal life.

  Another reason I wanted to be baptized is that I wanted to show God and all the church people my willingness to follow God.  I didn't want the church to think that I am going on my mission trip for fun or that I was bored.  I wanted them to know that I am going on this mission trip to train to be a missionary, to fallow God's will, and to spread God's message to the lost people of Bangladesh.

 Hong Kong

  Before we arrive in Bangladesh, we have to fly into the Hong Kong, China airport, then fly into the Dhaka(Dah-kah), Bangladesh Airport.

  Hong Kong is a very busy city.  Its population is around 7.188 million people in 31.04 sq. miles!  Hong Kong has roughly about 863,762 businesses still running.  About 1,035 of the businesses are food manufacturers.

  There are about 11,274 restaurants running in Hong Kong.  You might say, "That's a lot of restaurants!  Is there enough for all those people?"  Well, there is!  The food waste is estimated at 3,200 metric tons, which is 7,054,792 pounds of food wasted.  The average amount of food eaten in Hon Kong is 35.94 million pounds a day, saying each person eats 5 pounds of food each day.

1,035

1,035

1,035

All Leather Work Boots

  On the mission trip, all team leaders and team members must wear 6-8 inch all leather work boots.  The collar can be made of something other than leather, and often are.  These boots will be worn at all times and will only not be worn when we must wear close-toed water shoes.

  If you are like me, you will enjoy this video.  I love learning how things are made.  This is from How It's Made, but narrated by a different guy.

  I'm not getting these exact boots, but I will show you guys the pair my parents buy for me.  I've been trying on boots all day and I think I've found the perfect pair at Academy Sports And Outdoors.  My mum hasn't bought them yet because it is a big investment for boots!

  Animals

Jackals, monkeys, and mongooses are a few of the common animals in Bangladesh.  The Bengal tiger is Bangladesh's national symbol.  There are also rats, primates, mice, elephants, deer, and many kinds of birds.  Some of the birds are: Doels, Shaliks, Kingfishers, and Woodpeckers.  There are over 22 species of the woodpecker.  The most endangered specie is the red cockaded woodpecker.
  Animals eaten there are fish(like Ilish, Hilsa, Rui, Katol, Koi, Papda, Boal, Cital, Magur, Sing, Mola, Dhlea, etc.), chickens, beef(rarely), mutton, and birds(like group duck & pigeons).
  People in Bangladesh also have pet animals.  Some of the common ones are parrots,  monkeys, turtles, snakes, fish, cats, dogs, and lizards.

 Curry

 Curry is a traditional Indian spice or sauce.  It is spicy, but not hot like hot sauce because it contains lots of herbs and spices.  Curry can contain many different combinations of spices.  Sometimes it contains coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and chili peppers.  It is used in cooking a dish of meat, vegetables, etc.; typically served with rice.
   I have a feeling I will be eating a lot of curry while in Bangladesh.
  A recipe for curried: http://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/02/chicken-curry.html
 I haven't tried this recipe yet.  i am hoping to get the chance though!

   Buy a Day

A friend of my sister's went to Bangladesh.  How she raised her funds was to get people to "buy a day".
   I am going to start asking people to "buy a day" of my mission trip.  We will have about 50 days on the mission trip.  When people "buy a day" they can pick a specific day; a day at boot camp or a day in Bangladesh.
   I will be keeping a journal and will take plenty of pictures.  I will sent copies of the pictures and my days journal to that person that "bought" that day.
   If you are interested in "buying a day", please email me at hellowancedean@gmail.com.  This isn't my real email, but it will make it so much easier for me to find your email then trying to sort it through all of mine.
   If you email, please tell me the day you want to "buy".  Each day will cost $100.  I know this is a lot, but it helps so much!