A Special way to Celebrate your Child's Birthday

Years ago, before we even had children, my husband Craig and I had decided to be different than the typical Americans. We wanted to build houses in Mexico on Spring Break and to spend our Saturday mornings at the food bank. We wanted to spend our money on things that mattered...not just new cars, more toys, or a larger house. Our goal was to be servants and God's hands and feet on the Earth. To live out the Great Commission in our daily lives.

This included how we decided to grow our family. Instead of a traditional pregnancy, we opted for adoption. We adopted our daughter Zamara from Ethiopia August 2008. At that time, she was just over 5 months old. Over the last 2 and 1/2 years we have racked our brain on ways to serve even while she was young. We wanted to teach Zamara that life was about giving of ourselves on behalf of Christ. She was a Salvation Army Bell ringer (with mom's help!) this last Christmas. This summer Zamara will go on her first mission trip to the San Carlos Indian Reservation where we will build a house for a family in need. We are always looking for unique ways to serve. As we were planning her birthday last year, we came up with a rather clever idea that any family can do...Instead of birthday presents we collected donations!

We are blessed and have a house full of toys and clothes-Zamara does not need anything else. Last year for her birthday we collected clothing, medicine, toys, and cash donations for Zamara's orphanage in Ethiopia (Kids Care). We were able to send two giant boxes full of items to Ethiopia! It was amazing to see people respond generously to such a request.

This year we wanted to keep the theme of serving Zamara's home country. We collected both cash and baby formula for Into The Streets of Ethiopia. We happily collected 14 large cans of formula and over $300 in cash donations! We had a great birthday and were able to share information about many of the issues of poverty going on in Ethiopia and around the world.

We want to send out the challenge to families all over the U.S. to do the same at their child's next birthday.

Craig, Laura, and Zamara Ducommun

If you would like to learn more about the Ducommon family, you can go HERE.

Thank you Craig and Laura for your support of Into the Streets of Ethiopia.