Monthly Archives: July 2021

Climbing mountains for clean water

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KEITH, HUNTER AND LUKE HARRISON
At the peak of Mt Harvard in Colorado
These guys are the perfect example of what our Love, Action, Faith Scholarship is intended for. They showed their Love of others who have a need for clean water, by an Action of climbing an over 14K ft tall mountain to raise funds for repairing water wells in Malawi, because of their Faith in Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful day for climbing and raising money for repairing water wells in Malawi.
Below is what Keith wrote and the links if you would also like to contribute to this worthy endeavor. They are listed as Harrison Family at the Clean Water Climb link below. **Note: Because we sent in a check it is not currently included in the total raised so far** 💛 Be sure to read till the end for a sweet and funny story about Lauren and Keith.  He is married to Christina, one of Bryan’s first cousins. 💛 This July, two of my sons (Hunter and Luke) and I will be teaming up with a group to climb Mt. Harvard, the third highest peak in Colorado, and the fourth highest in the lower 48 states (14,420). This trip will combine three of my favorite things…time with my boys, spending time in the beautiful mountains of Colorado, and making a difference in the lives of people. You might be wondering how a trip to the Rocky Mountains doing something I love is going to make a difference in the lives of people, especially people on the other side of the world. This trip will be a part of a Clean Water Climb (www.cleanwaterclimb.net) which partners with Child Legacy International (https://www.childlegacy.org/). Child Legacy International Inc. is a Christian non-profit organization working in Africa to transform lives by providing opportunities that break the generational cycle of poverty and despair, and support each person’s pursuit of their God-given destiny. Money raised from this trip will be used directly to repair water wells throughout the country of Malawi.  Malawi is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Millions of people throughout the country don’t have access to a clean or reliable water source. Since 2008, Child Legacy has been repairing wells throughout the country, and to date, has provided clean water to over 9 million people (45% of the country) by repairing over 4600 wells. There is still much work to do and many people to help. One of my favorite things about this process of repairing wells and bringing clean water to the people of Malawi, is that when the wells are repaired the Gospel of Jesus is shared with the villagers as well. While physical water flows from the wells, the living water of Jesus is offered to the villagers. Countless lives have been changed and transformed by the power of the Gospel through Child Legacy and this mission. The average cost to repair one well is $1250. One well can provide water to 100’s and even 1000’s of people for years. In fact, for every dollar raised approximately 1.5 people can drink clean water for up to 5 years. My family and I would love to raise enough money to repair three wells ($3750 – one for each of us going) and provide clean water for 10’s of thousands of people for many years to come. We can only do it with your help! The cost of our trip has been covered, so any money you donate will go directly to repairing wells for the people of Malawi. That’s right, 100% of the money raised through this site will go to repairing wells and bringing one of life’s essential resources to people who desperately need it. I would love for you to prayerfully consider partnering with us and making an impact of the people and the country of Malawi. No gift is too small.  Thank you in advance for the difference you will make! Blessings, Keith, Hunter, and Luke Harrison 💛  When Christina and Keith started dating she brought him to the family reunion and introduced him to everyone.  He made a great impression on everyone because he is friendly, easy to talk to, has a great smile and handsome too.  Apparently Lauren became enamoured with Keith because in front of Christina she told Keith…”I’m going to marry you!”  Age didn’t matter to her… she was 7 and Keith was 23 yrs old…lol.  Christina said “She was gonna try to beat me to him.  It was so cute and bold of her.”  I said “We did teach her to ask for what she wanted.”  We all still laugh about it.  I would have been happy to have Keith as a son-in-law, but he was the perfect guy for Christina.  They have been married over 23 years and have 4 awesome boys.💛

Ainsley and Butterflies

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Spreading her wings to fly

Lauren liked to babysit, kid sit really, and had several families she sat for. Ainsley and Preston Miller were two of her favorite kiddos. Tammy and David, their parents, were like second parents to Lauren, definitely the “cooler parents” over Bryan and I. They were more like older siblings that she went to for advice and guidance. The whole family loved on and cared for my girl…I’m thankful for the special connection they had.

Ainsley has danced since she was very young. Lauren went to see her in The Nutcracker.

Ainsley graduated from Lufkin High School this year. She loves to design and sew clothing and even sewed her prom dress, a beautiful blue and black lace dress, this year. Lauren had “a love thing” for James Avery jewelry so we thought a sewing machine charm was perfect for Ainsley’s graduation gift.

I also wanted to give her a piece of Lauren’s own personal jewelry. I chose a silver butterfly bracelet with pink, peach and green ribbons on it. I thought it looked like something Ainsley would wear and might enjoy.

I didn’t want to risk these special items getting lost in the mail. So I sent them back with Taylor, our son and also close with the Miller’s, to personally deliver them to Ainsley. Taylor chatted a few minutes with Ainsley and Tammy and left before Ainsley opened her gift. She immediately started crying when she saw the butterfly bracelet, which was the first thing she saw in the box. Tammy was concerned and asked her what was wrong. She said ” I didn’t think I would ever see this bracelet again. Lauren would let me wear it and play with it when she babysat. One time Preston was watching a movie I didn’t like and she gave it to me to play with while we sat watching the movie.” Tammy had no idea of that connection and memory of that bracelet for Ainsley…nor did I, when I chose it for her. She also got out a butterfly hair clip to show her Mom, that was Lauren’s, and she had given to Ainsley one time while sitting for the family. Neither Tammy or I knew about that little gift either.

Ainsley called me immediately to share about her memories with the butterfly bracelet. We were all blown away and crying about the significance of the bracelet. I’m so glad I picked that particular piece of Lauren’s jewelry for Ainsley. It was a God wink, for all of us, for sure!

And of course she loved the sewing machine charm and it’s currently being added to her charm bracelet. She also thanked me for both gifts, one priceless and one special. We also chatted about how excited she was to be attending Texas Women’s University in the fall.

Ainsley is leaving her cocoon and spreading her wings to fly. One day when she is a famous designer, maybe she will wear that butterfly bracelet while showing her new design collection on a New York runway .

Beautiful Ms. Ainsley Miller