Friday, June 26, 2009

"My Very Own Room" (click here to listen)

Dear family and friends,

I hope this letter finds you enjoying a beautiful Summer wherever you are...

I wanted to share with you my new song on adoption (click title above) as well as an opportunity to feed infant orphans in Ethiopia. I am going to Addis Ababa this Summer to deliver suitcases of baby formula to infants in need... It is a mission I am calling “Formula One Life.”

The story behind the mission...
The urgent cry came to my ears through a recent letter I received from a dear friend who runs an orphanage in Addis Ababa. I met Almaz on a mission trip to Ethiopia a few years ago- at which time she was living a comfortable life in the U.S. Within months, however, Almaz- a native Ethiopian herself, left behind all her American comforts to return to her homeland to become the director of Hannah’s Hope, a transitional home for orphans in Addis Ababa.

In her letter, Almaz wrote of a dire need for baby formula. Because baby formula is not produced anywhere in Ethiopia, its' low supply and high demand had caused it to become a price gouged commodity on the black market... and Almaz had no choice but to pay the price. I immediately wrote a check, but sadly, I knew it was only a temporary solution...

That is when I realized what I had to do: Using my flight benefits as a flight attendant, I would carry suitcases of formula to Ethiopia myself and recruit other flight attendants to do the same...

My hope is that this will be the first of many trips for years to come, as other flight attendants join me in serving the weakest among us...

Will you please consider joining me in feeding these infants...? I would like to fill at least three suitcases with cans of powdered formula to deliver by the end of July... You can be a blessing to this mission by donating any small amount in one of three ways: 1) by giving a can of formula, 2) by sending a check for one can of formula, or 3) by purchasing my online album, “Songs of the Vine” featuring my new song on adoption, “My Very Own Room.”
All of the proceeds from these sales will go directly to purchasing formula. You can also make a very valuable contribution of prayer... so please don’t hold back!

Finally, I would be honored if you would listen to “My Very Own Room.” It is the true story of my experience at one Ethiopian orphanage in 2006...

My deepest, heartfelt thanks to you... for sending a bottle of love to a baby in need...

God bless,

Mary Beth
www.marybethlavin.com