August 2019 Newsletter

Birthdays are a day when one is excused if they are a little self-indulgent.  However, in an act of selflessness to be admired, author Robert Louis Stevenson gave his birthday away! Stevenson was a friend of the US Commissioner to Samoa, and he heard that Annie Ide, the 12 year old daughter of the Commissioner was sad because her birthday fell on Christmas Day and thus received no special recognition. So, Stevenson “deeded” his birthday, November 13, 1891 to her.

ON OCTOBER 16, 2019, I WANT TO GIVE MY 90^th BIRTHDAY AWAY!

On my recent trip to Kenya, I met a special little boy! His name is Luke. He suffers from severe Autism and Cerebral Palsy. They think he is about six or seven years old, but he will never be able to understand the full joy of a birthday.

Luke came to Seeds In His Garden in June of 2017 after being abandoned at a hospital.  SIHG was contacted and asked to take him. When he arrived his clothes were tattered, had no family, was undernourished, had limited vision, and couldn’t stand, walk, or talk. At SIHG his health has improved while he has received constant care, comfort, and love.

MY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PLAN

On October 16, my 90th birthday, I will be doing something I have never done before.  I will be making my first parachute jump at the airport in Marina, CA.  I’m doing this for two reasons.

• I will be jumping in gratitude to God! He has given me 90 years of innumerable blessings.
• I will also be jumping for SIHG!  More specifically Luke!! Luke is a special boy and has many special needs which include:
  • Care Givers: Luke requires individual care 24/7.  SIHG has hired two care givers who rotate working four days on and three days off.
  • Equipment: SIHG has purchased special equipment such as braces, splints, chairs, carpets, shoes, etc.
  • Therapy: The caregivers take Luke to specialist appointments which require four hours of travel time. These include an Ophthalmologist due to Luke’s poor vision as well as a Neurologist:
  • Activities: Daily the caregivers take him to spend time with the goats. He loves that. He also loves dogs. He loves the water and it is very helpful to him both physically and emotionally so Luke gets to go swimming next door a couple times a week which is a minor expense.
  • The Future: Luke will need to have care for the remainder of his life.  While he has improved greatly in his short time at SIHG, many of his needs will remain with him.

All of these items add to the operational cost of SIHG considerably, but SIHG knowingly accepted Luke into their home and have been blessed by his wonderful smiles, his enthusiasm, and the joy of seeing him grow and mature.

So, this is what I plan to do! I will attempt to raise $90,000.00 on my birthday to assist SIHG in providing Luke with the love, comfort, and care that he will need for many years.

Will you help me – to help SIHG – to help Luke? Please consider helping me send SIHG $90,000.00 as a Birthday Gift honoring Luke! We can do it! Some can give $9,000.00, some $900.00, some $90.00, and almost anyone can give $9.00!  My gift is already on the way. Who knows, someone might want to give the whole $90,000.00!

By the way, there will be a big birthday cake in the hanger following my jump. You are more than welcome to drop by and celebrate Luke with me!

Luke with his caregiver Dennis

Thank you, and God bless you!

Wayne Adams