Dear 2014, You Were Awesome.

January 5, 2015 by Anna Leave a Comment

Don’t you just love the holiday season and the amazing joy it brings? We are joyful about the coming of Jesus. We find joy in spending time with friends and family. We sing “Joy to the World” by candlelight at church. We cry tears of joy over our mom’s perfectly concocted puppy chow (What? That’s just me?). And, we joyfully rejoice over the incredible things that have happened throughout the year. As we start this new year, we wanted to take you guys with us as we remember what God did in 2014. Spoiler alert: it was epic.

January 2014: Construction at the second classroom at Sharing Hope Preschool (SHP) in Mozambique is complete!

It was supposed to be Tennessee orange, but I guess this salmon-y orangey pinky color works, too.

February 2014: School starts for our Mozambabies and we welcome 30 more sweeties into the SHP family!

Also in February… The Sustainable Farm Project in Swaziland produced its first potato crop. We had basically a zillion potatoes to harvest, so that means we got to do something we love to do–hire people to help us harvest!

March 2014: We got some pretty sweet updates about the construction of the farmhouse/workshop in Swaziland.

April 2014: Kid President liked AND commented on one of our Instagram photos. I’m still fangirling like it’s my job over here.

May 2014: One Heart Africa and North Cleveland Baptist Church partnered together to launch the Water For Life campaign. This church-wide campaign raised awareness about the global water crisis and set a goal to raise $5,000 to dig the second fresh water well in Licilo, Mozambique.

In May we were also able to get uniforms for the Mozambabies thanks to a very generous donor! They are SO cute.

June 2014: Ryan heads to Mozambique three weeks before our summer team to prepare for their arrival. Side note–that’s never going to happen again. Three weeks is WAY too long for him to be in Africa without me. I simply won’t allow it.

The total amount raised for Water for Life came in and… (drum roll, please) NCBC more than doubled their goal of $5,000 allowing us to build a well in Mozambique AND one in Swaziland! Can I get a “woop woop” for clean water?!

July 2014: Our friends at White Oak Hammocks gifted us with three amazing hammocks for our sites in Swaziland and Mozambique. We had an awesome time hanging them on our farm in Swaziland and watching the terrified looks on our friends’ faces as they experienced #hammockjoy for the first time. It was so hilarous!

In July, we also got to bring this group of wonderful people with us to Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa. It was such an amazing trip as we got to be a part of constructing the well in Mozambique, feeding the Mozambabies, and building the new greenhouses provided by Harvests of Hope on the farm in Swaziland. We also got to build on relationships with the teachers, farmers, and some new translators for future trips. We love relationship building!

We also saw the farmhouse for the first time. EEEKKKK!!!

August 2014: The well in Mozambique is officially done! Clean water for all!

Oh, another little thing that happened is that we obtained 501(c)(3) status. No big deal, though.

September 2014: MANCOBA CAME TO VISIT!!! While he was here, we got to speak at to a few different groups and have dinner with lots of lovely people. Mancoba so enjoyed his time here and we certainly enjoyed it as well!

The greenhouses in Swaziland started producing spinach! It was a beautiful sight.

October 2014: LOTS happened this month, so I’m about to hit y’all with a very organized bulleted list.

We introduced child sponsorships and started encouraging you guys to help us sponsor 39 kids by Christmas.
Emmanuel Baptist Church in South Carolina invited us to be a part of their first ever Missions Conference. We had such an incredible time learning from the other missionaries and speakers as well as making some great new friends! Thanks again, EBC, for having us!
Mancoba returned to Swaziland and started a trash pick-up service for his hometown of Logoba, Swaziland. The first pick-up day was a huge success, and we look forward to growing this service in the years to come!
Our website got an upgrade and we started using a new online giving system that makes giving SUPER easy.

November 2014: In just over two weeks (that’s only 14 days), you guys sponsored ALL 39 Mozambabies!! Y’all. That’s incredible! Also, we got to spend a week with Abante International in Puerto Rico. We know, sometimes visiting fellow missionaries is hard work. It’s all part of the job, though. 🙂

Quick shoutout–if you are a college student who loves missions and wants to be able to do school and pursue a degree at the same time, you definitely need to check out Abante. Not only is the program legit, but the founders of Abante are wonderful, kind, and Godly people. That’s important.

December 2014: The farm started looking like a farm

We started making bricks in Mozambique.

And with those bricks, we started building the third classroom at Sharing Hope and a teacher’s office.

See? God is gracious and we are so very grateful! Which bring us to the present…

We don’t exactly know what this year holds. But, I bet ya it’s gonna be a good one. Here’s how you can pray and partner with us in 2015:

Go with us! We have three teams joining us for two weeks across South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique this summer. Join one! You can get more information about the summer trips by clicking here.
Become an advocate! It’s probably the best job on the planet because all you have to do is repost, share, and retweet our social media posts. That’s it. Told ya it was super easy!
Partner with us financially. This year will be a year of change for us. We have grown tremendously over the past year, and we are so so SO thankful for that. But, with Ryan and I both working full-time jobs outside of One Heart Africa, we began to see that our busy schedules were making a negative impact on the efficiency and excellency of the organization. So, in a leap of faith, I decided to quit my full-time job in September. We completely feel like stepping down from that position was the right decision to allow us to finish this year strong as an organization. Now we are asking for your partnership in our ministry through monthly support. If you are able to give towards supporting Ryan and I in being obedient to Christ through full-time ministry, please click here. In addition to raising our own support, we are hoping to purchase a car, install aquaponics systems, and build family and guest housing and install solar panels at our currently electricity-less farm in Swaziland. Whoa, baby! If you would like to give towards one of these projects, please click here.
Sponsor a child. In the next few months, we will be adding 30 new Mozambabies to Sharing Hope Preschool which means there will be 30 new opportunities to sponsor a child! Stay tuned. 🙂

So, there you go. Thanks for sticking with us and rejoicing in the joy that 2014 has brought to our hearts! We appreciate you all so much and are walking into 2015 firmly believing that the best is yet to come.

🙂

– Anna Carmichael, Co-founder

The “Fun” in Fundraising

April 9, 2014 by Anna Leave a Comment

In 89 days, me and a group of five others will be saying “Adios” to America, and a big “Hello, AGAIN” to southern Africa.

I. Am. PUMPED!

(and terrified, and excited, and nervous, and anxious, and about to lose my mind…)

But, mostly excited.

To think that just over 2 years ago, Ryan and I were making this same trip to visit a pile of bricks in a rural village in Mozambique as a dating couple is kind of unreal. In addition, when I look back at that time, I am even more thankful that God only allows us to see a little at a time. I probably would have had a heart attack by now if He didn’t. Let’s recap with a little timeline of events from then until now, shall we?

December 27, 2011: Ryan and I leave for South Africa, Swaziland, and Mozambique.

January 2-6, 2012: Mancoba, Ryan, and I spend time in Licilo digging an outhouse, mixing concrete by hand from nasty water that had to be retrieved from a mile away, feeding the kids, and getting to know some of the community.

January 5, 2012: ENGAGED! 🙂

January 8, 2012: Return home, I immediately start school and wedding planning.

Spring 2012: We continue to build the school, start working on desks, and begin searching for teachers.

August 5, 2012: Ryan and I get hitched!

Fall 2012: So… we should probably become an organization now. One Heart Africa is officially incorporated! YAY! Meanwhile, the school in Licilo is still under construction and the first fresh-water well in the area is donated and installed!

December 2012: I graduate from college… finally.

February 2013: Sharing Hope Preschool opens with 18 students and 2 local teachers. The feeding program is able to provide meals for around 30-40 kids three times a week.

May 2013: Sharing Hope Preschool becomes an accredited school in Mozambique.

June 2013: 23ish acres of farmland are purchased in Swaziland to provide jobs and food for the community in Swazi and families in Licilo. Sharing Hope Preschool now has 40 students (27 of which are orphans) and 2 teachers. The feeding programs provides meals for anywhere between 40-80 kids three times a week! WE NEED MORE SPACE!

July 2013: Ryan leaves for Mozambique, a vehicle for OHA is purchased (praise the Lord! It was much needed!), and we to begin construction on another classroom for Sharing Hope Preschool

November 2013: OHA’s website and first documentary launch.

December 2013: We submit our 1023 form to the IRS for 501c3 status.

February 2014: Sharing Hope Preschool welcomes 70 kids to school for the first time and we feed them daily, now!

March 2014: Five acres of potatoes, corn, and other crops start to bear their first fruits in Swaziland and construction for a farmhouse/shed is officially underway.

April 2014: Harvests of Hope awards OHA with TWO greenhouses for the farm in Siteki, Swaziland.

Is anybody else’s head spinning? We are certainly overwhelmed with gratefulness and can confidently proclaim that the Lord is faithful and good!

In this blog I tackled (er, attempted to tackle) the question of, “Why?” It’s true, people ask us why we are working in Africa in stead of America all the time. But, perhaps the second most asked question I get is simply, “How?” And even though they only say that one word, I know what they’re really asking. They’re asking us where two young 20’s get the money for all this stuff. We’re still newlyweds, I’m only a year out of college, and we’re both becoming “established” in our careers. Well my friends, I’m glad you asked! It all boils down to the dreaded “fun” word. You know…

Fundraising.

As soon as Ryan and I even thought about starting a non-profit organization, we had conversation after conversation about money. We have both seen organizations overseas be completely wrecked by corruption or misuse of funds, so being “sticklers” on what we spend money on was and is an area of great importance and transparency for us. In addition, we know how draining it is to constantly get bombarded with support letters, “buy this t-shirt,” and “Go Fund Me” campaigns. Up until this year, our monthly expenses have been affordable for us. Our tithe as well as monthly donations from a few other people have been sufficient for the organization’s needs. However, we are growing rapidly.

The harvest is so ripe in southern Africa. We are being presented with opportunity after opportunity to build schools, wells, farms, and community centers. We have the opportunity to feed children who have never known that there’s such thing as a “balanced meal” because you either have food or you don’t. We have the opportunity to provide medical attention in an area whose HIV/AIDS rate is 25% and where roughly 1 in 5 kids die by their fifth birthday because of easily preventable diseases and situations. Can I be honest for a second? I enjoy asking for money about as much as I enjoy waking up before 6am or cleaning my hair brush (I know all my long-hair-don’t-care girls out there feel me), but we simply can’t grow in our current state. This whole “community development” thing is expensive and we need you.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Sponsor a child.

(Cue that Sarah McLaughlin song…) Only $20 a month provides free education, school supplies, a uniform, medical care, and food to one of our precious Mozambabies. And though I feel like I’m being super cheesy right now, that $20 could keep your sponsored child alive. In an area where meals are few and far between and water is the color of leftover pasta water (yuck), a simple meal of beans and rice and clean, filtered water is a matter of life and death. Twenty bucks, y’all. That’s it.

2. Give towards the summer team.

Nothing changes your whole world like going to Africa, holding the babies you’ve prayed for, eating what they eat, seeing where they live, meeting mothers (or NOT meeting mothers), or hearing with your own ears a teary-eyed parent say, “Take my child back to America. Please take her,” with a serious, desperate, and heartbreaking tone. It was a short-term mission trip that birthed the vision for One Heart Africa, so Ryan and I are VERY passionate about taking others with us. Who knows, maybe one (or five) of the participants on this trip will decide to move to Swaziland with us one day. *wink, hint, etc.*

Also, I’m just gonna throw this out there, Ryan and I are in constant need of plane tickets. If you have connections with flights or airlines, have air miles you want to donate, or just want to sponsor plane tickets for us, we would probably name our first born after you. It’s a huge need for us!

3. Support OHA building projects.

In the past year, Ryan and I have been asked to build another well, a new medical clinic in Licilo, one more classroom at Sharing Hope Preschool, a primary school for grades 1-8, a secondary school for grades 9-12, and an orphanage. In addition, we hope to build a guest house where we can host groups on the farm in Swaziland. Holy building budget, Batman! Each classroom costs about $5,000 fully furnished. If you would like to sponsor one of these projects, please email me! (see below)

So there you go. Fundraising awesomeness. Let me just say real quick though, over the past few months Ryan and I have felt so blessed and humbled to have people come along side of us and “catch the vision.” We are overwhelmed with thankfulness for you guys! Seriously, your generosity makes me cry – a lot. If you would like to become a monthly partner or give, there’s a snazzy little “Give” tab on our website or you can click here. Make sure to put what you are giving toward (IF you are giving towards a specific person or project) in the “Message to Seller” box. If snail mail is more your style, you can send donations to:

One Heart Africa – PO Box 701 – Charleston, TN 37310

Also, if you have any further questions for me, please email me at anna@oneheartafrica.org or find One Heart Africa on Facebook! I would be glad to help in any way I can.

You guys are incredible human beings, ya know? Go do something great today!

Anna Carmichael, Co-Founder One Heart Africa

One Heart Africa

Dear 2014, You Were Awesome.

The “Fun” in Fundraising

Our Mission

Connect with Us