“Skiptember”

Jason’s “Skiptember” pledge: For the next 30 days, in solidarity with many of the Rwandan sisters and brothers I love who don’t have a choice, I will only drink water. I will then donate the funds that I would have used for coffee and other drinks to Hope Haven Rwanda’s Kitchen Project.

September can be a busy month! Many Americans resume active school schedules, while simultaneously trying to recover from vacations that weren’t as refreshing as they hoped. Clubs and church groups restart and it seems like many of us frantically rush through our days!

What can we do to “reset” early on in this month? Labor Day is over and it’s time get back into the swing of things—including reevaluating our giving/spending priorities!

In 2003, our friend Shelene Bryan launched an organization encouraging Americans to “Skip1” following a surpise visit to her sponsored child in Uganda. You’ll love reading this inspirational story in her book, “Love, Skip, Jump: Start Living the Adventure of Yes.”

In a surprise move this year, after Shelene and her team visited Hope Haven Rwanda in 2019, Skip1 decided to focus all of their fundraising efforts during 2021 on a solitary project: The Hope Haven Secondary School Kitchen! Visit Skip1.org to see the details and join in!

In this week’s video excerpt, Shelene joins her long-time friend, actress Candace Cameron Bure, to share how they choose to live a life of “skipping” for others.

During my Scripture reading this week, I was reminded of these words from Jesus: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

What does it mean to “lose our lives?” I don’t want to over-dramatize skipping drinks, but I pray that my choice to drink only water, to “lose” other drinks, during September will prompt me to pray more for the ones I love in Rwanda. I also hope that it will give me a deeper appreciation for the countless gifts that God has given each one of us.

How can we “lose our lives” to help someone in need this month?