“How can I help?” It’s a question that we are often asked, and it is a question that we frequently ask ourselves. We are grateful for everyone who supports The Raining Season - big or small. This week we are sharing six simple and big ways to support The Raining Season.
1. Share Social Media Posts
It’s simple and free to share The Raining Season’s social media posts. When you share a blog or social media post, you help The Raining Season reach new audiences. The work we are doing in Sierra Leone is not easy, but the stories of redemption and moments of celebration are so important to share. They are part of why we continue to show up even when it is hard. We serve a powerful God, and the stories of redemption are His, but we can’t share it without your help. When more people see what is happening, more people ask, “How can I help?”
2. Sponsorship
Growing our sponsorship will ensure that we continue to provide a safe place for our kids to live, opportunity through education, nutritious food, essential medical care, and spiritual nurturing every day. Are you able to increase your monthly sponsorship of a child you are already sponsoring, or have you debated sponsoring a child in need? Can you connect us with others in your circle that would be willing to link arms with us through sponsorship? Inflation has hit Sierra Leone hard, and the top-notch care that we provide our children comes with a price. Sponsorship is what ensures The Raining Season is able to do what it does.
3. AmazonSmile/ Shop and Support
If you don’t already, you can help The Raining Season make an even bigger impact in Sierra Leone by doing what you already do. As of March 2022, The Raining Season has received $3,648.44 from AmazonSmile’s program. The AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the purchase price to The Raining Season at no additional cost to you! Shop and Support also gives up to 20% back to The Raining Season when you sign up and make an eligible purchase.
4. Travel
If you saw our post two weeks ago, we are cautiously easing back in to travel this year! There is something truly special about traveling with The Raining Season. It is difficult to prepare your heart for the experience, and you will undoubtedly leave changed. Our children and staff welcome teams with open arms. You instantly become part of our TRS family. Every moment, from the welcome ceremony to the goodbye ceremony, the Holy Spirit is working. The Holy Spirit is working not only in our children, in our staff, and in the Freetown community but also in the travelers. We have seen relationships built that have changed countless lives. Maybe 2022 isn’t the year for you, but it’s not too early to start thinking and praying about your first trip to Sierra Leone!
5. Pray!
Can you commit to praying daily for The Raining Season? We know that the Lord has been good to us. He has provided, protected, and blessed us. We also know that we serve a BIG God. We are thankful for the many answered prayers in the last thirteen years. We are thankful for the health and safety of our staff and children. We are thankful for the many individuals who have said, “Here I am, send me.” We have many prayer warriors who faithfully pray day in and day out, and for that we are grateful. Join us in praying for our leadership, our staff, and our teachers. We pray for the Roots Project as it continues to grow and develop and for the young adults we serve through that program. Finally, join us in praying for each child that enters our gates. We pray that they will come to know God and know that they are loved. We pray for the Lord’s protection over them.
Our prayers may be bold at times, but it is because we know the God we serve spoke this earth into existence, and He loves each and every child in our center.
6. The Cotton Tree Collection
In March of 2021, we launched The Cotton Tree Collection. The Cotton Tree Collection includes two new t-shirt designs. However, the Cotton Tree Collection is so much more than a t-shirt. It offers hope and opportunity. The Cotton Tree, which sits in the center of Freetown, has a long history and is a symbol of freedom in Sierra Leone. Because of the Covering, our children can also experience freedom; freedom in Christ, freedom from the burden of sin, freedom from fear, freedom from poverty, and freedom from hunger. Purchasing a t-shirt from this collection supports our kids because the proceeds go directly to our kids.
So, if you’ve been asking yourself, “How can I help?” consider one of the ways we have shared this week. It is because of people like YOU that our kids continue to grow and flourish. Thank you for the many ways you continue to support The Raining Season. It takes a village, and we could not do it without you!
Many blessings,
The Raining Season