Worship on the Water 2019

Worship on the Water (WOW) starts this weekend! Sponsored by SIFAT, WOW is a casual, nondenominational worship service held at Lakeside Marina in Wedowee, Ala., Sundays at 9 a.m. from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend. Each week features a different speaker and musician. Whether you are a local resident or a weekend visitor, we hope to see you at WOW this summer!

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#GivingTuesday 2018 – Nov. 27

It’s #GivingTuesday time once again! Please save the date for Nov. 27 to participate in this global holiday that celebrates generosity and kindness by giving to nonprofit organizations, such as SIFAT. Just as Black Friday and Cyber Monday kick off the holiday buying season, #GivingTuesday starts the giving season, reminding us what this time of year is truly about! Isn’t it exciting to be part of something greater than ourselves when we join together to give back!

SIFAT is participating in #GivingTuesday for the sixth year. It’s the perfect time to take a break from the hustle of holiday shopping and embrace the spirit of giving! This year, we have our largest matching fund yet—$60,000 to double your gift! The “rules” for #GivingTuesday are the same as previous years. When you make a donation at any time on November 27, your contribution will double because of the matching fund set up by a generous group of SIFAT donors—up to the first $60,000 that we raise!

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Shopping with Purpose

As you start shopping this holiday season, please remember SIFAT! There are many ways you can help SIFAT while choosing gifts for the important people in your life.

SIFAT Village Store

Did you know we have a gift shop on our campus? Gifts from around the world made primarily by family microenterprises and cooperatives are available with all proceeds benefiting SIFAT. To schedule a time to shop or purchase a gift certificate for the Village Store, contact villagestore@sifat.org. If you are unable to visit the Village Store in person, Peggy and Marie will be glad to help find the perfect gift for your friends and loved ones and ship it to you or directly to them. You can also purchase limited items online: sifatvillagestore.ecwid.com

Online Retailers

Thousands of popular retailers offer a percentage of your purchase as a donation to your favorite charity — SIFAT! Use either Goodshop or iGive to find coupon codes and shop at your favorite stores (you will be redirected to the retailers’ sites). Sign up for a free account to your giving, so you can see how much you raise to benefit SIFAT.

goodshop.com/nonprofit/servants-in-faith-and-technology-sifat  or  iGive.com/sifat

Do you shop on Amazon? For a portion of your purchase to benefit SIFAT, use AmazonSmile for when you make a purchase and choose SIFAT as your charity.

smile.amazon.com/ch/63-0776048

Commemorative Bricks

Honor a loved one by ordering a commemorative brick for our Open Spaces, Sacred Places garden. We broke ground this fall and bricks will be placed soon. Order online at www.bricksrus.com/order/sifat or contact Marie, lanierm@sifat.org, for more information.

In Honor / In Memory

Not sure what to buy for someone one your list? Give a lasting gift by donating in his or her honor/memory. Send your donation to SIFAT with the name and address of whom you would like us to send an acknowledgement.

Ecuador: Intern Luci’s Last Post

Editor’s Note: High school junior Luci Bryson, daughter of SIFAT training director Kathy Bryson, is spending six weeks this summer as an intern with SIFAT Ecuador. Having already been part of Learn & Serve programming and training events both on our Galilee Campus and internationally, Luci is helping our teams in Ecuador and improving her Spanish translating skills. You can read her first entry and second entry.

It’s been one week since I’ve returned to Sweet Home Alabama. I’ve never felt more exhausted in my life, but I’m warm and content. Today is my second day at home as we went to Brasher Springs Camp Meeting and the Flippen-Shaw-Barkley family reunion. Wednesday, Jennessa, Evie and I are traveling to visit Brianna in Chicago. It’s been seven months since we’ve last all been together, so it will be nice to use this little window of time before Jennessa goes back to school in Boston, and Evie and I start our new life in Costa Rica with Mom. If it’s one thing from this summer that I’ve learned, it’s how much of an importance family has.

But family is a broad term.

During her summer in Ecuador, Luci found an extended family in Aida Leon.

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Ecuador: Intern Luci Checks In

Editor’s Note: High school junior Luci Bryson, daughter of SIFAT training director Kathy Bryson, is spending six weeks this summer as an intern with SIFAT Ecuador. Having already been part of Learn & Serve programming and training events both on our Galilee Campus and internationally, Luci is helping our teams in Ecuador and improving her Spanish translating skills. You can read her first entry here.

Greetings to all! You’ll have to forgive me for not writing to you all these past two weeks–to tell you the truth, there really never was a free moment to sit down and write!  Since I last wrote, we have had three different teams of which I’ve had the pleasure to work with two of the three–Faith United Methodist Church and Guntersville FUMC . Aldersgate UMC was the third team, and I only had a chance to visit with them at night in the hotel.

Add Felipe’s babysitter to the list of the many ways Luci is helping this our teams this summer! Felipe is the son of one of the ladies who cooks for the teams serving in Aida Leon.

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