Friday, January 29, 2010

happy birthday micah!!!







happy birthday to our oldest nephew, micah!!!
dear micah,
we are so happy to have you in our lives... we love you!!! we hope that your birthday is super fun and that you have some yummy cake!!!
love,
aunt megan and uncle vinny






Thursday, January 28, 2010

i think we could all use a laugh...

i hate it when people scare me... but this is too funny!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

friends helping haiti's orphans...

We know that all of you are aware of the terrible circumstances in Haiti due to the earthquake.

Prior to the earthquake we were in contact with an Orphanage, Foyer Coin Des Cieux: http://internationalsocialwork.wikispaces.com/Foyer%20Coin%20des%20Cieux%20Orphanage?f=print

(please do not donate to the banks listed on their website as they do not have access to their banks at this time- keep reading for ways to help).

The Orphanage is run by a wonderful man, Fritzner Morlant. As many of you know we have been trying to adopt and our hearts have been pulled to Haiti for many years now. Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Fifty percent of Haiti’s children do not reach their fifth birthday because of poverty and disease. That was before the earthquake. We have a close friend who lived in Haiti for a few years and is very good friends with Fritzner and has talked with him nearly every day since the earthquake. The orphanage was destroyed and now they are taking care of 84 children as opposed to the 24 they had before the catastrophe. Since the earthquake we have personally been in contact with Fritzner and he has expressed a great need to help the children he serves.

We were looking forward to collecting care packages to send to the orphanage, but Fritzner informed us that much of the boxed aid is stolen before it arrives. He said that a lot of the aid being provided in his area goes to whomever is strong enough to steal it, and then it is typically sold to the highest bidder. We don’t know if this is the case everywhere, but we know it to be the case in his area. He drives to the Dominican Republic (far away) to purchase supplies. Unfortunately he is unable to withdraw funds from his banks in Haiti and can only receive money via Western Union.

It is our intention to raise as much money as we can for Fritzner and his ophange. We know these are difficult financial times for us all and many of you have already given to other organizations. Our family has decided to go without a meal or two and donate the money we would have spent on these meals to help feed and care for these children in this orphanage. We ask you to consider seriously what you are able to give. Your sacrifices will go so far to help these children.

We will personally withdraw the money regularly from this account and send it directly to Fritzner via Western Union. There are no third parties involved. Every single penny goes to help the children in this orphanage. Your money will not even be used to pay wire transfer fees.

There are 3 ways to donate:

1. Walk into any Bank of America and deposit any donation into account # 21658-03373
2. If you have a PayPal account you can send any donation by doing the following:

Log in to your PayPal account at www.paypal.com
Click the “send money” tab
Type in: friendshelpinghaitisorphans@gmail.com and the amount of your donation.
Check the “goods” option.
Click “continue”
A new screen pops up confirming and you click “submit money” on the lower right.
We have linked this PayPal account directly to the Bank of America account shown above.

If you do not have a PayPal account it is easy to set one up; go to www.paypal.com

3. You can mail your donations or use any online bill-pay service from your bank; send the donation to:

Vinny and Megan Disanza
For Orphanage
25641 Mesa Edge Ct
Sun City, CA 92585

All donations are very much appreciated. $1.00 is not too little to donate. It is amazing how far it can go when you are sending it to someone who has nothing. Please feel free to pass this on to everyone you wish.

Sincerely,
Vinny and Megan (Holladay) Disanza

vinny_megan@verizon.net

951-679-5787

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

how to help an orphanage in haiti

we are in communication with a man who runs an orphanage in haiti. the number of orphans in his care has jumped from 24 to 84 since the earthquake. they do not have access to their bank accounts and are reliant upon western union to get funds to buy necessities to live on. their building has been destroyed!

the director of the orphanage is a member of our church and we can guarantee that every penny will be used to help his orphans. we are creating a paypal account just for this haitian orphanage that should be ready tomorrow. any amount that you can donate will go so far. even if you only can spare $1.00!!! a link to his orphanage website (not in English) is http://internationalsocialwork.wikispaces.com/Foyer+Coin+des+Cieux+Orphanage?f=print
***please*** don't donate via their website as they have no way to access their banks at this time. we thank you so much for your help and prayers. these children are in need of everything.

Monday, January 18, 2010

mlk, jr. - a remarkable man

well, i tried for quite a while to add a photo of martin luther king, jr. but for some reason my computer won't let me.

i'd just like to put a few quotes here by this extraordinary man. quite a few years ago i had the chance to see the mlk center and the original ebeneezer church where he preached. i went there with my cousin brynn and her husband kalvin on our trip from chicago to florida. it is something i will never forget.

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." --MLK Jr.

"he who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it. he who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." --MLK Jr.

"i have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." --MLK Jr.

"i have decided to stick with love. hate is too great a burden to bear." --MLK Jr.

"life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?" --MLK Jr.

"never succumb to the tempation of bitterness." --MLK Jr.

"pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check. but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one's soul." --MLK Jr.

"everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. . .You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." --MLK Jr.

let's all agree this day to be a little bit better. to fight injustice where we see it. to reach out.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

earthquake in haiti - how we can help

i'm sure that most of you know that haiti was hit yesterday with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. vinny and i have felt a strong desire to adopt from haiti for a while now. before this earthquake hit it was estimated that 50% of children did not live to see thier fifth birthday because of poverty and disease. think about that 50%!

the early reports are showing complete devastation in haiti from this earthquake. people who lived in shacks are now homeless. so many people are dead or missing. i know that particularly at this time in the world most of us don't have much extra money to give. if you find yourselves to be fortunate enough to give a little, i have a small list of organizations that are working directly with haiti.

the first is our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. all donations are used for humanitarian purposes. the others are the red cross and then a link to organizations that have been checked out by cnn.

here you go:

http://tinyurl.com/ycq82od

http://www.redcross.org/

www.cnn.com/impact


if you do not find yourself able to give money at this time, perhaps you could donate blood. also, the greatest thing we can do is offer sincere prayers to our Heavenly Father who loves all of His children.