Hey I'm: Sydney E.

Hey I'm Sydney, a senior in high school. I am the class treasurer and I sing on the Worship Team. Sports are a major part of my life with volleyball over and tennis starting I am a busy girl. However my true athletic passion is equestrian show jumping. I am blessed to own my own incredible horse. To follow my dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete I will be pursuing Riding and Instruction as a major.

While I am working towards a solid future I am also determined to continue reaching out to Africa. After seeing what needs to be done not doing something to help is not an option to me. Lamentations 2:19 "Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street." This continues to inspire me to keep up all efforts to do what I can. What the Mocha Club does is simply amazing and I get to be apart of it!

God is good and gracious and through us we can do his work for those in need. How amazing is that?! That a huge, all-powerful God can use someone as small and insignificant like me to help do His good and perfect will blows my mind! I am letting the Lord lead my life because "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11.

~Sydney E.

Hey I'm: Sammie R.

The name’s Sammie. I’m a senior this year, OW OW! I am very involved in my school, I am most usually utilized for certain Graphic Design elements that the school does. I love my class! We are very close and I’m so blessed to call them my friends! I’m not your average girl! I love to make people laugh and smile but I’ve been through quite a bit in my life but I plan to use it to show people God’s amazing love and redemption through the saving grace of Jesus Christ! I plan to go into Graphic Design for my future career field. Design is my passion!

I also have a heart for ministry , mostly youth but I love it all! My heart is taken 100% by Jesus Christ and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Mocha Club for me has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I get to help change the world while it changes mine, AND I get to do it with my best friends at my side. How cool is that?! God has really given me a passion for ministry and missions and I would LOVE to go to Africa to give life and share the gospel!

I love getting lost in God’s word and the verse I cling onto for the change I want to bring to this world is Deuteronomy 15:11; “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” So I’ll ask you, just like I was asked, “So you wanna change the world? What are you waiting for?”

God Bless

~Sammie R.

Some Recognition.

Recently the work Sammie, Stephen, and I have done has been recognized in a couple ways. The first was in our schools quarterly newsletter where our principal Derick Tabish talked about passing on a purpose to those younger than us and helping one another grow as servants of the Lord. At the end of his article he complimented us on the challenging work we are doing to send a helping hand to Africa through the Mocha Club.

After contacting our representative from Mocha Club and telling her about our efforts and this blog, she immediately linked us back from their website. Check it out by clicking on the Mocha Club Make Change Campaign link.

We can't believe the support we have gotten and continue to give all the credit to God! Only He knows the plans He has for us but they are plans to prosper us and to give us strength.

~Sydney E.

Fundraiser no. 3!!!

This past Thursday we had our third and final basketball halftime fundraiser. Our team was playing the Rearden Indians and their crowd was few. I must admit I doubted the success we were going to receive. But great is the Lord, He proved that even small numbers can generate a big response. We made $57 dollars and some change! Our efforts to make change are doing just that, we have raised over $178 dollars all for Africa! So far our short journey to relief has been a prosperous one, God is definitely not done with us!

Here are some pictures of us hard at work :).

We have had tons of fun thus far! And we don't plan on slowing down.

~Sydney E.

Fundraiser #2! Ow ow! :)

This time around we weren't expecting to make much because the opposing team was much smaller. We walked in with our hearts full and ready to receive anything that God had for us. As we started the fundraiser it basically played out the same. With determined people and Stephen's mad auctioneer skills we made a good $50s. It was really encouraging to see two teams and masses of people come together like one big family and really care about the cause! :) It was nice to see the unity and experience the amazing and life changing love of God.

We were SO blessed by all the people who helped out without question and we were also extremely excited to make more than we ever could have imagined! We are off to a fantastic start and are SO excited to see what God has in store for the future!!! PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE A TIME FOR US TO EXPLAIN WHAT WE ARE DOING AND THROW A FUNDRAISER OR JUST RAISE AWARENESS! It would be such a blessing to be recommended to campaign more than just at the schools' home basketball games! We are looking for youth groups and conventions to further God's calling for this campaign!!!

Thank you so much for your support!

With God's Love,
~Sammie R.

Our first Fundraiser! Woo Hoo!

Our first fundraiser was a complete success! At half time of the boys varsity game against Chewelah, we gave the fans an opportunity to get involved with Mocha Club. For one dollar a piece, the crowd was able to show off their basketball skills for a shot at a 2 liter bottle of soda. We had multiple half court shots get made which was exiting to watch in itself but what was really exiting was to see the support of the crowd.

Not only did our hometown Panther fans get involved but almost half of the shots that were taken were from Chewelah! Even the moms of the players were getting into it, and trust me that was entertaining to watch! It was wonderful to see that it did not matter where the fans were from, but they were just happy to help out a good cause (and have some fun in the process.)

We made over 70 dollars in one night! That means that with the money we have from just that one fundraiser we were able to give 70 Africans water for an entire year. Of course the crowd enjoyed their soda pop, but when it was announced how much they had done to help, they were even more exited. We are looking forward to being able to do even more exiting fundraisers in the future, and even more so, we are looking forward to seeing how much we can do for the continent of Africa!

God Bless...
~Stephen E.

Speaking at Chapel!

When I was first asked to speak at chapel, I told Sydney she was insane. Me? What do I have to offer? All I do is crack annoyingly funny sarcastic comments with the occasional, "I love you" in between... Why do I need to be the one to speak at chapel? I didn't want to speak to the WHOLE school (total of only 166 kids hahaha but still...). I reluctantly agreed but as usual, complained the whole way. As I was asked to come up on stage I didn't know how to start. At first I thought I was going to just up-chuck in front of the whole school and completely embarrass myself, then I thought as I looked into the crowd, "wait a minute... I can name each and every person here..." Then it hit me. I knew all the people in the crowd. At some point during my 3 years at VCS, I had spoken to each and every one of them at least once. Then something else hit me; Did I really care what other people thought about me? So there I was, scared to death and literally shaking, when Syd handed me the mic.

As I began to speak I realized that some of my comments made them laugh and I became more and more comfortable. I began to explain how God has spoken to me during the Sanctus Real concert and how the fact that the man preaching had the exact same name and managed to speak in the third person the whole time! I could really feel God tugging at my heart to get something going and just like the night at the concert, my heart ached for people to understand the extensiveness of this genocide occurring just a continent away. So, I spoke from my heart, I said anything and everything that came to mind and I not only encouraged my peers but also managed to somehow encourage myself.

Turns out , everyone loved the video and wanted to help in one way or another. It was so encouraging to see my friends get so involved in something that started out so small. Ever since then, we have been gaining recognition and really been putting forth an effort to really make a difference in the lives of those in Africa. Not to mention the fact that I get to do this while having two of my best friends at my side. I keep hearing people encourage me by saying, "You're making a difference in the lives of people you don't even know."When all I really want to say back is, "Well, look at the difference they've made in me."

God Bless!
~Sammie R.