My Special Celebration
I am thoroughly enjoying another beautiful fall morning on my deck. Flowers surround me, and the river birch next to the deck is starting to turn golden. Crickets are singing a happy song, and the sun is peaking through the clouds. A slight chill in the air signals warm weather is passing. I love this season!
In a couple of weeks, I will celebrate another birthday. They seem to come quickly these days, but I don’t mind. Aging has its downsides, but I thoroughly enjoy this season of life. They say getting old is not for sissies, and whoever “they” are would be correct. However, the pace of life and lightened responsibility level outweigh the aches and pains.
For me, a birthday milestone also means another celebration of sorts. This year will mark the fifth anniversary of the day my wife graduated to heaven, so birthdays are a little bittersweet these days. But, like all life experiences, one can choose to allow sadness to rule the day or celebrate the nearly forty years I enjoyed with Gail. I pick the latter. I possess something most people do not. Every year I receive the unique gift of celebrating all those years together, and, Gail’s “new birth” day in heaven.
On this day five years ago, my wife was nearing the close of her time on earth. Yet, her legacy lives on in her daughters, family, and friends, a fire that will never be extinguished. Gail’s legacy does not end with those close to her because she chose to make her final days count for an eternal difference in thousands of lives living in a land far away from my deck.
Gail’s heritage resides in her four daughters but also in the myriad of Gail’s Girls in South Asia. And their numbers grow daily. To date, the Gail’s Girls effort has trained and deployed one hundred women who start three to five new churches in the first few years of their ministry.
Five years have passed quickly, and this anniversary is an appropriate time to celebrate by encouraging even more of us to join her effort. That is why we have decided to raise enough funds to support five more Gail’s Girls - $35,000 will reach that goal. We are well on our way to realizing this goal.
On behalf of Gail, I invite you to join this effort by donating to the Fifth Anniversary campaign to support more Gail’s Girls. Please click the link below to the Gail’s Girl donation page. You will also find a video about Gail’s legacy on that page.
https://give.stadia.org/campaign/gails-girls-5th-anniversary/c511419
Thank you so much for your generosity. This ministry reminds us that our God can turn any difficult situation into something beautiful.
Live Inspired!
Don Mark
