Today our oldest son turns eleven years old.  Over the last year he has demonstrated a tremendous amount of personal growth.  He argues less, submits to Mom and Dad more, and is learning that rewards come with responsibility.

It’s a bit of a challenge sometimes for our kids, as it is for any kids, to grasp the way that Mom and Dad spend their money.  As the world gets faster and more people have more gadgets, living simply becomes more and more of an oddity.  We are struggling to raise the kids simply, and we fall into materialism just like the rest of the American church.

It’s not that I feel bad that, due to our lifestyle, Cameron doesn’t feel wealthy.  It’s that I want him to grasp how wealthy he already is.  How many kids around the world would do anything to have his life.  And a good bit of our money each year goes to help those kids out.

Since he turned seven, Cameron has maintained a penpal relationship with a little boy in Kenya who shares his birthday.  When he turns twelve, he will be old enough to travel to meet this boy.  We would like to see that happen.  One of the gifts we want to give our kids is an understanding of the fact that the rest of the world isn’t like the U.S.

So that’s why I started running ads on my blog this year.  I’m trying to put some money together for Cameron (and either his dad or me) to go to Kenya in the next year or two.  After that, it will be Ben’s turn, and then the rest.  We pray that this will be a rite of passage for our kids, to help them navigate the materialism that so often besets childhood in the U.S.

If you’d like to help fund his trip, you can click on the “donate” button in the right sidebar, and give securely through PayPal.  Thank you!