{UPDATED WITH MINI WINNER: Random Result: 23}

I wanted to throw one more mini-giveaway to help you win the grand prize- FREE Mission Trip on 12/2! I’ve received so many emails this month and a few of you are still feeling afraid to go and serve on a mission trip. Opportunities [like this] to go on a life changing trip, without paying a penny, to live James 1:27 in a radical way- don’t come around often. I want to challenge ALL Men, Gals, High School and College students to GO on a mission trip in 2012 and radically live James 1:27! Let go of your fears and allow God to direct your steps. He has already chosen the winner! If you don’t try, you might miss out on a supernatural blessing!

This is a 2-day mini giveaway- and crazy easy to enter!

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment. (this makes it official)
2. Click any of the SHARE IT buttons at the end of the post: “Like”, Facebook, Twitter, etc… help spread the word! I will randomly pick a {mini winner} at the end of the day on Thursday, 12/1.

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 MISSION TRIP GIVEAWAY HERE!!

Grand Prize Winner will be drawn on Friday, December 2, 2011 at our 2nd Annual Visiting Orphans Give2Go event in Nashville, TN. You do not need to be present to win. Winner will be notified by Monday, December 5th.

(Deadline for online purchases are Friday, Dec 2 at 12 noon!) Purchase one of these special tees designed just for this giveaway! You get your name in the drawing for every one of these tees that you purchase. So if you purchase 5 men’s and 5 women’s – you get 10 entries!!!! It’s that easy!

Anywhere

in the world

on a Visiting Orphans missions trip….

Open your hearts to Go, Be, and Love orphans!!

El Salvador, Costa Rica, Haiti, Ecuador, Honduras, China, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, India and Ukraine!

ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER THE MISSION TRIP GIVEAWAY HERE!!

Thank you so much for all your support for my 2011 Mission Trip Giveaway! Your shout out’s have helped spread the word all over blog land and beyond! We have (as of today) 406 people entered for the grand prize! Let’s break some records and double that number in the next 3 days! I don’t want anyone to miss out on going on a mission trip to love orphans!

Winner will be drawn on Friday, December 2, 2011 at our 2nd Annual Visiting Orphans Give2Go event in Nashville, TN. You do not need to be present to win. Winner will be notified by Monday, December 5th.

(Deadline for online purchases are Friday, Dec 2 at 12 noon!) Purchase one of these special tees designed just for this giveaway! You get your name in the drawing for every one of these tees that you purchase. So if you purchase 5 men’s and 5 women’s – you get 10 entries!!!! It’s that easy.

Anywhere

in the world

on a Visiting Orphans missions trip….

Open your hearts to Go, Be, and Love orphans!!

El Salvador, Costa Rica, Haiti, Ecuador, Honduras, China, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, India and Ukraine!

Come back tomorrow [here] to My Crazy Adoption and check out the last chance mini-giveaway!!! Don’t miss out on an opportunity to DO THIS ….

(photo used with permission by Wynne Elder)

Check out the special 1 DAY ONLY Cyber Monday deals on My Crazy Adoption Store. NO SHIPPING TODAY ONLY!!!!

Crazy Deals:

• Super-Hero Christmas Package-

Be someone’s real-life hero for Christmas this year! For a limited time, you can purchase our BEST SELLER Man Up Super-hero tee: Unisex sizes XS-3XL and receive a handmade Ugandan necklace and Whole Wide World coffee mug for only $35.95 (value $49.95) 1 Tee + 1 Necklace + 1 coffee mug = Simply Love.

• Super-Hero Unisex, Lady’s & Youth-

This special BEST SELLER Man Up tee is perfect for the entire family. Adult sized & matching youth available. Spend $50 and get the youth super hero tee for only $10

Christmas Special ends Dec. 5th to guarantee delivery!

 

I’m thankful for faithful bloggers who visit My Crazy Adoption every day! Your generosity, support, and cheers have made a lasting impact in my life. I wanted to share with you my Top 5 Most Thankful blog moments as we celebrate Thanksgiving. I pray your year has been full of God-adventures and embracing the joy of giving love freely- Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. (1Cor. 13:13)

1. Taking over 7,000 headbands YOU sent for princesses and princes in Africa!
2. Providing shoes to hundreds of orphans in Ethiopia- 300 turned into 782!
3. Watching Hannah hug Taylor Swift.
4. Sharing with my readers that we are moving to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2012!!! (I can’t WAIT to share more)

What are you thankful for today?

FREE ENTRIES TO WIN MISSION TRIP GIVEAWAY:

Here’s how you can get MORE entries into the drawing for the Visiting Orphans Mission Trip Giveaway:

1) Click here to buy a super stylish Simply Love or Man Up tshirt from our online store. 1 shirt = 1 entry and they make great gifts!!!

2) Between now and November 30th, you can get an additional entry into the drawing by first buying a mission trip tee and then spreading the word online to your friends and family about it. You can facebook Share or Tweet about it! that you helped get the word out and we’ll add an extra entry into the drawing for you! It’s that simple. And if you’ve already gotten your mission trip tees  – that’s ok – just spread the word and let us know that you did and we’ll still give you an extra entry!

Somebody IS going to win a free trip to any of our 13 countries. It COULD be YOU!!!!

Mission Trip Winner will be drawn on December 2, 2011 at our Give 2 Go Event in Nashville, TN. You do not need to be present to win.  

We are SO thankful for the thousands of team members who have gone on our trips and loved on precious children in our 13 partner countries. You have been the hands and feet of Jesus to the least of these. You have planted seeds of the Father’s love and reminded His little ones that they are not forgotten. You have made a difference. On behalf of each and every child that you have met, held, touched, loved and impacted – THANK YOU for being willing to get out of your comfort zone to Go. Be. Love. to orphans around the world.  

If you have enjoyed or learned from this post, please share it:

Yes, I’ll admit it’s slightly crazy that two of my WOW Thanksgiving dishes involve canned cream corn, frozen hash browns, dehydrated potato flakes and french-fried onions. But, I bet that your family will love ‘em so much, you’ll catch them sneaking out before Black Friday to munch on left overs. (thanks April for the yummy recipe ideas)

Paula Deen’s corn casserole

You’ll need:

1 can whole kernel corn (drain)

1 can cream-style corn

1 package corn muffin mix (8 oz.)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup shredded cheddar

This couldn’t be easier: 1) preheat the oven to 350 degrees 2) mix all ingredients, minus the cheese, together 3) pour into a greased baking dish.

After the casserole has baked for 45 minutes, or is set in the middle and golden brown, sprinkle with cheddar and put it back in the oven. Let the cheese melt, take the casserole out and enjoy this ridiculously buttery, semi-homemade dish.

Sandra’s mashed baked

You’ll need:

4 cups frozen hash browns

2 packages of butter and herb mashed potato mix (if they are 4 oz. each—or 1, 8 oz. package)

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 cups boiling water

2 cups french-fried onions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add in the hash browns. Let them cook for about 5 minutes and then drain, being sure to keep 2 cups of the boiling water. Mix all ingredients together and then add the boiling water. Put in a greased casserole dish and bake for 35-45 minutes. Sprinkle with the french-fried onions and bake for another 5 minutes.

C’mon .. you know you luv craziness.

9 MORE DAYS LEFT TO ENTER MISSION TRIP GIVEAWAY- ENDS 12/2

Crazy Links I Love:

We are adopting a beautiful baby girl from Ethiopia and are hosting a fundraiser to help raise the funds to bring her home. Our agency told us we would probably have to wait up to a year for the referral of a healthy baby girl even though we were also on the special needs list. So we were unprepared when God started things moving faster and we got our referral after only two months. Now we are hurrying to pull the funds together before we leave for our court trip on December 1st. The fundraiser is called Give Five. We are asking people to donate $5 to help us raise $6,000. At our website www.projectfindher.org you can read our call story, our blog and follow our progress as our airplane graphic flies to Ethiopia and back. We also have a new t-shirt design on our site. Please come take a look.

If you have enjoyed or learned from this post, please share it:

Last February, I had the honor of having Jake on our mission team. He was the same age as my son (17) and I was thrilled to have a few amazing teenagers to simply love in Ethiopia! One of my favorite memories was watching Jake teach team member, Helen (70) rap on our 4 hour drive to Awassa. The trip made such an impact in his life – he was back in Addis Ababa a few months later. Wait till you read his story… I’m so proud of you, !!

You’re Never Too Young-

Over the course of our lives we long to accomplish something that is greater than ourselves. We strive for that one moment in our young lives that enables us to be independent and content with ourselves. That one moment for me came when I was given the unique opportunity to travel to Ethiopia. At first, I was unsure in my decision to travel to a foreign country with people I had never met, but I chose to seize this life changing opportunity. That unsure feeling quickly diminished when I was united with my team; all people from different places and different backgrounds; people that share the same common purpose as me: to serve the needs of others and to become greater than themselves. I had no idea that those same people would suddenly become my friends for a life time. When i arrived in Ethiopia, my mind could not process all that it was taking in, the view, the people, and the culture, it was all so new and exciting! That first moment I landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is something I will remember forever. Over the course of those next few weeks, my life drastically transformed. Everything I thought I knew was suddenly gone. I had a new outlook on life: I realized first hand how important and precious human life really is. You will be confronted with heartache, and feelings of doubt, but those emotions have led me to become a better and more compassionate individual. I quickly fell in love with the people of Ethiopia, and have planted friendships, that I will have forever. There is just something so gratifying and rewarding being in the presence of people who show great humility, and gratitude from a simple smile. My short term missions trip has led me to expand my opportunities, and travel back to Ethiopia to pursue a lifetime commitment of serving the needs of the people who live there. The time is now to seize the great opportunity of going on a short term missions trip, and making a positive difference in the lives of others, and also your own.

You are never too young to go and serve and love! If you have enjoyed or learned from this post, please share it.

WIN A FREE MISSION TRIP HERE- ENDS 12/2

Special Christmas Package- limited time only!! Be someone’s real life hero for Christmas!! 1 tee + 1 necklace + 1 coffee mug = Simply Love.

Be someone’s real-life hero for Christmas this year! For a limited time, you can purchase our BEST SELLER Man Up Super-hero tee: Unisex sizes XS-3XL and receive a handmade Ugandan necklace and Whole Wide World coffee mug for only $35.95 (value $49.95) 1 Tee + 1 Necklace + 1 coffee mug = Simply Love.

Christmas Special ends Dec. 5th to guarantee delivery!

The message is simple.  The message is clear.

“It starts with One.”

A mission trip can radically change someone’s life in so many ways.  Whether it be signing up for a future trip, inspiring others to go on a trip, starting a new ministry, interning in or moving to a foreign country, or adopting—lives are being effected because ONE person responded to James 1:27 and then said, “Yes.”

You are that One.

And we would love share your story.  Because you have taken that step to JOIN ANOTHER TRIP, ADOPT, AND START A MINISTRY, because you have said YES, we want to share your testimony at our Give2Go event on December 2^nd.  We want to share as many stories as we can of how ONE trip has changed a life and how important it is to GO.  We will be printing the bio’s of people like yourself and featuring your picture on our Wall of Glory for others to read.  For others to be inspired.

We’d be honored to have you.

If this is something you’d like to share, please send us your story by Wednesday, November 25^th.   A one page bio would be great! Please send us a high res photo.

Amanda Herdina, Executive Assistant

We can’t thank you enough for taking the first step and we’d love for your help in inspiring maybe just ONE more. Join us for a night filled with inspiring testimonies and amazing performances. PLUS – we’ll be drawing a winner for our Mission Trip Giveaway that night. You don’t want to miss it!

Visiting Orphans 2nd Annual Give2Go- Nashville, TN
Featuring:
Jeff Slaughter as MC
and performances by Johnnyswim, Christa Black and Chris McClarney
Friday, December 2, 2011
Doors open at 6pm
Concert starts at 7 pm
at Rocketown
Nashville, TN

FREE EVENT!
($10 suggested donation)

BUY YOUR GIVEAWAY TEE AND ENTER TO WIN HERE (ENDS DEC. 2ND)