Sweet Sleep

This year our Vacation Bible School Mission Project was to benefit an organization called “Sweet Sleep”. It was a “dream” given to Jen Gash, a Nashville local working on a Mission Trip to Moldova in 2003. Moldova was part of Russia until 1991, and since its break with the Soviet Union, Moldova ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world. 80% of the citizens of Moldova earn less than $1 a day.
While working in one of the largest orphanages in Moldova, Jen was overwhelmed by the dirty, soiled, 50 year old beds used by the orphans. 700 children shared 430 beds, some of the beds did not even have a mattress and the children slept on the metal coils. Jen felt helpless, at the hopelessness of the situation. She opened her bible on the flight home from Moldova and the scripture, Proverbs 3:24 rang loud and clear:
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Her ministry was born, to provide a “bed for every head”.
Despite the overwhelming odds of more than 210 million orphans worldwide and 5,760 more children becoming orphans EVERY DAY “Sweet Sleep” has now spread from Moldova to Africa. You can join a Mission team to go build beds, youth groups can sponsor “insomnia” lock-ins by gathering pledges to stay up all night and give up a nights sleep, children attending VBS around the world can bring in their gifts to build a bed or two (our kids raised $500, providing two complete beds with sheets and pillows!). This is a great “instant result” project because any group or team can raise enough for one bed! You can also go online and contribute. Just a few dollars buys a pillow, $250 gives a complete bedding set- frame, mattress, pillow, waterproof seal, sheets, comforter.
Mention this project to your children’s director, youth pastor, mission coordinator, or pastor. Forward the link to other people that may be able to help. It’s a great ministry and a great example of God’s promise to us that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress” James 1:27
Most of all, please pray for this project and others like it. Pray that maybe the generosity of others have provided Baby Deetz and the thousands of other orphans around the world a sweet place to dream. That Baby Deetz has a safe and warm place to dream, until we can provide a whole house, not just a bed, for them.
Check them out at http://www.sweetsleep.org/index.html you’ll be glad you did.