Upcoming Mission Journeys
Drochia, Moldova
May 21-31
Registration for this team is closed.
To find out if there's room for you on this team, e-mail jon@sweetsleep.org.
Ialoveni, Moldova
Aug. 29-Sep. 6
Information meeting: Sunday, May 18th
4 pm
Brentwood Baptist
Application and $250 deposit due June 1
Help us start off the school year in a SWEET way as we build new beds for the 180 children living in this orphanage just outside Chisinau, Moldova.
Team members will be building beds, leading
worship, teaching in the classroom and hosting workshops for teachers and staff.
Note: This journey occurs over Labor Day, so you won't have to take an
extra vacation day!
For an application or more information please contact Jon at
jon@sweetsleep.org.
Sweet Sleep's Build-a-Bed Project
This summer, kids across the country will be raising funds for Sweet Sleep through our
new Build-a-Bed project as part of their Vacation Bible School.
If your church's children's ministry would like to join our Build-a-Bed campaign, please
e-mail jon@sweetsleep.org.
Mark Your Calendars!
Sweet Sleep's 5th Birthday Blowout!
Friday, June 20th
5:30pm
Greer Stadium Nashville
Celebrate 5 years of Sweet Sleep at FaithNight at the Nashville Sounds!
We can't wait to tell you all the fun we have planned for this exciting night!
Watch for more information in our May e-newsletter.
SunTrust Promotion Extended
You can still help Sweet Sleep when you open a SunTrust personal
or business checking account through June 31st!
Just open an account and mention Sweet Sleep. Then, fill out the online form requesting
your
donation be made to Sweet Sleep and Sun Trust will donate $100 in your name to help provide beds for orphans! It's that simple!
For more info visit suntrust.com/mycause.
Note: When
filling out your request simply enter "Sweet Sleep".and leave the city blank.
Our Mission
Sweet Sleep exists to share God's love by providing beds to the world's orphaned and
abandoned children.
Sweet Sleep is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
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From Jen's Pen
As you're reading this, I am in Orhei, Moldova with an amazing team of volunteers who have given a week to make a difference in the lives of orphaned
and abandoned children forever. The needs here at Orhei's "Casa de Copii" orphanage are so great, but we are having a wonderful time working with
these truly special children.
We can't wait to share more about what God's doing here. Keep praying for our team and
thank you for your continued support of our ministry.
Sweetly,
jen
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Sweet Sleep/Kairos Orhei Mission Journey Team: (left to right)
Back row: Stuart McAlister, Sam Wey, Jon Merryman, Lauren Bing and Laura Wall. Front Row: Sandra Plaza, Irene Rodriguez and Casi Bryant. Not
pictured:
Hannah Westphall and Jen Gash.
We'd love for you to walk with us on this journey! Check our team blog at http://sweetsleep.blogspot.com for updates!
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Want to see your Sweet Sleep donation double right before your eyes?
You can!
To participate in this match and double your impact for these sweet children in Moldova,
just send your donation to Sweet Sleep, PO Box 157,
Brentwood,
Tennessee, 37024 and write "molodva match" in the memo line.
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Give Now to Double Your Impact for Orphans!
Sweet Sleep has received a $20,000 Matching Grant for Moldovan beds and we need you to help us meet our goal!
Can you buy one bed
for $185? Bam! Just like that -- you'll provide 2 beds! Help us turn $20,000 into $40,000.
Don't wait -- Give today!
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Give While You Surf or Shop!
What if Sweet Sleep earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to
support our cause? Well, now it can!
GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine which donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users
designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up!
GoodShop.com is a new online "shopping mall" which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause, Sweet Sleep! Hundreds of great
stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order,
you'll be supporting Sweet Sleep.
Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Sweet Sleep as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!
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Sweet Sleep Open House
Sunday, April 20th
2-4 pm
Sweet Sleep Office
308 Timmons St. Nashville
Join us for an afternoon of fun at the new Sweet Sleep office! We'll
have tasty treats and show you Sweet Sleep's new home.
We can't wait to
welcome you!
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Heartfelt Thanks from Sweet Sleep
We would like to express thanks to everyone who contributed in so many
ways during our office renovations. It's been a labor of love, and so
many friends of Sweet Sleep spent hours, days, weeks and months helping
us get settled. Special thanks to the following individuals and
companies for donating materials and labor:
A & F Electric - Rusty Hurley
Air Systems, Inc. - David Wills
Apex Solutions - Brian Swartz
Brian McKay
Chuck Brewer's Small Group
Home Help, Inc. - Shawn Tilden
Marvin Turner
Norvell & Wallace Lumber Co.
NRC, Inc. - Kenny Manners
Solomon Builders
Wallboard Supply Company - Chris Glasgow
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Meet Our Staff
Local Minister Leaves Church Work for "True Religion"
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to
look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from
being polluted by the world." James 1:27
People say when you serve in Moldova you leave a piece of your heart
behind. That was definitely the feeling Jon Merryman had upon returning
from his
first trip to work with the children of Internat #2 orphanage in
Chisinau, Moldova in 2004.
"Leading up to the trip, I didn't want to go," Jon shared. "I was
nervous and afraid of what I would see and experience. But as soon as I
saw the
faces of the children, I knew God had brought me there for a reason."
"It was life-changing trip - not just for the children, many of whom
gave their lives to Christ that week - but for me as well." Jon shared.
"I'll never forget sitting on the side of a hill overlooking the camp,
explaining salvation and then praying with a little 12-year-old boy to
accept
Christ with the help of a translator. Hearing a child pray in another
language to accept Christ is one of the most amazing things I've ever
experienced."
It was the last night of that first trip that has perhaps had the
greatest impact on Jon's life and his family. During a foot-washing service where Jon
and his
Bible study partner washed the feet of the orphaned
children in the group they'd been working with that week, two boys ran
off with the
bucket of water. Jon thought the boys had simply run off with the bucket, but
after a few
minutes, the boys returned from the well with fresh water to wash the
feet of their new American friends. One of those boys was Denis
Morozov, the
15-year-old boy that Jon and his wife Emily recently adopted.
This past fall, after seven years of ministry with children, Jon knew
that God was preparing him for his next place of ministry. He took an
assessment to clarify where God might be leading him and the test
showed his ministry passions to be children, students and orphans. The
next day,
Jon received a call from Jen Gash, Sweet Sleep's founder, about an
opening on Sweet Sleep's staff and Jon began to see the his passions
come
together.
"In my ministry with children, I've always naturally connected with
children who have lost their parents since I lost my mom when I was 12
and my dad
just a few years ago. But when it came to serving overseas, it never
occurred to me that I would connect so deeply with these children. As I
was
sharing with a friend about working for Sweet Sleep and about adopting
Dennis I said, 'I guess I just know what it feels like to be an
orphan.'
That's
when it hit me. God was using the difficult experiences of my life to
equip and prepare me to spend my life ministering to orphans. I love
being able
to wake up every day and know everything I do at Sweet Sleep directly
impacts the lives of orphans around the world."
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(Left to Right) Denis, Iura, Jon and Gleb at camp in Moldova.
Below is the letter Dennis wrote to Sweet Sleep after receiving his new bed in
2007.
Hello friends!
I, Denis Morozov, who study in the 7th grade, want to thank you so much
for the comfortable blankets and new mattresses. I'm so happy because
somebody thinks about me and helps me. We need this help and these
blankets make our rooms so cool! Our old
blankets were not comfortable. They were small and itchy. But these
blankets are so much better.
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