For My Birthday...

Hello to those whom I love and who love me!

I'm putting out my birthday list now...mainly because I know that there will be some random lady out shoppin' at garage sales this weekend that will contemplate buying me something...BUT...

I don't want ANY thing for my Birthday (which is on June 6th). 

Instead, I am asking everyone to donate to the Endometriosis Association. 

Over the past year or so I have become EXTREMELY passionate for this association.  I was introduced to endometriosis through my best friend Nichole last year.  When she first mentioned it, I had absolutely no idea what endo (short for endometriosis) is.  After learning how to spell it, I looked it up.  The disease HORRIFIED me.  I had no idea how anyone could live with such a sucky disease, yet here was my best friend living her life wearing a smile. 

In terms that I like to portray it, it is like having menstrual blood on the outside of your uterus and other organs.  At that time of the month, it liquefies just like the blood on the inside of the uterus, only it can't get out of the body which causes immense pain in the pelvic area.  It causes cysts to form on your ovaries and causes adhesion which pull around your organs and cause more damage.  It causes women all over the world to be in pain day-in and day-out.  It causes women to deal with the struggles of infertility after already painful sex.  There is depression that comes with having a disease to which there is no specific cause.  BUT...these women press on and do their work and care for their families as best as they can.  WORST of all this:  There is no found cure.  This disease is chronic.  It affects more women than you can imagine. "Endometriosis is a painful, chronic disease that affects at least 6.3 million women and girls in the U.S., 1 million in Canada, and millions more worldwide." (Endometriosis Association)  

Now, I'm not trying to persuade you all to donate to this association, but I'm trying to convince you that it is a worthy cause.  If nothing else, now you know a cause that I'm passionate about and a little bit about endo!  Here is the link to the Endometriosis Association's site:  http://www.endometriosisassn.org/  

This association is all about education as well as promoting research.  Endo seems to be such a tabboo topic, but while we dance around the topic, MILLIONS of women are suffering!  So, let's end the "we can't talk about it" and make something happen to end it so we WON'T have to talk about it.  

Honestly, it is all I want for my birthday.  I don't want more things that I'll have to mess with selling when I head to Africa.  I just want you to make a donation to the endometriosis association...not while thinking about me, but while thinking about the women who suffer from the disease and the step you are taking to end that suffering!  Whether it's a dollar or a thousand, every penny counts.  

ALSO...Let me know if you made the donation online!  I want to thank you for doing so and rejoice with Nichole as more education and research will be done because of you!  If you don't want to do it online, give me the money or check and I will personally make sure it gets to the organization!  

I'm super excited!  PLEASE do this!  Do it for the women out there, like my best friend, who are suffering every day behind a mask!  Thank you!!!!!!!!!

Love in Christ,

~Samantha