My husband and I have heard of Voodoo Doughnut for many years since we have lived just outside of Portland our entire life, but we have never gone there. It was when we were out one day that we had a fleeting thought of, we should check out Voodoo Doughnut. The problem, we didn't even know where it was. Our friends from Germany who had been living here for a couple years had been there several times, so I thought why not call them and find out where it was located. It was at the moment we looked at each other and just laughed. How ridiculous for us to call our friends who are from Germany to ask them where a local Portland icon was located. We simply could not bring ourselves to do it.
At the end of July after skyping with our German friends, who are now back in Germany, we decided it was high time we took the plunge and find out what was SO great about Voodoo Doughnut. We packed the kids in the car and headed downtown. We found a parking spot in a lot nearby and crossed the street and made our way to the end of the long line that stood before us. Thankfully it was a nice morning and a man was playing some good music on the street corner. After about 1 1/2 we finally arrived hot, tired and had a cranky little girl at this point at the doorway of the longed for donut shop. I joked with the girl standing in line with us that after this long a wait I will be leaving with a dozen donuts not just a couple :-) She told me that she was there earlier in the morning and the line was over twice as long as it was right now. She decided to eat her breakfast and people watch until the line slimmed down before she found her place in line. Apparently there is ALWAYS a long line at this place.
The sign posted on the door said that no credit cards are accepted, just cash. They did however have an ATM conveniently located inside the establishment. When I saw this sign I was thankful that we had cash on us, because we don't use an ATM card and we had a credit card. To think that I would have stood in line for 1 1/2 to be denied the beloved donut would have been beyond irritating.
The inside of Voodoo is quite a sight. With the blaring music, employees yelling out crazy names of donuts and the smell of the donuts had all your senses at their peek. We quickly picked out our donuts from the display case that was twirling about. I felt pressured to make a decision quickly as I knew there were tons of people outside in heat trying to make there way in. We finally paid our bill and headed outside to taste these creative looking donuts.
The family favorite
This was the best apple fritter I have ever had!
I will say that these are amazing donuts! They tasted really good! Would I go and wait in line again to get them, probably not any time soon, but I am glad that we had the experience :-)
This is a post that I put on our other blog over at http://thirtythrupoverty.blogspot.com/ I am posting this URGENT need here as well in hopes that more people might see it. *** It appears that the text below is being cut off because of the layout of the other blog. Please click on the link above for full post. Thank you!
So far this blog has been used to raise awareness of the extreme poverty around the world. As we continue to bring awareness we would also like to provide you with ways that you can make a difference in helping the millions of people who are living in extreme poverty today.
The news clips that are coming from the devastation that is happening in the Horn of Africa is overwhelming and heartbreaking. The sheer number of people that are being affected is staggering. To think that 30,000 children have already died in the last 3 months alone in mind blowing. I agree with the reporter in the above new clip that the headlines of every newspaper and every news clip should speak of the 600,000 children who are on the brink of starvation every single day until there is action to help these children. To think that over 12 million people are starving is hard to even comprehend, yet it is true and it is happening RIGHT NOW!
Living in the Western world we are so far removed from situations like this. It is only when I view these news clips as though it were ME walking those long dusty roads in the heat of the day with no food or water. It is when I picture myself carrying my dying child while my other children struggle to walk out of sheer weakness from lack of food and water. It is when I put myself in the place of the mother who has to decide which child to continue this long journey with and what child to leave behind. It is when I put myself in the place of the mother who has to walk away from their child who just died, knowing there is NOTHING I can do, but continue on in hopes of getting help for my children that survive the journey. When I put myself, my children and my family into the equation that is when stories like these really pierce my heart. It takes an intangible situation and makes it personal! Every one of these people have a name, they belong to a family, etc. If I were in this situation I would hope that somebody would help me.
Stories like these are too much to take. It seems so unfair, so unjust, as Bono says "It is shocking. It is disgusting!" As my heart crumbles and the tears fall it is then that I cry out to God and ask what can I do to help? How can I put action behind the compassion or emotions that I am having? How can I make a difference?
There are several things that I and you can do to help.
1. Pray for the people of Africa. The unimaginable grief that so many people are feeling right now must be crushing. Pray that God would comfort them. Pray that people would step up and help in any way possible to make this insanity stop!
2. At the bottom of this post there is a link to a petition you can sign to call on governments to save the lives of millions in the Horn of Africa.
3. Make a donation. Though there are many organizations out there, we as a family have supported Medical Teams International (MTI) for many years. We can personally testify that they are a top-notch ministry. You can check out their rating on Charity Navigators by following this link http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4070
Right now MTI has medical volunteers and staff hard at work to help those affected by this famine. In a letter I recently received from them they stated that "A generous donor just offered to match all gifts for our east Africa famine relief effort-up to a total of $90,000. With your help, we could quickly send $180,000 in emergency relief to people suffering from the famine - helping more than 36,000 people in the next three months."
An example of how far your American dollar will go in Africa it is stated that
"For $5 you can provide the medicines and care needed by one person. $30 will help us care for a family. $90 will help three families. $150 will help five families."
The above figures are "because our volunteers contribute their time. The medicines and supplies come from hospitals, clinics and generous companies here at home. On the field, we work with trusted local partners who know the needs and the best way to respond."
My husband, a friend, and myself have started a blog to bring awareness to the extreme poverty that is in our world today. In talking with people over the years it seems that when it comes to extreme poverty it is simply too overwhelming to deal with. We seem to be so far removed from it. When we do hear a news clip or a statistic I think it moves us, but perhaps only for that moment. I have also noticed that many people are not aware of just how FAR the AMERICAN dollar will go in a poverty sticken country. Did you know that there are millions of people living on just a $1.25 or less a day? That dollar amount alone can help put things into perspective.
Our hope for this blog is to keep extreme poverty in the forefront of our minds and share ways that you may participate. It both breaks my heart and angers me that MILLIONS of people are dying daily from PREVENTABLE diseases, malnutrition, and lack of food and water. Extreme poverty is also a reason for the millions of orphans in the world, which are very dear to my heart! We pray that God will use this blog for His glory and His people will be moved to action in whatever way God leads.
