22 Words

Jon Acuff let me “grill him,” as he put it, about an exciting project he’s undertaking…

Update: The first $30K came in. Now we’re donating towards a second school!

1. Who are you?

I’m Jonathan Acuff. I’m a copywriter in an IT department. I have two daughters and live with my wife outside of Atlanta, GA. And you made me write answers that are 30 words or less.

2. What’s Stuff Christians Like?

Stuff Christians Like is a blog I write and a book coming out from Zondervan. It’s a satire on faith. The goal of it is to clear away the clutter of Christianity so that we can see the beauty of Christ.

3. What’s this big project you’re announcing on your blog?

I’ve partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to raise $30,000 to build a six-room kindergarten in Vietnam. That’s approximately $30,000 more than I’ve ever raised before.

4. Why are you doing this?

My oldest daughter is in kindergarten, our family has supported Samaritan’s Purse for years and I want to be a good steward of the SCL platform while making an impact on the world.

5. Why should people want to join with you?

There are 97 billion verses in the Bible about our need to take care of kids. (Rough estimate.) It’s a chance to be bigger than ourselves. There are fun surprises ahead.

6. Where in Vietnam?

Hoang Then village in the Phong Tho district. Northwest section of Vietnam.

7. What’s it like there?

The village is in a valley. It’s essentially a jungle—think lush forest terrain. The area is considered the highlands of Vietnam and is a poor, mountainous region.

8. How will kids afford to go to school?

It’s free.

9. What will this do for the community?

This will assist more than 200 children at the bottom of the social scale in Vietnam. The educational programming will include things like hygiene, sanitation, and nutrition.

10. Do you know anybody in the community where the school will be built?

I don’t personally know anyone in the area. It was really the age of the kids, with my own oldest daughter being in kindergarten right now, that drew me to this particular project. Samaritan’s Purse Vietnam has contacts in the area, of course.

11. Is there a church (people, not building) in the area?

There are local Christians involved in all aspects of the school, from the life skills training for the kids to the construction.

12. What’s the connection between this school and introducing the Vietnamese to Jesus?

The school is a platform where Vietnamese Christians live out their faith. Samaritan’s Purse Vietnam staff will work with the kindergarten teachers, opening the door to sharing their faith. They provide the ancillary curriculum of hygiene, sanitation, gardening, etc. which helps create a platform to explain “Why we came” to the area.

13. What will the school be like? 1 room? 25 rooms and a gymnasium?

There will be 6 general-use rooms. I’m excited, though, that 22 words has volunteered to build the indoor pool/jai lai court.

14. Why $30K?

The number is built from known factors of previous construction experience in Vietnam and reflects things like the cost of building supplies, transportation, etc. The structures are generally simple block walls, cement floors, and a metal roof.

15. Raising $30K from blog readers? Do you really think you can pull this off?

I do, but I constantly hear the devilish whine of “Who are you to think you can do this?” But God’s pulled off bigger, crazier things with the blog already and this feels like a chance for me to be obedient and trust that God is bigger than $30,000.

16. What organization are you raising the money through?

Samaritan’s Purse has a page we’ve set up to receive donations so all the money will go directly there.

17. How much of the money will go to building the school?

The $30,000 is the targeted need for construction. An additional 10% is needed to offset administration and fundraising costs for the project.

18. What happens to donated money if you don’t raise enough for the school?

The money will be retained in a designated account for school construction in Vietnam. It will be pooled with other funds and used to construct a facility when funds meet the required level. And if we raise more than needed, we’ll build a second kindergarten.

19. Will you keep supporters updated on the project after the money is raised?

Without a doubt. I don’t want this to be a “SWAT team charity project” where you drop in with a bang and drop out. I’m looking for this to be a long term partnership.

20. Are you gonna go do some substitute teaching there?

My wife and I have talked about going to visit the school when it’s completed but that really depends on Samaritan’s Purse. I know Compassion International and World Vision have had great success bringing bloggers abroad to report on issues, and my hope is that we might be able to do something similar.

21. Anything else you want to add that I didn’t ask about?

I guess just that I’m not getting paid for this at all or anything. Samaritan’s Purse didn’t approach me or hire me to do this. This was just something that was on my heart.

22. So, right now, as people finish reading this, what do you want them to do?

I’d love them to donate to the project. Or check out www.stuffchristianslike.net and send me a question about it.

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Alright folks, there you have it: The longest post in 22 Words’ history…and one of the most important. Molly and I have given and we think you should, too.

Thanks!