About the Project:
"My Heart's Garden" children's picture book has been translated into Ukrainian and will be sent to Poland and given to children fleeing the war through my church's NGO, Acts of Mercy.
We are raising funds to cover the cost of printing the books and paying for the graphic design work on this project.
Cost Breakdown:
$5 covers the cost of printing and sending one book.
$350-$400 for the Graphic Designer
Goal is to print 300 books x $5 a book = $1500
$100 for any extra unexpected expenses (or to print more books!)
Any additional funds will go towards more copies being printed and distributed. If no more copies need to be printed, the money will go towards future language translation projects for the book.
About the Book:
Bullies’ lies choke the seeds of Zion’s identity until Granny introduces him to Father Gardener, who teaches him to replace the weeds of lies with seeds of truth so his heart’s garden can thrive. The perfect book for children struggling with anxiety, insecurity, grief and fear.
Children and adults alike will be inspired to grow deeper in their relationship with God, get rid of the enemies lies and uncover the truth about who God says they are made to be.
The book was written to be a helpful resource to teach kids how lies from the enemy can easily enter into our minds when we go through a trauma and to empower kids to overcome these lies with the Truth of God's Word and voice.
The author has worked closely with two child therapists to develop age and situationally appropriate debriefing questions for the end of this story. These questions are designed to help children begin to share and process their feelings, while giving them hope that they have a perfect Father God who is with them in their journey of healing from grief and trauma. There will also be space after the questions for children to journal or draw their feelings.
Background:
In 2020, God told the author of "My Heart's Garden," Charity Rios, to self publish her children's picture book so that she would have the freedom to translate and distribute the book into additional languages.
Since the books release in 2021, Charity has been waiting for the Lord to show her when to begin translating the book and which language should be the first. One night at the beginning of the Ukrainian/Russian war Charity couldn't sleep and was praying for a team of people who were in Poland serving the Ukrainian refugees. God gave her the idea to translate "My Heart's Garden" into Ukraine and to be sent with first responder teams as a way to share the love, hope and healing we have in Christ.
The next morning God gave her further confirmation of this idea when she realized the main flower illustrated in the story was a sunflower. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine and they are also the largest exporter of sunflower oil. God is in the details and God deeply loves the children of Ukraine.
The author is NOT making any profit from the printing and distributing of the books. All funds raised will go towards the formatting, printing and distribution of "My Heart's Garden" to Ukrainian families. Any additional funds raised above and beyond will go towards more books being printed or future language translation projects.
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Thank you so much for your support of this project!
