Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Moving to a new country can be very difficult in a variety of ways.
For Lisa O’Brien, she sees it as a new experience and journey in her life.
Growing up and attending Yorkville schools and teaching at Plano schools for seven years, O’Brien wasn’t necessarily surrounded by people all of her life.
In college, O’Brien volunteered on mission trips at an orphanage in Mexico which made her fall in love with helping people out.
“Traveling internationally and then visiting some friends in Uganda in 2010 on a mission trip really sparked my interest and got me going with helping people,” O’Brien said.
Fast Forward to today, O’Brien is currently living in Uganda after helping out at the ministry for five weeks on her trip nine years ago, and is trying to accomplish something that has been in the works for four years now.
O’Brien is currently in the process of adopting twin boys, Simon and Solomon, who she has been fostering for those four years.
Some of O’Brien’s friends with small businesses are offering their services and products in ways that will benefit.
With these various projects so far, O’Brien has been able to raise a little more than $12,000.
But, as of right now, she has a really exciting opportunity with an organization called Both Hands.
To complete the adoption and finalize the process, a minimum of $45,000 will be needed to cover all expenses.
Both Hands, a non-profit out of Tennessee, based on the Biblical concept out of James 1:27, of caring for both the orphan and widow, offers a team of people seeking sponsorship to work on a widow’s home for a day.
The team is giving their time, energy and muscle to work on a widow’s home, where the O’Brien family is seeking donations of materials for the work day from local businesses, and their friends and family can sponsor the team by making donations to out adoption expenses.
This opportunity and working on a widow’s home resonated even more with O’Brien because the widow they are working with is her grandmother.
“She turned 100 years old last November, and a few weeks later her husband Leon passed away,” O’Brien said.
Leon was only a few months short of turning 101.
O’Brien’s grandmother, Velma, is still living in her home that has been resided in since the 1950s.
She is also a long-time member of St. Mary’s catholic church, and been involved in the Plainfield and Joliet community throughout her adult life.
As part of the fundraiser, on June 1, a team worked on improving her driveway, fixing up her mailbox and outside lamp, pulling out some dying bushes, cutting down dangerous limbs, weeding and cleaning up flowerbeds, power-washing the siding and sidewalks, and other tasks around her house.
With help from the fundraiser and the continuance of support from her friends and family O’Brien won’t stop until her goal is reached.
For more information on the project, the following link is available to visit. https://vimeo.com/290199282