The Affero Blog
An Unlikely Affangelist Throws a Party
By Beau Miller in News
I’d like to tell you about a very special friend of mine named Ziggy. He’s super cool, makes the funniest faces and noises, and the girls think he’s very handsome. I love Ziggy and he loves The Affero Project. Oh, I should probably also mention that Ziggy is only a year old. I haven’t done any scientific research on this, but I would assume that this makes Ziggy our youngest Affangelist. At this stage of my post, I must also warn you not to underestimate the power of a one-year-old boy. If the Super Bowl has taught us anything, it’s taught us this. Just look at those little kids in the E*TRADE commercials – they’re getting stuff done! OK, so Ziggy may not golf yet, but I can tell you that in addition to grabbing faces and laughing, he’s doing some serious ground work for Affero.
Ziggy’s dad, Joshua is one of my closest friends, and his mom, Stacy, is like the older sister I never had. This is code for “she beats me up, makes fun of me, then tells me she loves me and buys me French bread pizzas.” The point is, I love Josh and Stacy a ton and they are family to me. Along with Zig and his beautifully brilliant sister Hannah. But you’ll have to wait for another day to hear about them. This post is about Zig and his awesome, Affero-themed birthday party! Last Saturday a bunch of our friends got together at the park to celebrate Zig’s first birthday. Unfortunately, I was gone shooting a TV commercial, but I heard all about it. All of my friends told me it was epic, and that was expected because, well… Ziggy is epic. There were tons of families hanging out, having a blast and enjoying community. And of course there was prince Ziggy, the master of ceremonies and the guest of honor. And this is where Affero comes in…
When it comes to little kids’ birthday parties, what the heck are you supposed to get them? I mean, come on, how many copies of “The Giving Tree” can a kid possibly need? And if that’s not enough, let’s face it, by age one, a super cool dude like Ziggy probably has every article of clothing in Gymboree’s last ten collections. So, Josh and Stacy, being the revolutionaries they are, decided that instead of getting more stuff for Ziggy, maybe Ziggy could be a catalyst for Affero. Totally awesome! Their invites simply stated that instead of bringing gifts, they’d love it if their guests would take the time to check out Affero and join the movement. It was that simple. They believe in Affero, and knew that Zig’s party would be a great opportunity to share the joy of community giving. And it worked out beautifully. People got the invite and joined Affero, and others left the party committed to going home and doing the same. Others asked questions, some put money for Affero in cards, and Josh even did an interpretive dance with Ziggy about what Affero means to them. This is a lie, but it would have been super funny.
So, that’s the story of Ziggy’s amazing first birthday. Even though he’s just a year old, I will always remember the stories of his party and how a world-changing Affero event centered around a little boy who still spits milk down his shirt and shrieks like a Terradactyl. There is no doubt in my mind that Ziggy is going to be a revolutionary someday, and I am so thankful for Joshua, Stacy and Hannah for the roles they are playing now, and the roles they will continue to play as his life goes on. Let’s face it, Ziggy did the majority of planning and work on the Affero birthday bash, but to his parents and sister, he wanted me to tell you, “thanks for the assist!” Ziggy, you are the man. I love you so much and I am so excited to see how you are going to change the world. As proof of my appreciation, please accept the autographed copy of “The Giving Tree” and the brown and orange Gymboree onsie with puppy dogs on it, that will be delivered to your house sometime today. Until next week my friends, keep on living…
Peace,
Beau
A Random Call and Real Life Glee
By Beau Miller in News
So tonight I decided to do my weekly blog post a little differently. For the past few weeks I’ve profiled members of the Affero community that I know. People that I’ve had the chance to hang out with, do life with or even just enjoy dinner with. Well, fortunately for you and all of Affero’s partner organizations, The Affero Project isn’t just made up of my personal friends, but instead a diverse group of people all across the world. This is one thing that I find really attractive about Affero, and based on my semi-random call to Affero member Micah, he does too.
When I was scrolling through Affero’s member list, I intended to pick someone at random, give them a call and hopefully convince them very quickly that I wasn’t a telemarketer. Well, the randomness of my selection went down the drain when the name Micah caught my eye. I gave him a call and he was kind enough to chat with me about his life, his heart and his involvement with Affero. He’s a cool dude, and I’m excited to share a little of his story with all of you. Here are a few pieces of our conversation from last night…
Beau: Hi Micah, this is Beau Miller calling from The Affero Project. I saw your name on our member list and thought you’d be a great person to interview for my weekly blog post. Do you have a few minutes to chat?
Micah: Are you a telemarketer…I’m trying to eat dinner! Bye. (Just kidding. He said he’d love to talk.)
Beau: Great, so where are you from? What are you up to these days?
Micah: Well, I am from western Kentucky. I’m 20-years-old and I’m a math education major at Murray State.
Beau: Math education. Cool. So you must be excited about the education category winning the first month of The Affero Project! All of the money in the pot got sent to the Doulos Discovery School in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic…
Micah: Yeah. That’s really cool! Glad I could be a part of it.
Beau: I too am glad that you were and are a part of what Affero is doing each month. By the way, how did you find out about The Affero Project?
Micah: Well, I met Lucas (Affero’s co-founder) at Beach Reach in Florida over spring break (http://threadsmedia.com/beachreach/). He was leading worship and then shared about Affero. Myself and a few of my friends from Murray State really liked it and decided to join.
Beau: Awesome. So tell me what it is that attracted you to Affero. What do you like best about it?
Micah: Well, as a young Christian man, I really love the idea that I can worship and serve alongside other people all across the world. In addition to friends, family and people at my church, I can join a global group united behind a common goal and purpose. And we can impact the world in great and different ways each month. I’ve been stuck on the bible verse about always giving…shirt…food…whatever is needed. So I knew this is something I wanted to do each month.
Beau: Wow! Perfect answer. I’m going to have to pay you for answers like that.
Micah: Wire transfer is fine. (Just kidding, I made this part up too.)
Beau: This is really cool Micah. I am really glad I got to connect with you.
Micah: Yeah, I’m glad you called. This has been fun.
Beau: Well, before we finish up, tell me a little more about yourself. Plans for the future, dreams, passions…anything crazy?
Micah: Like I said, I am studying math education. I’ve got a heart for working in inner city schools as a teacher or an administrator someday. We’ll see what happens. I’m working as a math tutor now. Oh, and I love sports. Huge Kentucky basketball fan. I love football as well. Played in high school.
Beau: I too love and played football. Glad we’ve got that in common. So, anything crazy about yourself that you don’t mind others knowing?
Micah: Speaking of football, I was the captain of our team my senior year, and also had the lead role in the school musical. A little Glee action. Crazy enough?
Beau: Very cool. You’re a talented guy. Any last thoughts? Want to give a shout out to any friends or family?
Micah: My brother just graduated from seminary and is starting his ministry. My sister is a missionary and journalist in a foreign country. So if you could pray for them, that’d be cool.
Beau: We certainly will. I can now see that you come from a family of people committed to serving others. Love it. I think this is a great place to finish Micah. Thanks so much for being a part of the Affero community. It means a lot to all of us, and your willingness to serve is helping people all across the globe.
Micah: You’re very welcome. It was great talking to you.
Beau: Oh, and before you go Micah…can I ask you one more question?
Micah: Sure.
Beau: Want to buy a set of steak knifes? I’ll give you a great deal. (I didn’t make this up. Hey, can’t blame a guy for trying to make a few bucks!)
So that’s it for today my friends. Micah, we are so glad to have you on board, and we look forward to running this race alongside you.
Peace,
Beau