Advent for Alissa
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Friends,
As many of you will know, Alissa Oleson is an amazing child of God, a compassionate servant of God, a stellar young Lutheran seminarian, a dedicated friend, a beloved sister and daughter, and an all-around awesome human being. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma this past summer, just as she was about to go off on her seminary internship.
She's been fighting a great fight against this disease. (See Alissa's CaringBridge site !)By now, the cancer is disappearing quickly, and hopefully Alissa will be able to resume her normal life at the beginning of next year.
There's only one problem: In the course of fighting this disease, Alissa has had to dig deep into her pocket and take on more debt to cover the medical expenses. This is on top of all the student debt she has already had to accrue during four years of seminary. For someone who is probably not going to have a big salary as a pastor, that's a lot of debt!
Here's the deal: Alissa is too selfless and humble to ask for help with her debt. But what if we could all rally this Advent season and give her the best Christmas and birthday (Dec 31!) present ever to send her on her way after finishing chemo?
So, let's do this thing, pool our resources, spread the word far and wide and raise $5,000 for Alissa!
Why 5,000? Well, really, we're aiming for as much as possible. $5,000 will certainly not cover all of Alissa's expenses and debt. But $5,000 is the maximum out-of-pocket expense per year in our seminary insurance. She's already hit that number once over the summer and has probably reached the limit again since she was re-enrolled in September. Not to mention all of the other random expenses, tuition, and the fact that she cannot work while doing chemo. So, really, $5,000 won't eliminate Alissa's debt, but it would make a good dent in it!
I know that this is an ambitious amount, but I also know that people can do amazing things when they act together. So, let's do this thing!
Thanks so much to everyone who's pitching in.
Love,
Robin Lutjohann (Alissa's godson)
P.S.: Check out the Advent calendar blog I'm writing this season as a commentary and devotional on Alissa's favorite psalm and as a way to raise awareness about this cause.
As many of you will know, Alissa Oleson is an amazing child of God, a compassionate servant of God, a stellar young Lutheran seminarian, a dedicated friend, a beloved sister and daughter, and an all-around awesome human being. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma this past summer, just as she was about to go off on her seminary internship.
She's been fighting a great fight against this disease. (See Alissa's CaringBridge site !)By now, the cancer is disappearing quickly, and hopefully Alissa will be able to resume her normal life at the beginning of next year.
There's only one problem: In the course of fighting this disease, Alissa has had to dig deep into her pocket and take on more debt to cover the medical expenses. This is on top of all the student debt she has already had to accrue during four years of seminary. For someone who is probably not going to have a big salary as a pastor, that's a lot of debt!
Here's the deal: Alissa is too selfless and humble to ask for help with her debt. But what if we could all rally this Advent season and give her the best Christmas and birthday (Dec 31!) present ever to send her on her way after finishing chemo?
So, let's do this thing, pool our resources, spread the word far and wide and raise $5,000 for Alissa!
Why 5,000? Well, really, we're aiming for as much as possible. $5,000 will certainly not cover all of Alissa's expenses and debt. But $5,000 is the maximum out-of-pocket expense per year in our seminary insurance. She's already hit that number once over the summer and has probably reached the limit again since she was re-enrolled in September. Not to mention all of the other random expenses, tuition, and the fact that she cannot work while doing chemo. So, really, $5,000 won't eliminate Alissa's debt, but it would make a good dent in it!
I know that this is an ambitious amount, but I also know that people can do amazing things when they act together. So, let's do this thing!
Thanks so much to everyone who's pitching in.
Love,
Robin Lutjohann (Alissa's godson)
P.S.: Check out the Advent calendar blog I'm writing this season as a commentary and devotional on Alissa's favorite psalm and as a way to raise awareness about this cause.
Organizer
Robin Lutjohann
Organizer
Littleton, CO