When you’re attending a Blood:Water house concert featuring Jars of Clay you may not expect to hear Jimmy Buffett acoustic renditions coming from the stage right off the bat, but that’s exactly how the evening started in Holland, Mich.

Last Thursday, some of our long-time friends and donors, Jane and Kevin Clark, Linda and Dan Dykert, and Carin and Kevin Arvidson hosted a special Blood:Water House Concert event at a novel, lake-side venue, The Yacht Basin.

Friends of Blood:Water host House Concerts in their communities to help raise money to bring clean water or HIV/AIDS care to Africa. Jars of Clay, Drew Holcomb, and David Nail are just a few of the artists that have performed at our house concerts.

As last week’s evening began, I laughed with the one of the hosts, Linda Dykert, when guests started flowing in right on time! I told Linda that this certainly was not a “Nashville party” where everyone arrives casually 15 minutes late. She laughed and said Holland folk tend to be early. Once we had mingled and enjoyed some drinks and hors d’oeuvres, the hosts invited guests to take a seat, and our program and concert began.

Dan Haseltine, lead singer of Jars and co-founder, gave a moving guided imagery of what it might look like to live in the cycle of poverty, and then invited guests to help us raise $30,000 in just one night for clean water in Africa. We were amazed and grateful when Holland raised $36,000 for communities in Africa.

We left with full hearts and encouraged spirits by the people of Holland, many of whom have walked with us in this story from the humble beginnings in 2004 and faithfully support our efforts towards ending the water and HIV/AIDS crises in our time.

Nothing says family to Blood:Water like a community like Holland. So, thank you, friends in Holland. You truly are family to us, and we are humbled by your loyalty, generosity and faith in what God is doing through Blood:Water.

House Concerts are just one way Blood:Water engages communities in the U.S. Please let me know if you’re ever interested in hosting one in your neck of the woods! You can just email me at [email protected].