p profile A Sacrifice That Brought Joy Most 7-year-old girls ask for dolls or Barbies for their birthday, but not Briley Taylor. All she wanted was money—or rather, donations. NAME: GFA FRIEND Briley Taylor L O C AT I O N : GFA Stock Photo Texas USA “Almost every day she wants to give somebody something, and it doesn’t matter what it is—even if it’s her favorite toy, she will give it away.” —Allison, Briley’s mom 22 | send! | www.gfa.org S he and her family members sat on the floor of their living room after coming home from the local skating rink to celebrate her birthday. Money lay spread out before them. They counted it with excitement, knowing that the money given would go to something greater than just toys. It was their plan to have friends bring donations for Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope centers to Briley’s birthday party. Briley knew she would be sacrificing plenty of fun gifts, but she also knew that the funds she received would help children her age who were in desperate need. “It was a little bit hard,” she remembers. “But we do have a lot of stuff in our playroom, and there’s stuff that we don’t really use.” Allison, Briley’s mother, describes her youngest daughter as having no selfish bone in her body, quick to give away something special without a second thought. “Almost every day she wants to give somebody something,” Allison says, “and it doesn’t matter what it is—even if it’s her favorite toy, she will give it away.” It was this carefree generosity that prompted Briley’s older sister, Berkeley, and the girls’ missions group at church to give further to GFA. The girls also had the opportunity to tour GFA’s home office near Dallas. They saw photos and heard stories of lives that were changed because of the ministry. “That was one of the best things that we could’ve done,” Allison states. And one girl’s parents later told Allison that their daughter now understands what the Great Commission is all about. Even Berkeley’s heart was changed after seeing how gracious her younger sister was. Every birthday, their parents always gave the option of donating money instead of receiving gifts, but each year Berkeley chose the gifts—until her eyes were opened to the power of giving. “I kind of felt like, ‘Wow! I can’t believe she did that,’ ” Berkeley remembers. “Now that Briley has done it, I know I can do it to help others.” Briley knew that her sacrifice would help bring joy into a child’s life—and her own as well. “It made me happy,” she says. Visit www.gfa.org/bridgeofhope to learn more about Bridge of Hope, GFA’s children’s outreach program.