Today was our Adoption Fundraising Garage Sale. First of all, the date wasn't set on purpose and I just realized it was 4/14.....the verse, Esther 4:14, continues to show up throughout this adoption! Over the past few weeks we have had friends donate items for our sale and today we opened our garage for buyers. We did not price items and just let people know we were adopting and raising funds to bring Esther home from Haiti. We quickly found out that people did NOT like that concept. They wanted prices and wanted to negotiate the prices you gave them. I was VERY fortunate to have 3 friends helping this morning and one that is a particularly good “haggler”! I could not have done this sale without the support and prayers of so many.
Our family is on month three of our 7 month fast against excess and this month we are giving away 7 items a day or 210 items for the month. This garage sale allowed several of the people in our group to bless us and our adoption by donating items. It also forced us to clean out our garage (that we haven’t done since we moved in 2 years ago) and be intentional in the things we needed to give away and stop holding onto. Jen Hatmaker’s book 7 continues to be a blessing and force us to take a close look at how we approach life and “stuff”. It is no coincidence that we are doing this 7 Experiment at the same time we are adopting Esther. God has woven this tapestry together very carefully and what an amazing experience it continues to be.
Here are some highlights from todays sale:
1. An adoptive mom came to the sale after seeing the link on facebook (sent to her by someone I had never met). Her and her husband are moving out of state in a few weeks but they felt compelled to contribute to our adoption so she purchased $3 worth of items for $220! This brought me to tears – AMAZED
2. A lady came and asked me if we were adopting and where we were adopting from. I shared our story and then she told me she had adopted from Guatemala and we instantly had a bond and continued our conversation about how life changing this experience has been for each of us. She made a purchase/donation and bought a cookbook from our orphanage – BLESSED!
3. Another mom that I have had the pleasure meeting recently because of a 147 Million Orphans t-shirt came to the sale to purchase Apparent Project bracelets and some custom necklaces. She is also beginning to work with the homeless youth in our area. She shared with me that she miscarried her 8 ½ week old baby just a couple of days ago but wanted to get out today and make sure I knew she supports our family and Esther – HUMBLED
4. One of the garage sale donors (who happens to be a foster/adopt mom) brought some great donations but along with what she brought for the sale she also felt God calling her to give us a ring. She didn’t know the value of the ring but from the beginning of our adoption process she felt God calling her to donate this ring. She was faithful and handed me this ring (which was my birthstone) and now we will have it appraised and sell it for our fund (let me know if you are in the market for a beautiful amethyst ring)! – GRATEFUL
There are many more stories but those were some of the highlights of my day. All in all we reached a total of $800 (it was $794 but great couple just text me to say they would donate another $6 to make it an even $800). Each of those dollars brings us one step closer to bringing home our little girl!
If you would like to contribute to our adoption fund you can do so by clicking on the Paypal button on the right of this blog or you can purchase items from 147 Million Orphans or order coffee from Just Love Coffee or message me for Apparent Project Bracelets or Rebekah Blocher necklaces!
Eph. 3:20-21 in the Message says, “God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.”
No comments:
Post a Comment