Several months ago, my friend Andrea, who is an amazing artist, offered to help us raise money by doing a canvas painting party and donating all the proceeds to us. What a fun idea!!! My sweet friend Carol, offered to have the party at her church so we would be inviting girls who have not been invited to the other dozen or so fundraisers we've had. What a brilliant idea :) You may remember, this is the fundraiser that we postponed back in April due to the devastating tornados. A few families from Carol's church were left homeless as a result of the storms and we felt like their primary focus should be on those families.
We decided to wait until a better time and last Friday night proved to be the perfect night for our fellowship. I was able to share with the ladies about our adoption testimony, which I had planned to do the first time. But, now I was also able to share with them about the launch of our non-profit called, Altar 84. In addition to sharing our vision as a ministry, I was also able to encourage them to attend our Know More Orphans Conference in March. It was such a blessing to see the excitement in these girls eyes and be able to share our desire to see "the church" link arms for the sake of the orphan.
Had we had this fundraiser back in April...... I would not have been prepared to share any of that. Just reminds me how God's timing is ALWAYS perfect. BTW, to find out more about Altar 84 and the conference keep reading!
Here's a few pics from our painting party.....
Me, my sweet momma, and Maggie had so much fun, painting these Christmas wreaths.
The painting party came and went, and we were on to the next fundraiser. Only this time, it was not for Esther. It was for her little Asian friend, Gia!
Our friends, Kevin and Malerie are in the process of adopting a little girl from South Korea. A month or so ago, Maggie told me she wanted to do a bake sale to raise money for them. We've never done this before, so I called a local church that was having a craft show and then called all my friends to help. My idea of baking is making those cookies in the box with a snowman already stamped on them. Baking is not my specialty. Fortunately, many of my friends are culinary pros. Maggie and I baked some cupcakes and cookies to add to the yummy goodies and here's what we had.....
We had more stuff delivered to the bake sale including 3 cakes, a couple dozen brownies and lots of cookies. Maggie has started a ministry called, Children of God, and here she is at her very first fundraiser.
This sweet girl worked her booth for 12 hours Friday and 5 hours today. If a person even slowed down at her table, she was quick to tell them that if they purchased any of her goodies, they would be helping our friends get their baby girl home. All while directing their attention to this picture on my ipad.
Who in the world could say "no" to that?!!!..... Kevin and Malerie, holding a picture of their beautiful daughter. Maggie sold lots of stuff and she can not wait to hand the money to them in the morning at church.
To all of my amazing friends that helped make this happen for Maggie (and ultimately for Gia :), thank you so much. As I said to a couple of my friends earlier today, by "linking arms" we can bring these babies home.
What a blessing it is to get to be a part of Gia's story. Lot's of friends are waiting for you, sweet girl!
Last of all, it's time for the Big REVEAL!!!! We are so excited about the launch of our website for Altar 84 and the Know More Orphans Conference. Keep in mind, it's brand new and we've got more details to be added, but please take a look at both sites and feel free to email me if you have questions or you are interested in learning more about our ministry or conference. This has been like our baby that we, along with our friends, Jodie and Eric, have been preparing to birth for months. We feel like we are sorta in labor now. Literally, some days.... but God has been so faithful to provide a team of people who love orphans and are way more intelligent than us. We could have never gotten this far with out so many wonderful people coming alongside us in this effort. God has brought us to tears many times with His gracious provisions. Thank you Jesus for this journey!
Once again, I am honored and humbled to call you my friend and sister...you, and now sweet Maggie, never cease to inpsire me. You SHINE Jesus, and there is nothing that compares to His radiance!
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