At the beginning of this adoption, fundraising, in my mind, was out of the question. Brock and I talked about it, and I really didn’t feel like asking people for money was the right thing to do. I felt like God was calling us to adopt, and it would be unfair for us to ask others to give. After reading Adopted for Life, I came to the realization that my own sinful pride was about to rob our friends, family and community of a blessing and amazing opportunity to become involved in this extraordinary experience. Besides, there are so many cool ways to raise money without sticking your hand out.
When it comes to
raising funds, one should always start within his/her own home. Let me tell you how God can take a true
disorder, and use it for it His purpose.
My husband has a real problem with always wanting to buy, sell, trade,
or whatever to make a buck. It gets on
my nerves so bad because I never know what he’s up to. However, he has been
able to make a good chunk of cash by selling things out of our closet and
garage that we don’t even use. It’s cool
because the stuff is being used by people who actually need it and can use it. Brock sold two guns that I didn’t even know he
had and made a thousand dollars. We have
been able to put several dollars in our adoption account from the sale of his
“junk”. Although I often complain, and really feel like he has a disorder, I am
thankful that my husband is an extraordinary salesman. He loves to buy and sell and buy and sell and
buy and sell. Honestly, it gets on my
nerves. However, I can’t complain now
that I am seeing what God can do with it.
And as long as he’s selling his stuff, who cares, right? Well, then he sold my Jeep!
I have to be
honest. I was devastated when the Jeep
left the garage on its way to Texas. I
get attached to my things. I know it was
the right thing to do, but I really loved that Jeep. The idea was that we should downsize and get
a two door Jeep or a small car for me to drive back and forth to work. That way we could use the extra money to put
in our adoption fund or to upgrade the family vehicle (mini-van). We went to look at several two door Wranglers this
past weekend, and we came home with a Mustang convertible. Now, it doesn’t seem like such a
sacrifice. I feel like giving God a high
five on this one, although I am well aware that He probably doesn’t care one
bit what I drive to work each day. However,
I do think He had a part in helping us find a car for sale that was about three
thousand dollars below value. The trade
allowed us to put seven thousand dollars in the adoption fund, and I have a
cool car to drive to work. That’s a WIN
for me. That kind of fundraising makes
sense! I just hope I can keep Brock from selling it out from under me.
Another
fundraising opportunity came our way by chance, or rather by divine
intervention. One of my students gave me
a bracelet for Christmas, and I thought it was one of the neatest and most
thoughtful gifts that I have ever received.
The bracelet came with some information attached about the Haitian lady
who made it. I thought it would be cool
to buy some to give to people for things like birthdays and such. That’s when we found the Apparent Project,
which is an organization that is designed to help Haitian men and women work to
support their families. They use
recycled paper products to make unique paper beads for beautiful, one of a kind
jewelry. The orphanages in Haiti are
full, and this organization is one of the few groups trying to attack the
problem from both ends. They help
Haitian families by giving them a means to support themselves and their
children while helping families like us adopt those who end up in the
orphanages. Now that’s fundraising that
makes sense!
I have been completely
overwhelmed by the love and support from family, friends, and complete strangers. We have sold about 250 bracelets in less than
a week. We are so thankful for those
around us who have bought bracelets, helped spread the word, and have
volunteered to sell them for us. The Apparent Project motto is “Making the
Needs of Haiti Apparent”, and that’s just what this bracelet fundraiser has
done, and I am blessed to have experienced it.
God will
provide. I have had faith in those words
since we began this journey, and I continue to believe. Selfishly, I had reservations about beginning
this adventure because I did not want to give up anything. I didn’t want to do without or make sacrifices. Selfishly, I didn’t want to change my
lifestyle or have to say “no” to my kids, even though they need to experience that way more than they do. I have changed, grown, matured,
whatever you want to call it, but I am not the same person that I was a year
ago. God has changed my heart in so many
ways. He has pushed me out of my little
box, and I can’t wait for what’s next.
Please continue
to pray for us. Pray for Kynady and
Elijah. Pray that they will be prepared
to welcome their little brother or sister into our home. I haven’t talked much about them, but their lives
are about to change too. Pray that our
paperwork will be pushed through quickly, and we’ll hear something soon. We do know that our child is at BRESMA, an
orphanage in Port Au Prince that houses forty children. Pray specifically for that place, our little
one, the other children, and their caregivers.
May God bless you and thank you for your love, prayers, support, and
encouragement.
