"Do you want something from these baked goods?"
"I don't have any money, just this penny in my pocket. That won't help bring Peter home will it?"
"Yes, I think it will be very helpful in bringing Peter home."
"Really? Here's my penny then. I would like a bag of cookies please."Before the little guy walked away with the bag of cookies I thanked him for being a real super hero to our son and how excited I was to tell Peter all about him and his penny. He stopped and looked in my eyes and I saw tears there. He then said how he wanted to do that for more orphans and thanked me and went on his way. A little time later, a whole lot of pennies, nickles and dimes came our way from many other children attending that day. I told them all the same things. They all smiled. We raised $85 dollars in 45 minutes that day, not just with coins but God was showing me something again.
(Back Story 1) By July 2010, we had exhausted our cash paying up front adoption costs. $900 dollars loomed up ahead for Immigration costs. We had emailed and then called a family member who had, in the past, been generous to us. We were met with silence. What we learned from Financial Peace University was ringing in our ears so we didn't re-mortgage the house AGAIN! Fundraising wasn't even on the radar screen. But God. . .
Our church family came through for us and we were able to come up with the $900 we needed to get the ball rolling with Immigration. We also found out that grants and loans would not be available to us until after a completed home study and matching approval from the country. BCS (Bethany Christian Services) told us that we also needed to pay their costs by a certain date which was over $6,000. God, what are we going to do?
God answered that prayer in an email sent to us from our SW (Social Worker). It had lists of ideas for fundraising. I have to tell you, that was not the answer we were looking for. As I mentioned in an earlier post, God was using this adoption process to expose the idol of ease and comfort and boy did this turn of events make us cry out! YIKES!!! Not fundraising!
We opened the email and carefully read each listing and as we did, God, in His great kindness, began to show us which ones to do. God gave us creative names for each event, people to help and people to participate. He warned us not to look down on the "widow's mite" but to look up and see the bigger picture. God was doing something more than just bringing home our little boy! He was stirring a people and making them aware that millions of children are out in this world that need a home. Probably more than we will ever know about. We were jazzed and excited! So enter the world of fund raising.
This is probably not news to most of you, but many times, you plan and inform and remind. You go to bed late, wake early and pray really hard for each event. Because God was putting to death our idol of ease and comfort, no event ever made as much as we thought. Sometimes it was downright discouraging and we found ourselves crying out to God, "Where will the rest of the money come from?" God just reminded us, that He was doing a bigger work and to keep making the effort and not to despise the widow's mite.
(Back Story 2) Shortly after we looked into the list of fundraisers sent to us by our SW, we picked one and planned for it. We set some goals and sent them back to BCS to let them know that we were in the process of raising the money needed to satisfy their costs. We thought for sure that until we raised the entire amount, our case would be put on hold and that burdened our hearts. But God. . .Soon after we sent the email with an outline of how we were going to raise the money, BCS came back to us and offered to let us make payments each month, specified by them, and the final amount due before the end of the year. This way our paperwork process would not be stopped as we found ways to raise the money. Awesome God!
God began to show us the bigger picture through each fundraiser. Our first series of fundraisers were called "Date Nights for Dollars" where parents dropped off their kids for a four hour period to go on a date and we played with and fed their kids. Each time we were able to tell the children the gospel reason why we were adopting and how they were helping bring home Peter. All during these times we had at least one or two of the kids ask us in private about Peter and to explain more about how they were helping. Many times when the parents came back to collect the children we would have conversations about the process and share what God had been showing us. We often heard how much of a burden was being put on their hearts to adopt as well.
(Back Story 3) At the end of August's and September's fund raisers we came up short for the payment to BCS. Our daughters came to us and told us that they wanted to make up the difference out of their own money that was being saved for a car or college. We refused, at first, but they insisted. They said,
"What good is this money doing sitting in the bank when our brother is in an orphanage needing to come home! Sorry Dad and Mom, God told us to do it and we will obey!"
October went the same way. We were very short that month and dear friends called and told us that they knew why they had been saving some money all this time. It was to bring our Peter home. It was the exact amount we were short.
We had a professional photographer taking photos for us giving a portion of her earnings to us. We never expected the amount she gave us. One of our church families told us about Just Love Coffee and encouraged us strongly to check it out. (We are big coffee drinkers and she knew we would identify with it!) Finally, in November we had planned our most extensive fundraiser. We planned to have a Yard Sale/Bake Sale the Saturday after the Thanksgiving holiday. We advertised, asked for items to be donated, canvased neighborhoods with flyers. Our doubts were loudly ringing in our ears. But God wasn't done weaving the tapestry of our adoption story yet. He had a few more threads to add.
(Back Story 4) I saw the holidays fast approaching and I just wanted to have a breather for Christmas. We had already decided that Peter was our families Christmas gift this year so that made Christmas a bit easier. So I asked the only One who could give us a break if He would bless our yard sale/bake sale so that we might be able to spend the month of December celebrating Jesus' birth. God loves to powerfully answer our prayers.
The Yard Sale was a huge success. We made enough with the proceeds of the Yard Sale/Bake Sale in combination with eBay sales and personal donations to pay off the remaining balance to BCS with $500 towards the Country costs. It was exactly the amount God had promised we would make. We didn't price things outrageously either. It became clear to us how important it was that everyone no matter how much they had or didn't have would be able to participate in Peter's homecoming. It was in the midst of celebrating our Lord's birthday that we began to say,
"Peter will be brought home with pennies, nickles and dimes."That inspired the next fund raiser using Chinese food containers with Peter's pictures on them. Matching approval came at the end of January and so did a grant from BCS's Caring Connections. In February we sent over 50 Chinese food containers home with families from our church and told them we would collect them at the end of the month. It was amazing how much was collected at the end of February. Again, everyone from the oldest in our church to the youngest participated. They could all own that they helped to bring Peter home.
More and more rumblings of thoughts about adoption came our way from other folks. God was doing something bigger than just bringing home our little man! He was cultivating a heart for adoption in our church family. One way or another, people were touched and if it wasn't for working together doing fund raising, with us/for us, perhaps people wouldn't have gotten a front row seat to the process. Perhaps people never would've entertained the possibilities of adopting themselves. I don't know for sure! It's all too big for me to figure. I just know the One who does know!
We still have more to raise and we are looking forward to all the new lives we will come in contact with. God will do it and I am looking forward to being amazed yet again how He can take pennies, nickles and dimes to redeem a little orphan, to knit an already close knit church family closer, and stir people to give other little ones a forever home.
Fund Raisers:
Date Nights for Dollars: watching children while parents go out on dates
Portraits for Peter: photographer donating a portion of proceeds to adoption
2 Yard Sales: donated items, reasonably priced, local paper advertisement, door to door leaflets
2 Bake Sales: donated baked goods sold resonably
Just Love Coffee: on-line coffee shop donates $5 each coffee purchase
Christmas Concert: annual Poinsettia show @ Glick's Greenhouse
Donation tin Can: each event we had a tin can just for donations
Chinese Food Containers: pennies, nickles and dimes! Chinese because Peter is from Hong Kong
We want to thank our beautiful daughters for all the ways they have supported bringing their brothers home. Christ Community Church, you are the very best of all the people we could call family. No one can feel like an orphan very long with you in the picture. CB you are the very best brother Thom and I have ever known. Your Pastoral care is precious to us. Thank you for all of your help, love and prayers. We are so excited to bring Peter home to meet you all.
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