Sunday, June 7, 2015

A Night in Ethiopia SUCCESS!

6 days ago, we had our largest fundraiser yet. I wish I could say this all makes sense and that I understand the way the Lord provides. Even more so, I wish I could say I always believe the Lord will provide.

We've never been unable to pay an adoption fee. If you know and understand some of these fee amounts, you know that this is miraculous in and of itself.

With all that being said, we've spent the last week in shock at the way the Lord provides!!

Our day started EARLY EARLY EARLY with icing and bagging Africa shaped cookies! From there, the decorations at The Barn at Snider Farms began. Within 5 minutes of walking into the Barn, my husband FaceTimed me. Since he had been sick the previous 24 hours and had gone to the doctor that morning to get a shot, I assumed he would be calling me from the bed saying he wasn't going to work. BUT... of course, God knew that I needed a reminder that He provides more than we could ask or imagine. So... the call began with a picture of a check. Unknown to the ones who wrote this overly generous check, it was EXACTLY the amount of our next fee...for our referral!!! At that point, I knew that all the doubt and fear I had experienced over the prior 6 weeks were straight from Satan. God had this night in His control and would provide MORE than we could ask or imagine!!

So... the day went on and thanks to my parents, my sister and my precious friends Miriam and Melody, we had such a fun day prepping knowing that God was in control.

Ok.. get ready for picture overload. The evening was beautiful....




Well... there's the night in pictures. It couldn't have been more perfect. It was SUCH a special night spent with special friends and we even got to meet a few new friends!!

Now... you've all been waiting..... Drumroll please............. Over the course of the day and night, we raised a total of MORE THAN

$7,600!!!!!!!

If you understood the amount of time we've spent over the past 2 years trying to figure out how in the world we would save/raise the funds to bring our child home and how many small fundraisers we have had, you would know that this amount was only provided because of God!! 

You see, there's one thing that our family understands. Not a single person has to donate a single dollar to our adoption. No one is required to give us anything. Every time a new donation comes in or every time we complete a fundraiser, I'm just blown away at how generous people are. Seriously!! God has done so much refining in me on this journey. I never knew my heart was filled with so much fear and doubt. He has slowly {and it's STILL a work in progress} chiseled away at the fear, doubt and pride that has filled my heart and replaced them with a content heart knowing that I am not in control of any of this!

So... In my book, A Night in Ethiopia was a success!! There are A LOT of people that made this night possible!! My parents, my mother in law, my sister, Mark and Melody Benton, Miriam Parrish, Karl and Angela Snider, Bryan and Bethany Welborn, Rheagan Lovelace... We are more than grateful for all your work to make our fundraiser possible! AND... to all our donors, we can't tell you how you have blessed us! God has been so faithful and used each of you in beautiful ways! 


{Exhausted from the past week Frozen Yogurt trip with the Grandparents! Excuse the fact that Noah is picking his nose!}

No comments:

Post a Comment