So about 4 weeks ago Barry (our pastor) walked up to me on a Sunday morning & said "hey, I have a crazy idea...what do you think?" Little did I know what the next four weeks would have in store for our church...all because of a crazy idea.
The idea was for the people of our church to gather items from our homes that we didn't need anymore, but that someone else would be happy to get & or give. Barry had a vision of the parking lot being full of tables and cars with items spread out yard sale style. We give it all away and go home. Easy in, easy out...
That was the idea BEFORE the women & my gung-ho husband got involved....what it turned into was an amazing event that can only be described as a loaves and fishes experience.
About Tuesday I was getting stressed. I knew we didn't have nearly enough items to meet the need we were expecting. The weather was super cold and didn't lend itself to any kind of outdoor activity....you know what....let me skip the bummer stuff and move on the the amazing stuff!
On Wednesday Bran decided to start calling local businesses to see if any of them would want to donate items....in just a few hours he had commitments for about a $1000 worth of gift cards and free stuff. Add the money given to buy new toys AND all the new toys the Farmington Police donated and we had A LOT of new toys and gifts to give away.
Not much to see here when it comes to "stuff", but it does give you an idea of the amount of people we ministered to today.
Patric and Sean got 5 computer systems ready for the give away. Bran told me that when they gave the first computer away, there was a woman standing very close to them with such a hopeful look on her face. When they actually called her name, the people around her thought she was going to faint. She told me later that she has been out of work for 5 months and couldn't afford even one gift for her sons birthday last month. She said he has never complained once about having to do without & she was the most proud mom in the entire world. She wanted so much to take the computer home and surprise her son at Christmas, but she just didn't know if she could keep the smile off her face well enough to keep the secret.
Patric and Sean got 5 computer systems ready for the give away. Bran told me that when they gave the first computer away, there was a woman standing very close to them with such a hopeful look on her face. When they actually called her name, the people around her thought she was going to faint. She told me later that she has been out of work for 5 months and couldn't afford even one gift for her sons birthday last month. She said he has never complained once about having to do without & she was the most proud mom in the entire world. She wanted so much to take the computer home and surprise her son at Christmas, but she just didn't know if she could keep the smile off her face well enough to keep the secret. Here's one of my most favorite helpers! Even with a sore throat he was a trooper.
Another shot of the shoppers. FYI - They "shopped" with tickets we provided based on the number of people in the family. Pretty much all the items were one ticket. Only the really big stuff were 2 or 3 tickets.
This picture really needs no words...
Me and my sweetie punkin pie.
It may not be a Christmas surprise, but she was sure proud of it.
As you can see here, we did our best to make sure no one left empty handed.
We even had gift wrapping. Parents could have any child's gift wrapped & kids could have their gift for mom and dad wrapped too.
Bran and Barry (and Cade) give away some of the door prizes.
Channel 5 made it to do a spot for the news. As a matter of fact, we just watched it.
What an amazing amazing day it was. We ministered to over 12o families (about 350 people). The members of our church (and community) are some of the most awesome people I know. Only 364 days till we do it again!
Another shot of the shoppers. FYI - They "shopped" with tickets we provided based on the number of people in the family. Pretty much all the items were one ticket. Only the really big stuff were 2 or 3 tickets.
This picture really needs no words...
Me and my sweetie punkin pie.
It may not be a Christmas surprise, but she was sure proud of it.
As you can see here, we did our best to make sure no one left empty handed.
We even had gift wrapping. Parents could have any child's gift wrapped & kids could have their gift for mom and dad wrapped too.
Bran and Barry (and Cade) give away some of the door prizes.
Channel 5 made it to do a spot for the news. As a matter of fact, we just watched it.
What an amazing amazing day it was. We ministered to over 12o families (about 350 people). The members of our church (and community) are some of the most awesome people I know. Only 364 days till we do it again!
Looks like that was such a huge blessing to those families! What a neat idea!
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing how the giveaway was such a success! I am sad that I didn't participate! I gave away all my stuff about a month ago to salvation army... I'll start saving up for next year! That is so cool!
ReplyDeleteLOVE that pic of Emily!
I came to your give away and it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI"m so glad it was a big success! I sent some stuff with my mom when they came at Thanksgiving. I wish I'd had time to clear out even more. They hadn't told me how it went. The woman with the computer made me cry. What a wonderful blessing for everyone involved. I love your church!
ReplyDelete