In April, it looked like Nov. 2012 would be the date to go back to Ethiopia to see all the children at Kechene and continue work to link sponsors with their sponsor child. However, since then, I have had clear direction that June 2013 is better timing for Caleb.
Since then, I had planned a garage sale to raise part of our enormous goal of $6000 so I set a lofty goal of $1000! In our small town, this is not very realistic. Most garage sales earn about $300 for a good sale. The heat last week was intense and it looked to be a very far reach.
I started to ask for donations for the sale from friends and family back in early June. I have a friend who has been very motivated to clean out their basement and she said this was the event she needed to get the job done. When the week came, last week, to start collecting the items, they really started coming! First a couple boxes from Matt's mom, then, a few more boxes from Matt's mom, then, more stuff from Matt's mom. (You get the idea...) Since we do not have a garage, I asked for people to bring things close to the garage sale date. Well, on Wed., Selam's room was packed full of stuff. I was starting to get worried that I would not get this all sold!
Our neighbors offered their amazing, new double car garage to use for the sale, Thank God!! By Thursday afternoon, it was PACKED! We had everything from kitchen tables, to furniture, to name brand clothes stack after stack. The donations came from people I have never met who heard from someone else that this sale was for our kids at Kechene.
I was so overwhelmed by not only the generosity, but the way folks were talking it out with friends and neighbors. The word spread quickly and by Thursday night when we closed the garage door before the sale, it barely closed. Now, my husband was really worried that we would not get rid of it all and we would be taking load after load to storage. It really was a lot of stuff!!! I reassured him that it would be ok and I'll take care of it. The verse, "Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in prayer and petition lift your cares to the Lord," became my verse for the weekend!
By Friday, people were lined up outside of the garage door before 7 a.m. The shoppers didn't stop coming until we closed at 4:00 p.m. We had already made over $600! Sat. was slower, but we still sold a ton! We even gave out $1 bags by the last half hour. Gavin, our 12 year old, had the idea to put out a donation bucket! Good thing, not only did it make us $82 on Friday, but another $42 on Sat! Plus, we were able to share what we were doing to everyone!
By the end of the garage sale, all of the big "stuff" was sold and all that was left was the little stuff that we were able to donate to We Care and Goodwill. The whopping total for the sale was $1008! (That's with all my expenses taken out from advertising and starter money.) How amazing!
HUGE thank yous go out to Mueller Implement for the donation of tables, Scott and Jami Lundell, Susan and Mike Bisbach, Tim and Mayra Angel, Keith and Connie Byers (my fearless mother-in-law and father-in-law for all the amazing donations and Connie's tireless help at the sale), Elizabeth Morgan, JT and Keeley Thomas for their garage usage, Anita Phillips, Bill and Lynn Abbott for their incredible lot of vintage toys and books, Cindy Wiker, Staci Driscoll (help at the sale and donations), Maggie Piper, Amanda Lockmann, Sandy Marty, Patty Steil, MacKenzie Johnson, and all the shoppers and donors who helped rack up the total!
Since then, I had planned a garage sale to raise part of our enormous goal of $6000 so I set a lofty goal of $1000! In our small town, this is not very realistic. Most garage sales earn about $300 for a good sale. The heat last week was intense and it looked to be a very far reach.
I started to ask for donations for the sale from friends and family back in early June. I have a friend who has been very motivated to clean out their basement and she said this was the event she needed to get the job done. When the week came, last week, to start collecting the items, they really started coming! First a couple boxes from Matt's mom, then, a few more boxes from Matt's mom, then, more stuff from Matt's mom. (You get the idea...) Since we do not have a garage, I asked for people to bring things close to the garage sale date. Well, on Wed., Selam's room was packed full of stuff. I was starting to get worried that I would not get this all sold!
Our neighbors offered their amazing, new double car garage to use for the sale, Thank God!! By Thursday afternoon, it was PACKED! We had everything from kitchen tables, to furniture, to name brand clothes stack after stack. The donations came from people I have never met who heard from someone else that this sale was for our kids at Kechene.
By Friday, people were lined up outside of the garage door before 7 a.m. The shoppers didn't stop coming until we closed at 4:00 p.m. We had already made over $600! Sat. was slower, but we still sold a ton! We even gave out $1 bags by the last half hour. Gavin, our 12 year old, had the idea to put out a donation bucket! Good thing, not only did it make us $82 on Friday, but another $42 on Sat! Plus, we were able to share what we were doing to everyone!
By the end of the garage sale, all of the big "stuff" was sold and all that was left was the little stuff that we were able to donate to We Care and Goodwill. The whopping total for the sale was $1008! (That's with all my expenses taken out from advertising and starter money.) How amazing!
HUGE thank yous go out to Mueller Implement for the donation of tables, Scott and Jami Lundell, Susan and Mike Bisbach, Tim and Mayra Angel, Keith and Connie Byers (my fearless mother-in-law and father-in-law for all the amazing donations and Connie's tireless help at the sale), Elizabeth Morgan, JT and Keeley Thomas for their garage usage, Anita Phillips, Bill and Lynn Abbott for their incredible lot of vintage toys and books, Cindy Wiker, Staci Driscoll (help at the sale and donations), Maggie Piper, Amanda Lockmann, Sandy Marty, Patty Steil, MacKenzie Johnson, and all the shoppers and donors who helped rack up the total!
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