Saturday, July 6, 2013

Let the Fundraising Begin

Most of you probably know that for the last 6 weeks or so we have been gearing up for our first official fundraiser for Her House. It all started out with a small pile of stuff in my basement that needed a home and ended up becoming the biggest rummage sale I've ever been to, and believe me, I go to a lot of rummage sales. After weeks of preparation, spreading the word, and collecting donations we had more things than we knew what to do with. We spent hours in the warehouse sorting and pricing.

Initially a few of the common phrases around the warehouse were:
"This is amazing!"
"Look how many donations we have!"
"God provides!"
"Keep them coming!"

After a few days of organizing and pricing:
"This is overwhelming."
"I think we have to only sleep, eat, and be at the warehouse from now until Saturday."
"More donations?" *sigh*
"What is this thing?"
"There is something alive in that box."

Day before the sale:
"Seriously, more donations?"
"Lets just not price the linens. There's too many."
"I know we were planning on getting here at 6 am, but I think we should get started at 5."
"I'm so tired."

As you can see, the labor was beginning to take a toll on us and on our attitudes. Of course, we were still so grateful and excited for the event to happen (I actually couldn't sleep on Friday because of excitement and all I dreamt of was shopping at rummage sales), but we were beginning to feel the expected tiredness that comes after a hard week of work at an overwhelming task. A couple of days before the rummage sale someone prayed for our ministry and for us specifically that we would not grow weary of doing good. This really struck me. I recognized that I was indeed growing weary of doing good. It seemed odd to me that doing good things can make a person weary, but it was the truth in my life. Since then, it has been my prayer that God would continue to restore us and all who are involved in this ministry so that we can press on in our efforts to do good. I also am continually praying that God would move and make it clear to us that we are taking the right steps and we are on His path.

Today was simply amazing. From before we opened until after we closed we had people at our sale. There was not a single moment without a shopper. It was raining throughout the day in different parts of Danville, but we were never rained on. A huge amount of items sold and only a small amount remained. Enough money was raised to pay all of the legal fees that come with establishing a non-profit business, and then some! God greatly blessed Her House today. He has greatly blessed all of us who are involved in this ministry because we have chosen to be a part of His work. Thank you! Thank you for praying, giving, and being a part of this ministry.