Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night and Silent Auction

On April 17th, we had one of our fundraisers at Chick-Fil-A on Falls of Neuse, http://www.cfarestaurant.com/fallsvillage/home. For this fundraiser we sent out invitations to all of our local family and friends.  They were able to enjoy an evening out with no cooking and support a great cause by dining in or going through the drive thru.  A percentage of the food sales that night went to our Mission Team.  The owners, Chris and Karen Latta, were also gracious enough to let us sale our T-shirts, bracelets and have a silent auction of many wonderful items during our spirit night.



It was a wonderful night of dinner and telling people about our mission trip.  We have been so blessed with all of the support that we have received while fundraising and planning for our trip.  Thank you all so much! We really appreciate it!!



Written by: Kiesha Hall

Raleigh Facebook Silent Auction

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

This verse has certainly been proven over and over to our team. God has certainly done exceedingly and abundantly more than we could have ever imagined! The generosity of people that donated items for our auction at Chick-Fil-A was so overwhelming, there was no physical way we could have displayed it all. The Texas team members had done an online auction via Facebook, so we took our cue from them and used all the extra items we were unable to have at our Chick-Fil-A night for a silent auction on Facebook as well.

We had about 25 items up for auction with items varying from various gift cards to football tickets to original artwork.  Every penny went straight to benefit our mission trip.

The Raleigh team gathered together at Cindy's home and spent the afternoon taking pictures and uploading each item to our Facebook event. It was so exciting as the evening went on to see all the bids people were posting!  It was a great way to allow people to be involved in our mission trip that might not have been able to otherwise.

Through each fundraising event we have been able to do, God just blows me away. I like to think He is smiling up there and laughing saying "Courtney, why do you think I would call you to this and then not provide for you. Trust me!" I am daily in awe of all He has provided our team, and I am thankful for all the friends and family that He has used to do so.

Written by: Courtney Rowe

Ethiopian dinner with friends

Our team is very blessed to know an Ethiopian family in Raleigh. When the mother heard about our trip, she graciously invited us for a traditional Ethiopian meal in her home and it was delightful!!!

I have never been a part of a dining experience that was more interpersonal and inviting. Besides being treated with the greatest level of hospitality and service, the form of eating Ethiopian style can make for great dinner table, or might I say, "dinner basket" conversation.



Eating this way is community at its best! Everyone eats from one plate and uses only the best utensil we have, our hands!



Oh, and the taste! Lets talk about the taste! The food was prepared with only the freshest meat available bought from a local market. Collards, lentils, eggs, beef, pork. All prepared with traditional spices and the tastiest sauces.

After dinner, we waited for the Traditional Ethiopian coffee bean roast, promised by our hostess. This is my personal favorite of all the traditions I have heard of. Beans roasted right in front of you, made into warm delicious coffee. It is served the traditional way with a handful of popcorn to go along with it!




We sat and drank our coffee and asked many questions about the country we would be traveling to. In return, we were blessed with so much more than just answers, but with childhood memories, customs and traditions you can't research online, and a beautiful picture of what we might expect to see when we ourselves go to love on their people.

This was a rare and awesome opportunity that our team was given and I thank God for it. Being able to come together and break bread with Kiddis in her home, I think, prepared our hearts for this mission more than we could have imagined.


Written by: Shannon Mathis

A Wing and a Prayer: Friends Helping Friends

One of the best parts about being on this mission team is the outpouring of support from friends and family we've received. It seems that everyone we've shared with about our trip to Ethiopia wanted to know how they could get involved. One great example of this type of support is Stuart (Stu) Shearin and his company, "A Wing and a Prayer," located in eastern North Carolina. Stu makes gorgeous, hand-crafted, made-to-order bird houses and bird feeders.  

Stu gave us a bird house for our silent auction held during the Falls Village Chick-fil-A Spirit Night in Raleigh. It was a huge hit and received many bids. We thanked Stu for his thoughtfulness in donating the birdhouse, and his generosity did not stop there; he shared with us another awesome fundraising idea. "A Wing and a Prayer" donated two more beautiful birdhouses, the Chateau House, which retails at $260, and theCarolina Bluebird House, which retails at $99. He gave us the idea to sell raffle tickets for $5 each for the birdhouses. We drew two winners, a runner-up and the grand prize winner.

Because of the generosity of "A Wing and a Prayer" and because of the great fundraising idea from Stu, our bird house raffle raised around $1,200. It was amazing to see God's hand in this fundraising project and how receptive our friends and family were to it. The two lucky winners were thrilled with their birdhouses, and our team was equally as thrilled with the results of the fundraiser. What a blessing!

Written by: Suzanne Ward