Garage Sale & Art Camp

The team has had some amazing kids involved in the fundraising efforts of our trip. From the beginning of our decision to go on this mission trip we began thinking of ways to include our children and help them to be a part of this journey as well.

Our family had a garage sale to help raise funds for our trip costs and decided to have a craft/bake sale at the same time. The idea was that our kids would run the craft portion and make the items that would go in it. The kids initially began by knitting scarfs with their grandmother’s help. Then our kids’ friends began to get involved as well.  It just exploded!  They made duct tape creations, sold lemonade, baked cookies to sell, etc.  Helping them create these items was the perfect opportunity to talk with them more about the orphan crisis in Africa and the small ways we can be a part of God’s plan to reach these children and their communities. The kids helped make signs for the garage sale and they were given full charge of their craft tables and money. After the sale, we took the kids who had been involved to Wal-Mart.  They were able to spend all the money they had raised on needed items for the orphans.  What better way to teach kids about service, compassion, and missions than by having them actually create the product and take those funds to buy needed items that we could physically take with us to Ethiopia. They really enjoyed the economics side of this project and it was such a joy to listen as they told people what they were doing with their profits!  They’re invested.

Then Libbie (our oldest daughter who’s going on the trip with us) and her best friend came up with a really creative idea this summer and created and led an art camp for kids age 5-8. All on their own they created sign-up sheets and contacted families and they ended up with 18 kids signed up for this camp. Honestly, I completely underestimated the two of them! I did not realize until the night before that they indeed had a legitimate camp that was about to happen. Libbie’s friend devised the projects, purchased the necessary supplies, and bought snacks and drinks for the kids. My lesson… never underestimate the determination of a child on a mission and fueled by Christ’s will for their life! They did great and with their excess funds over their costs, we were able to purchase 30 blankets for one of the orphanages we will visit that is severely lacking in bedding.

God has just blown our socks off with the awesome and creative ways He has provided and used his children for good!  We are in awe!

Matthew 6:25-26:  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Written by Barry, Shelly and Libbie Wilson

Tshirts & Bracelets

God has blessed this team with an over-abundance of funds!  Most of those funds didn't come in without a bit of work on our part. Our team put forth many fundraising efforts. One of the easiest fundraisers we did was selling T-shirts and bracelets.

Selling T-shirts is quite easy as long as they have an appealing design or logo. As a team we worked together to choose a shirt that we would all enjoy wearing and one that we thought well-represented the meaning of our trip. After that we ordered the shirts at a bulk rate. The advertising was super easy! We just had to wear the shirts. We wore them anywhere and everywhere: to church, to work, to all of our fundraising events, and anywhere else we chose. They were very popular and we were able to sell about 150 shirts.

The bracelets were also a very easy way to raise funds. We thought they would be popular with the children and they definitely were. One benefit of selling the bracelets is that you can sell them very inexpensively and still make a good profit. They are great for those who want to support the team but perhaps cannot afford a T-shirt. They were also a great way to get people to pray for our trip. They wear the bracelet, it reminds them of our trip, and it reminds them to pray for us. We were able to sell 200 bracelets.

These items have also brought about further opportunities to speak with others about our trip. I wear my team shirt frequently. Many people have commented on it or asked about it. Just today I wore it to Target and the lady in front of me in the check out line asked me about it. I was given the opportunity to tell her about our trip!

God is at work everywhere all the time!  He uses big and small things to further His Kingdom...even a T-shirt. :)

Written by: Angie Hudgins