Our yard sale/car wash event was a great success, bringing in $750 total. God is SOOO Good. Thank you to all who donated items and time to this event. We appreciate you tremendously. The event almost didn't happen, and it COULDN'T have happened without all the people who gave so sacrificially. On Friday afternoon, as I was about to put out signs in the rain, Justin called and said his mother had gone into the hospital with chest pains and shortness of breath. "Justin, what do you want me to do? Should I continue with the sale, or should I drop everything and go to the hospital?" He said to keep working because she was stable and okay. He would call me if I was needed. So I paused for a moment in our church parking lot with signs in the back of the van and two cranky toddlers in car seats, wondering how I'm going to get everything done and overwhelmed with concern for my mother in-law. I called my friend about our situation and my stress, and she said, "Do you need me and my daughter to come help you put up signs?" I didn't answer. Asking for help is one of my weaknesses. "We'll be right over." She showed up and drove my van, kids and all, and I hopped out at each intersection with the signs. It would have taken twice as long without her.
We worked HARD that night getting things set up and priced. About 10 people who we have become close with over the last couple of years helped us pull this thing together. And at 10pm, when Justin (who had left the hospital after his mom was okay, and had been working with us for hours) looked up from his cell phone and said, "Dad has a blockage, I have to go to his house and be with him." My spirit sank. The doctor had called his father that night to say his stress test from last week exposed a blockage, and he will need to come in on Monday to plan what comes next.
Justin's parents, while shaken, are okay. And they told us to keep going with the sale. His parents even sold a washer and dryer to a nurse at the hospital for our yard sale! One friend watched our boys Friday night, another friend came to our house at 6:30am to stay with them until they woke up and then brought them to the church for us later, and then the same friend from the night before watched them again during the actual sale (she also happened to be the same friend who set up signs with me).
The men washed 14 cars, and we women sold about 2/3 of the "stuff" inside. One woman even put in some elbow grease at the car wash when things got a little busy.
To top things off, that night, our weary band attended our fellowship group at church for an ice cream social and game night. It was put on by two of the friends who worked the yard sale with us - they had not rested yet. At the event they surprised Justin and me with a special collection for us.
I sit here truly humbled and in awe of God's wonderful work after spending three weeks in Minnesota and seeing dear friends who I've known since high school, and become closer with in adulthood, and then coming home and putting on an event with friends we have come to know intimately in just the past few years. The hugest things about this weekend is that God has opened my eyes completely to what it means to live beyond yourself. It doesn't mean to just give to others (which is important), but it means working for Him and doing things that we really CANNOT do on our own in order to do GREAT things. He blessed this weekend through the teamwork of friends. I am utterly amazed and humbled by the sacrifices they made this weekend. We praise God for giving us this weekend of encouragement, and we will continue to work for Him by working toward the mission field just as faithfully as we can. Thank you.
Love,
Gillian
