The Good: The yard sale was a success! We raised over $300 dollars to put toward our goal and had so much fun doing it. We now have over $2500 toward our goal! This really put some wind in our sails and inspired us to keep on keepin on.
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| Dubious Man Job |
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| The Three Amigos |
Our day went so well much due to the preparation efforts of many. Thank you to all who donated items for the sale and sent in monetary donations. And thank you to Stephani and Brianna who came on Friday to help sort, tag and organize before the sale. So, good sale. Good day. Good memories.
The Bad: We received notice from Lifeline Christian Mission that their Homes for Haiti program is increasing their prices for homes:
Lifeline's "Homes for Haiti" Ministry allows you the opportunity to purchase a home for your sponsored child and/or a needy Haitian family. Your gift provides a family with a durable, lasting home that will provide safety and security for many years to come.
Effective October 1, 2013, all homes will now cost $4475, when paying by check. All homes paid in full by September 30 will still be $4000, when paid by check.
For more information about the homes ministry and how you can impact a family, visit www.Lifeline.org/HomesForHaiti
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This is still a tiny fraction of what it would cost to build a home here in the United States, of course. And these homes built by the Homes for Haiti ministry are the nicest in the village - all of them remained intact and liveable during the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed so many and left so many more, like Jennifer Rose and her family, homeless. I certainly do not have any misgivings about the price or the increase, but boy would it be great to pull this off over the next few weeks and save $475 dollars! This also has served to motivate us and get our minds churning as to how to make this happen. Ideas anyone? Large donations will not be turned away:)
The Beautiful: Of the many neighbors we enjoyed talking with throughout the day, we were most moved by Richard. He lives next door and his family just experienced a house fire. Thankfully no one was injured, but they are just starting to put their home back together and make it liveable. We gave him some furniture from our sale that the family needed and insisted it was a gift when he offered to pay. He said he knew about our project and wanted to be a part of it. He made a $50 donation to AHFJR for the furniture we tried to gift him. I was moved to tears. Here is a family of limited means facing an expensive crisis inside their own home and they give. When people give out of their abundance it makes a difference. When people give, in the middle of their need, it touches the heart. Talk about blown away. 
If that doesn't pull the heartstrings then this will. My friend's sweet son, Judah, has seen his mommy doing these yard sales and heard her talking about building a house for Jennifer Rose. He asked his mother about it. She explained, in age appropriate language of course, that there was a little girl that didn't have a house and she didn't have the money to get one. So we wanted to help her get a house. He immediately offered all of the money from his piggy bank for the project. He is four.
So, that's the latest folks. The good, the bad and the beautiful. Upcoming projects may include but are not limited to: selling handmade bracelets from Haitian craftsmen and women as a fundraiser, having a "Buy a Brick' fundraising party, continuing to work with Thred Up to get a match on funds raised with them so far (see our page for details http://thred.me/XdUPHC ) and of course a pressing and grateful reminder that donations are welcome and timely participation appreciated as our September 30th goal date approaches. You will be hearing from me soon and I thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading, for supporting and for encouraging. This is a wild ride and an amazing experience that I am blessed to be a part of.
It's gonna happen, I can taste it!
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