How Much Left to Raise?

A dear friend asked how much we had left to raise for our adoption. I am THRILLED to report all of the fees with our agency have been PAID IN FULL by the grace of God.

We started out with NOTHING. Literally...nothing. We have paid out over $13,000 in expenses by saving, donations, and fundraisers. It is such a miracle and I truly stand amazed at the way God has provided for this adoption.

So what's left?
Our Visas..............................$160
Mercy's Visa.........................$400 (is that right?)
Our Airline tickets...............$2800
Mercy's plane ticket............$700 (just a guess - maybe more)
Misc. expense in Ghana......$1,000 (again, a guess for hotel/food/etc.)

$5,060
- $140 (recent donations)
- $231 (brat fry)
- $580 (garage sale)
= $4,109 remaining

We recently found out we did not get the grant from Shaohannah's Hope. We were disappointed, but when looking at how far we have come we feel assured that God will provide the remaining funds at just the right time.

O Sovereign Lord!
You made the heavens and earth
by your strong hand and powerful arm.
Nothing is too hard for you!
Jeremiah 32:17

Garage Sale in Progress!

It's a beautiful day and our garage sale benefitting the "Mercy Fund" is in full swing! We've made close to $300 so far and the people just keep on coming. We've been blessed with a lot of donated items and are so grateful to everyone praying for some successful days.

How Do You Measure Success?

When we returned home yesterday I was feeling a bit deflated. It had been a long day, the smell of bratwurst was making me sick, and my feet were killing me. I knew our day had not been as profitable as I'd hoped and as I sat down to count the cash I wasn't feeling like much of a success. I was praying we'd make enough for half of a plane ticket - last year we had made $700 and $400 on our brat frys. After counting out $231 I was thinking that this day had been a bust! We didn't even make enough for 1/4 of a plane ticket to Ghana...sigh.

After a nice steamy shower and a meal other than bratwurst, I decided the day had actually been a huge success - maybe not financially - but in other ways:

• God blessed us with beautiful weather - the sun was shining and there was a cool breeze blowing all day long!
• Jeff, Delaney & I got to spend the day together!
• We had the ability and the resources to have a fundraiser!
• We got to visit with many friends & family who came to show their support!
• We got to meet someone new from Junction City who follows our blog!
• We had the opportunity to talk with someone who had volunteered several weeks in Zambia and Malawi!
• We are $231 closer to our Ghana trip than we were the day before!

All of those things made for a very successful day indeed.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

Hungry?

Salzwedel Family

Adoption Fundraiser

Brat Fry

Sunday, June 28, 2009

10:30 - 6:00

Festival Foods

We'll be servin' up some tasty bratwurst on Sunday to help bring Mercy home! Please pray for good weather and excellent attendance. Tell your friends!

Life on Fast Forward

It seems there is SO MUCH going on these days! In honor of the Livesay family I have decided to do a bullet point post:

• We rescheduled our brat fry fundraiser that was supposed to be held today. The weather forecast was miserable with storms/rain/cold so we decided to forgo the torture and trust God that another day will work out better.

• We spent the afternoon pricing stuff for our adoption garage sale fundraiser. When Jeff offered to let me use his price gun I was in pricing heaven! Just set the dial and click away. It was almost fun to see how fast I could price stuff (yes, I realize that is quite pathetic to say out loud). It also brought back a lot of memories going through the clothes that the kids used to wear.

• Here's a quick shout out to our good friends the Streckert family! They are an amazing bunch so we just have to say, "hey". Check your calendar guys and let us know when you can come over for dinner.

• There has been much talk about selling our home. The warehouse where Jeff works out of is relocating and it would be nice to be closer to where the new one is being built. Don't really relish the idea of the act of moving, but having a different house is very appealing. Our kitchen is small and drives me crazy on a daily basis with the lack of cupboard/counter space. Delaney's bedroom is also small and the girls will be sharing. We've also had lots of conversations and checking around for what to do about beds. Her room is too small for a double bed, but we really don't want bunk beds either. We thought a trundle bed would be nice for space, but we don't want Mercy to feel like a second class citizen having her bed pull out from underneath. I have a feeling we'll end up with bunks.

• We've tentatively been van shopping. Our van is burning oil like crazy, the driver's side window doesn't roll down, the passenger side mirror is broken off, rust spots are in the beginning stages and we've recently learned the air conditioning is no longer working. Sigh. We really don't want a car payment, so we're praying about what direction to take with this. It's amazing how easy it is to get caught up in the idea of owning a new vehicle. I feel like we need to keep the spending to a minimum and not get trapped by a fancy vehicle. When I think about how I can stop, take a step back and recognize that, I thank God for the work He has done in me. It used to be fairly easy for us to get caught up in worldly trappings. We've made a lot of progress in determining needs vs. wants. Praise the Lord!

• I was planning to send in our dossier on Friday and then realized I didn't have Jeff's employment letter. That's the only piece of paper I'm waiting on and I'm hoping it arrives tomorrow so I can overnight the whole thing to our agency. Since God already has her homecoming day figured out a few days wait won't matter anyway.

• Lots going on with the school year wrapping up and dance recital coming. I will surely be glad when summer break is here and life's pace slows down.

I pray you all have a blessed week!

A Simply Wonderful Day

Today was a great day! We held our Tastefully Simple fundraiser and had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with our friends & family enjoying delicious food. We'd like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who made purchases to help bring our daughter home.

Just a few moments ago I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I noticed an envelope on the kleenex box that simply said "For M". I was blown away when I opened it and found a very generous gift to help bring our girl home. I don't know who left it, but we are humbled and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It means more than you could know.

God is good!

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24

Come One, Come All to the Brat Fry

Bratwurst: A small sausage of highly seasoned fresh pork, usually served fried. Also called a "brat" for short.

If you live in Wisconsin, you most certainly know what a brat is. If you don't know what a brat is, see the definition above...we thought we should clarify that we are not frying up naughty children as a fundraiser. So, tell your friends & come hungry.

Please join me in praying that this event is very well attended! Even though it seems like an impossible amount, we are praying to raise at least $1,000.

Jesus looked at them and said,

"With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said,

"With man this is impossible, but not with God;

all things are possible with God."

Mark 10:27

Jesus replied, "What is impossible

with men is possible with God."

Luke 18:27