Have a little faith

So, with a little faith and some hard work we have been progressing in raising money for our trip to Haiti. We have had a wonderful response from our friends and family who are partnering with us. We also had a very successful garage sale. We were able to raise $1675 by selling stuff that was gathering dust in closets, garages, and sheds. God has truly blessed us.

Garage Sale Reminder March 29

We will be participating in the Abbington subdivision's spring garage sale to help raise funds for our trip. The garage sale runs from 7AM - 12PM this Saturday, March 29. Please stop by to get great deals and help a good cause. Items include: girls and boys baby clothes, designer women's clothes, sporting equipment, housewares, electronics, and much more. We will also have delicious lemonade, hot chocolate, and snacks. The address is 300 Kellyridge Dr, Apex NC. Spread the word and we look forward to seeing you there.

Am I ready?

That’s a great question. It depends on if you are asking physically or mentally. Physically NO, I can’t believe how quickly time seems to be flying and crazy things just seem to be popping up including 2 unexpected trips: to snow covered Philadelphia and NJ and now snow blanketed Minneapolis all within the span of 3 weeks. That’s OK, I can be impulsive, but it feels like there is still so much to be done here. So much more money and awareness to raise.

Now onto mentally, I think I have been ready all my life for something like this. I haven’t grown up involved in church or missions or charity, but my head and heart have always been there. Maybe you hit 40 and say, “It’s Time”. It seems that has happened to me. Within the past year my brain has clicked from, “This is what you should do” to “This is what I’M going to do”.

Ask me what I do best in the world and my answer is being a mother and loving on my girls. Now I have the chance to spread that love and love on children who just may not have that unconditional love in their world, and I just can’t wait. Put me to work, give me a hammer, I don’t care just give me a child to love on. I am planning on coming back changed and I AM READY!

Karen

George Foreman

Looking for a George Foreman grill? How about baby clothes or a certified pre-owned bike? Come to our garage sale on March 29th and see what treasures you may find.

Location 300 Kellyridge Dr. Apex, NC 27502-9610

Thank You Abbington

Our group would like to thank all of the neighbors in Abbington that allowed us to spruce up their mailboxes. Thank you so much for your support.

Fear of flying

Okay, it’s time the truth came out…I am not exactly feeling “called” to Haiti. One, I am terrified of spiders, and the pictures of Steve holding a tarantula that he pummeled to death are…well, terrifying. Two, the trip requires shots. Painful shots. I do not like shots. Nor am I a fan of paying my doctor’s office hard-earned money to inject me with said shots. At least I won’t get whooping cough though, right? Three, this fundraising deal is not going as planned. Here is my daily routine: drive home from work. Stop at the mailbox. Flip through junk mail hoping to discover an envelope from someone I know. Discover no envelope. Sigh. Or, the group fundraising has gone like this: plan, discuss, set date for event…rain. Set new date for event…rain. Granted, we are in a drought and quite frankly I am tired of feeling guilty for taking a hot shower and would like our newly planted grass to grow, but come on God, we are trying to raise some money here! So, I have been feeling not so thrilled with the whole Haiti trip. I also forgot to mention number four, which is that I am scared of both tiny planes going over mountains and also riding in a van over bumpy terrain in dangerous places for three hours. Neither option is too thrilling. But I digress. I have this husband who I am committed to, and he loves mission trips, so of course he was like, “sign me up!” We talked about him going and me staying home, but that conversation lasted about two seconds. Not an option. So, I’m going…with reservations. Then, this past Sunday I heard something in the message at church that just clicked with me. Steve said something along the lines of “Jesus comes in and demands re-orientation and that’s not easy...We hate to be told to change our course…We hate to surrender and give up control.” Well, I have been pondering the whole control issue for awhile now. And giving up control and following a course (to Haiti!) is one that has me feeling uncomfortable, a bit grouchy about being put on a path that is bumpy right now, and nervous. But, I also know that God is in this whole plan, and that’s kind-of exciting. I suppose.

Emily

Am I ready?

I have the inability to pause in life. Either my body is always doing something or it's my mind. Because of this, I have yet to pause and reflect on what Emily and I have signed up for. Up to this point we have been focusing on fundraising and getting all the appropriate shots. So now that I am finally starting to pause and reflect on the trip I am not sure if I am ready.

I have had the privilege of doing service/mission trips before and I am always taken aback by how different people's lives are based on where they are located on a map. It always seems so random to me and I question why I was so fortunate to be born here and live such a privileged life. This dissonance has always lead me to seek opportunities to help right the imbalance I see. It has been a long time since I have been on a international service trip but I know I am ready. I am ready to be knocked over by how different people's lives are. I am ready to learn of a different way of looking at the world. I am ready to do my best to make a small impact on the children of Haiti. I am ready to focus my restless energy on a place in the world that needs a little help.

Kevin

Mailboxes, Etc...

This coming Saturday we will be painting mailboxes in an Apex neighborhood to generate some more funds for our Haiti trip. I am thrilled not only at the opportunity to raise some cash, but to do it with good friends that seem to work together very well. It's been awesome watching the team come together- people playing to their strengths and leading and deferring according to the various abilities of the group. I'm grateful to be part of it.

Kristi and I don't have as much money in as we thought/hoped we would 

at this point. Still some time, but really feel like what we have now is about it in terms of known prospects. So this upcoming project, as well as the garage sale at the end of the month will be important for us and other team members in the same boat. However, I can't think of a time that a mission trip has had all the needed funds in with still months to go; for some reason, this is just part of it. Keeps us on our toes ( or knees) I guess.

Kristi and I are excited about the trip and what God has in store for all of us in the group. And our three kids are excited to hang out with the Green's again for that week. Too excited, really. I actually think that they would prefer to live with them. But the paperwork for the state to pull that whole process off is just too daunting.