Lesson learned

Well we've been up to big things since our last post. There are days where we never get out of our sweat pants and tye die tees but that doesn't mean we aren't working. So much of what we're up to involves researching, networking, and creating online. We've spent so much time behind our computers lately that I might even need to start wearing glasses. This is really the antithesis of our lives in Haiti but this concentrated time of productivity has done wonders. We've had a chance to research and contact some organizations that partner with ministries like ours such as an organization that makes films for non-profits, another that gives small business loans, another that sells t-shirts for awareness and profit. We had some good face to face connections as well...prayer warriors, missionaries with tons of experience, pioneers in sustainable business projects, web design experts, the list goes on and on. Let's just say we've got a lot in the works rights now and we're so in awe of the people that God has placed in our lives at just the right time.

Last weekend we did get to spend some time outdoors. The garage sale we had at Amy's parent's house in Tucson was a success. Several families donated items and the proceeds of the two-day sale have brought us much closer to our goal of purchasing a truck. We had so much fun and so many additional items donates that we've decided to have another garage sale this Saturday.

Shameless plug.

Jenn, working the sales.

After last Saturday's garage sale we jumped full speed into our next fundraiser. The Burrito Sale. We had modest hopes for this event. We got the idea from a church in New Mexico that had this burrito making thing down to a science. In one day they were able to make and deliver 3,000 burritos for a net profit of $6,000. With that as our inspiration we set what we thought was a reasonable goal. We were hoping for a hundred orders. Maybe make about $300...cover the cost of our next plane ticket. We started advertising for our fundraiser at the garage sale and continued to spread the word throughout the week. Amy's mom was a champion for the cause. She runs in so many circles here in Tucson we thought we had a pretty good chance of meeting our goal. She passed out flyers every day, created a facebook event, and even sent out several emails! We planned to buy ingredients Thursday and make and deliver the breakfast burritos on Friday morning. By Wednesday we had no orders. By Thursday morning we had orders from just 2 families and by Thursday night only 2 more. We did our shopping, trying our best not to be discouraged. We had to laugh and hope to break even.

This morning was Friday. We prepared a few things last night but really started cooking at 6 am this morning. This is where I have to give a special shout-out to our dear friend Sarah. We spent Wednesday in Scottsdale with some of our favorite people. Catching wind of our limited cooking knowledge Sarah went to the grocery store and, after cooking a delicious meal for our dinner that evening, Sarah tutored me in everything from scrambling eggs to warming tortillas. You might be thinking aren't people pretty much born knowing how to scramble eggs... Yeah probably. I guess I just haven't done a lot of food preparation in my day. So Sarah, thank you. The burritos, all 21 of them, actually turned out really well.

I tell you this not to tempt you into your kitchen for a late night snack or cause you to feel guilty for not ordering this time around. I tell this story to admit how easy it is for me to get just a little discouraged when things don't go screamingly well. Jenn can attest that I wasn't the calmest person this morning. I really didn't want people to pay us for food that didn't taste good. But I think it was all okay. I think God used this sale to A.) remind me that he knows how much I can handle (note how stressed I was having just four families to please, imagine that x 100!) and B.) remind me that He is in control and has this money-thing totally worked out..

A few hours after we had the Burritos delivered and the kitchen sparkling again...a very special family stopped by to drop off some items for tomorrow's garage sale. She handed me a check, a very sizeable donation, more than we had even hoped to make in our day of burrito sales and said "We believe in what you are doing. It's tiring now. But when the doors open to your place you are going to know that every minute was worth it."

She's totally right.

Every burrito was worth it and every minute that we spend working towards this goal is completely worth it.

Thank you, special family, for what you gave today, worth its weight in both encouragement and gold.

And Thank you God, for one-up-ing us when we set goals that are too small.

Well, we're up early again tomorrow. Just one more thanks to all the families that have been apart of our fundraising efforts these last few weeks.