A Successful Fundraiser

I want to begin by thanking everyone who made this fundraiser a success.  I would thank every person individually but I know if I tried that I would forget some key people and I do not want to do that.  I do want to say thank you to Jessica’s parents, Phil and Jill Atter, for leading up the team that put this together.  This was our most successful fundraiser to date at a time when we really needed a successful event!  Many of you know about the transitions that we have been going through in our ministry and how important this fundraiser was in the life of All Things New.  Thanks again for making it a success!

I want to talk about something that I have thought about a lot but really hit home while we were speaking at the Jacksonville Fundraiser.  I want to talk about how humbling fundraising is.  At the fundraiser, from the time I arrived, I thought a lot about how humbling this situation was.  Looking around when the event started and seeing all of the people, standing in line for the food that I know was donated, looking at the beautiful flowers that were donated, and then standing up to tell the story of All Things New and seeing everyone listening intently to what GOD was doing in our ministry was truly humbling.  In fact, every time we post a blog, hold a fundraiser, or even tell people about our ministry it brings a new level of humility to my life that I know I need.  Let me tell you some of the reasons for this:

• GOD has chosen us to do something that takes faith that, on our own, we do not have.  We have to rely on GOD for absolutely everything.
• You and people like you are giving your hard earned money to take care of others.
• You have chosen to give to a ministry that Jess and I run and you trust us to make good decisions with that money.  You believe in us and you believe that we will use that money to glorify GOD by helping children and families in Haiti.
• You care about our ministry so much that you tell people who have never met us how wonderful our kids and the ministry of All Things New truly is.
• You care about us and our children so much that you go way above and beyond to make sure that we are cared for!

Truly, the most humbling thing is that Jess and I really could not do this on our own.  It would be impossible.  We do not have the money, we do not have the expertise, and we certainly do not have the time to accomplish all of the things that have to be done to run this ministry.  The best we can do is promise that we will always use the resources you give to help the children and families that we can help and to make sure that we always walk in faith and make the most intelligent decisions we can make in the ministry of All Things New.  

The truth is, we are still pushing forward!  We still have our sponsorship drive, we will be hosting another big fundraiser in LaGrange (date TBD), and we are moving forward with a couple of new initiatives including our business sponsorship program.   I did not want to let too much time pass, however, before we mentioned how wonderful and successful this last fundraiser was!  Thank you for giving us the means to accomplish the ministry to which we have been called.  It is such a crazy, wonderful, and humbling journey that we are on together and you have truly shown us love, compassion, and generosity.

Finally, please continue to pray for us as we leave on May 9 to bring Sophie down for the first time.  It is very exciting and very scary at the same time.  We know that you will pray for us and thank you in advance for everything you do.  We are truly in this together and we could not do this without you!