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This next thank you is from Tina:
Erv & Pat: You have kept us steady with this sale. It would not have been so organized without your constant help. I truly appreciate your sacrifrice of time and effort. THANK YOU!
Sandi: You have quietly served us, thinking of and doing the things we would need but that we had no idea until the time was upon us (a good breakfast, snacks, dinner, a caring hug and a some tears).
My Titus 2 Sisters: Your prayers are felt and your support is treasured.
Connie: Thank you for the talk in the park. It was a joy to talk about the beauty of our Lord with you.
This thank you isn't sufficent for what I feel in my heart.
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I started around 5:45 am by taking stuff out of the garage and lining it up in the driveway. Around 6:30 am we had people walking around shopping (we even had one couple spend $70 last night as we set up).
My dad created a poster of Haiti and pictures of our family and Lou (thank you, Dad!). It allowed us to talk to people about what we were doing. At the 'cashier' table we had a container to allow people to donate.
We sold about 70-80% of the things we put out. It's easy to say you are selling everything, but when it comes down to it and you are watching the things in the sale disappear while you know your house is empty - its not so easy to do. Kayla and Carter will be sleeping with their mattress on the floor - for now, they still have mattresses. (Yes, I put the big bill on the outside.)
As people would ask us about things that we liked a lot, it was harder to answer the question of "How much?". There were a few things that I intentionally didn't price because I couldn't come up with what I wanted to ask. When people asked, I was forced to come up with a price. The picture below is all we have left. (Yes, the lawn mower has been sold.)
Just before lunch time, we lost Carter. I mean lost him. He had completely disappeared. The normal rules are to let us know where you go when you go somewhere and to always stay outside of people's homes. When they hear me whistle, it's time to go home. With all the chaos, a couple people started to ask where Carter was - nobody knew. The last anyone could remember was that he was playing with the kids waiting for the school bus. After I walked around in the 5 acre field behind us and not finding him (even after many different bird calls that we use), I told Tina to go ahead and check at the school. So she drove over there to find out if he got on the bus for some reason. We were missing him for about a half-hour and didn't know how long he had been gone.
It was about that time that he called from a neighbor's house. He said that he should have told us where he was going (which he has always done in the past). He was inside - about to have a little snack. Um...yea...he should have told us. After a sweet reunion with mom, we moved on with the sale.
It is precisely during these types of situations that you see where your trust lies. Do you worry? Do you fret? Do you calmly wait knowing that whatever happens is the Lord's intended plan?
God does things for very specific purposes - everything, in fact. Nothing is luck, chance, fate, or happenstance. We must learn to look for what He is doing in our circumstances and lean not on our own understanding. We must trust that what He is doing is for His glory...that whatever comes of our situation will lead to opportunities to show that the Lord is good and completely sovereign in all things.
As I have mentioned, I have been asked many times why I am doing this because it seems so difficult. It is not merely for self-inflicted harm, danger or struggles. The Bible helps to narrow it down in 1 Samuel 15:22: "...to obey is better than sacrifice..." The Lord is calling us to do this and, as such, we are obeying. Sacrifice means nothing for eternity if done outside of obedience.
A parting song (I translated this with Tina's help - I couldn't find it on the internet):
Steve Camp
The Cross is a Radical Thing
I heard the call of the Lord
He said come and follow me
To put your hand to the plow
You've got to press on faithfully
Like a rich young ruler
Who wanted Heaven on his own terms
He tried to find an easy way
But there's a cross to bear and a lesson to learn
Two roads diverged in my life
I took the one less travelled by
I had to leave my old ways of living
For the cross, the cross is a radical thing
Jesus paid for my salvation
On a hill called Calvary
And He shed His blood for my sin
So that I could be free indeed
But though I am freed from sin
A slave to my Lord am I
Cause when Jesus calls a man
He bids him to come and die
Two roads diverged in my life
I took the one less travelled by
I had to leave my old ways of living
For the cross, the cross is a radical thing
I have been crucified with Jesus
The longer I live, but He lives in me
I left everything from my King
For the cross, the cross is a radical thing
Two roads diverged in my life
I took the one less travelled by
I had to leave my old ways of living
For the cross, the cross is a radical thing
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