i am really proud of my church this weekend. some weeks ago our congregation was visited by some missionaries from Uganda. they spoke of the growing aids crisis and the rise of numbers of orphaned children due to the death from aids.
our church, which really is full of compassionate people, asked the question of "how can we help?" to this the response was expressed a need for more orphanages and support in taking care of the children.
so, as good southerners we know that people in the south cannot resist a good yard sale. a crew of people organized and promoted for a month a church wide yard sale. folks dropped off items to donate on thursday, the group sorted and organized it out for sale. peeps showed up early on friday morning, set up, and the sale was on (even before the official start time to the sale or before they were done setting up). i checked in friday noon shortly after taking this picture and we had already raised over 4k dollars. i contributed a bit, buying a nice mirror for our new home, and then going to pick up a computer desk from a home. mostly though, i've been a smiling observer to this endeavor. in the end over 7k dollars was raised which is just 2k short of funds needed for a new orphanage building. it brings a smile to my face as that our church responded to a need in taking care of the worlds children. no, it's not all the world, but it's a start and maybe our little part.
it's one of those moments in time that i'm proud to be a part of the church.
however, as a member of the church and in relationship with the people making this run, i'll claim that we have done a great thing here.
