For over half a year I played with an idea of hosting a Yard Sale to help raise support for education in India. I planned to contribute from my household in storage and ask others in the community to donate, all in an effort for an inventory of items to sell at bargain prices.
Supporting the kids at the
Beulah Home was the motivating force in getting this event underway. This particular Christian children's home in south India houses from 70-100 kids who have no place to call home, all of them not knowing what it is like to have a family supporting them through their young growing years. It is estimated that over 65,000 kids are abandoned to the streets of Bangalore and this ministry provides a place where some can live in a safe environment. If interested, posts on my visits to the
Beulah Home can be found under
April 2009 and
December 2009.
Well, the Yard Sale idea came to fruition on June 4th and it turned out to be so much more than I had ever anticipated! God's hand was all over it -- from bringing 20 volunteers together to help make this happen, to people generously donating quality items, to my home church opening their facilities, to the results of the sale itself. Most everyone who worked at the event commented how there was a steady stream of traffic and how so much stuff was up for sale (estimated at thousands of items) and how so much left the building! I'm sure the number of people who stopped by that day was in the hundreds and they left a good chunk of change -- enough to send five kids to junior college for one year!!
All week long this part of Ontario had clear sunny days which fed into my image of an outdoor event. Predictions of “scattered showers” for the 4th dampened my spirit some, but in hindsight it was the best decision to take the sale inside the church. These "scattered showers" ended up being torrential rains and winds that took down a tree in the neighborhood and even cut the power for awhile. It is an understatement to say that I am SO THANKFUL we had the sale inside with all the tables of items, as were those who stopped by to get out of the rain!
This event reminds me of the loaves and fishes account in Scripture in many ways. Give to God the little that we have and He will multiply it in ways that leave us simply amazed. In this case, He not only met our aim of raising funds for the kids in India but also in developing so many wonderful relationships, giving us opportunity to work together, witness event details coming together, helping meet need for those in our community through items sold, and so much more. For me, it really warmed my heart to see how others, especially those from 'my team' of volunteers demonstrated their love for the kids at the
Home -- kids they haven't even met -- by taking up the cause and running with it!
Collecting the items that were left-over after the sale also reminds me of the feeding of 5000, for we boxed and packed an entire trailer full of items that went to another charity. I know that these funds will go a long way in not only providing educational opportunities for these kids in India, but in knowing what the effects of a good education will have on their future. God continues to bless events like this in so many ways, and the giving goes on even after the event is over...
