Imagine, if you will, entering a room filled to the brim with items donated to supply all your needs! Then imagine entering another, larger room, even more filled! This was what we experienced Saturday night, and we are OVERWHELMED! "And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
We have this little "need" right now of over $100,000 to supply the expenses for our two year mission trip. That is a lot of money! We sat at the Missions Executive Team meeting just a couple of weeks ago, when a remarkable woman named Iris Bolstad said that maybe she would do a silent auction. We only had one date to work with, so she had to put it together in a hurry - and boy, did she. We have a large church membership, but even then, the outpouring was overwhelming. One room was filled with new items, donated primarily by First Fruits, but also by other generous donors. The entire gym was filled to the brim along all the walls with donated items. There was a lovely rummage sale, a silent auction, and a whole corner dedicated to shoes donated by Palmer Shoes (the quality shoe store downtown). Beautiful baskets, furniture, jewelry, services and lodging filled every inch of about every table the church owns, I think! There was a baked potato dinner, and ice cream for dessert, all served up with wonderful smiles.
One of the best particulars of the event was the minimal programming. We had fun listening to Pastor Mike auction some "precious" items, laughed with Pam Harris as she shared about our friend Stephanie, currently in Malawi and Burundi, and our hearts ached as Pastor Les described the corruption in the Free Methodist Church in Southern Nigeria, including the takeover of the other Hope Academy. Our program was brief, less than 10 minutes, but we shared our hearts and a video that shows how God is bringing His Kingdom to Emi-woro and using the Free Methodist Church, especially WFMC, to do it. The rest of the time guests could just visit and shop. It was truly lovely!
The room was decorated in red, with white cross and Myers prayer card centerpieces, set on giraffe fabric. It gave a great feeling of an event! They raised over $7000, with an additional almost $20,000 in monthly pledges of $20 and up. It was such a fun night, with many hands pitching in and many guests - maybe close to 200, since all the chairs were full and then some - enjoying the fun. God sure pours out the supply! We are over half way funded!
