Whew! What a weekend! We have been working diligently towards this weekend ever since we heard that we will be traveling to China, this Summer! We sent out multitudes of letters, visited a few locally owned restaurants, sent e-mails to anyone in our database and have had so many people working on our behalf! Our BIG EVENT, the Third Annual Missions Auction (our first) at Valley Fourth Memorial. We have so many to thank, so in no specific order, we want to give a shout-out to those who made the auction overwhelming successful for our fundraising, for China: Randy Scott & Clear Channel Radio in Sacramento, Jason Brown, Judy Kuntz & Oasis Counseling, Jan Constable, Kim Perdue, Jeff Mahowald & Jeffery A. Mahowald Contracting, Amy Diesberg & Diesberg Appraisals & Matthew & Clear Channel Radio in Spokane. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts, to all of those who contributed your goods and services!
We do not know our final numbers, but we're blessed beyond our hopes, with the outcome of the auction. We also have to give a huge thanks to Valley Fourth for allowing us to participate with them, all the e-mails between Libby, Event Coordinator and Pastor, Steve Allen, who directed the event, is leading this missions trip to China, and served as auctioneer! Thank you also to Darva, our sitter who stayed so late with our children, put up with our sassy and often, not obedient boys, and our daughter who probably gave her a scare when she fell and bit holes into her tongue while we were gone! P.S. - Thanks A.C. for letting us keep your daughter out late!
Second on our list was sharing with our congregation, about our adoption and our passion for China. We had a week to prepare a power-point (thanks to Chad, our Tech. guy and friend), what we wanted to share, our video and what we are going to do at the Philip Hayden Foundation. It came together, was hopefully impactful on peoples hearts, and was what God wanted us to share. I have to say that public speaking is NOT one of my spiritual gifts, so to God be the glory for anything good, and God, I'm sorry for getting in the way of everything else!
A final note: I was skimming through an amazing book, written by Jeff Gammage, a journalist and adoptive father, in his book "China Ghosts." It is beautifully written, with words that bring to life the reality of emotions that encompass adoption and its many facets. A quote that struck me is as follows: “Don’t think that you’re going to walk into an overcrowded orphanage, take one child out, leave ninety-nine behind, and be the same person when you sit down to breakfast the next morning.” That really describes where this all started for us. We and our family, are forever changed by this experience, this addition. We are now 1/5 Chinese. It is our bloodline, who we are, and what we feel passionate about!
Thank you, again!
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