"There are saints sitting next to you, making themselves hoarse shouting words of encouragement."
Two weeks ago we held a fundraiser for my adoption journey, and last week my pastor spoke those words in her sermon. Yes, there are saints (visible and unseen) sitting with me, making themselves hoarse, and I couldn't be more grateful.
When my mom and I started planning this fundraiser, I don't think either of us knew what to expect. Family members stepped forward to help gather items and to bake for a bake sale. We all worked for months planning the day, getting donations, and baking. It was also a blessing that my mom's church allowed us to hold the event at the church when the original venue fell through. When the day finally came, I was just hoping that enough people would come to win the items we had collected.
The event turned out to be more than I could ever have imagined! Thanks to my aunt and my grandma, we had more baked goods than I've seen in a long time, everyone helped to gather 30+ baskets to win, and a henna artist was able to come and apply art on the guests. As I think back on the day, I am still overwhelmed by everyone that came to support me and my journey and at everyone's generosity. Because of the kind, caring, compassionate people that come out that day, I was able to raise more than I could have thought was possible.
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| My cousin and my grandma, showing their henna. |
There are a few stories I'd like to share about that day, stories that I am looking forward to sharing with my child:
- I am blessed by a handful of people who travelled a far distance to support me at this event, including my aunt and cousin from Minneapolis and two ladies from my church; however, I was also blessed to be surprised by a good friend and her family, whose lives have also been touched by adoption. This friend has been my guide through this roller coaster of a journey, and having her and her family present was a great show of their continued support.
- Before the event began, when my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and grandma were finishing setting everything up, my cousin-in-law pulled me aside and said she had a special gift for me. What I opened was the most thoughtful gift - a ready made scrapbook I can use to chronicle my journey, with pages for writing my thoughts and pages for pictures, etc. I can tell she spent a lot of time and put a lot of heart in to the book and I'm excited to fill it out and share it with my child.
- About halfway through the event a lady and a young boy came through the door and she told me that they were there to donate to the adoption and handed me a coin purse they had made from a sock. I introduced myself and explained that I was the person adopting, thanked them, and asked them to sign in. The lady (who I found out was the boy's grandmother) filled out her grandson's name, an indicator to me that this sock of change they had donated was from him. There is not a more touching moment to me than the action of this young boy.
There are so many other stories I could share, from an anonymous donation being hand delivered from my mom's pastor, to my young cousins putting together a basket to win and coworkers pre-buying tickets to show their well-wishes, but the most important thing to me is the overwhelming sense of support I walked away with that day.
I know their voices are going hoarse, and I am so thankful and indebted to all of my saints.
