With less than a year to go before we take the millions of MacChildren to Swaziland for our half ministry, half this-is-your-new-life-get-ready-for-it-trip, it is time to get serious about the fund raising. We are estimating that we will need to have about $20,000 at least to cover airfare, lodging, food, van rental, etc. for 9 people.
We are trying to do everything we can to make the trip as economical as possible including considering the option of just finding someplace, like a church, that will let us sleep on their floor the majority of nights that we are there. We are also liquidating some of our own assets to help finance the trip.
That said, we still are looking at a bunch of money that needs to come in. And to get our airline tickets at good rates, we really need to purchase them as soon as possible.
I'll be honest. Sometimes it seems overwhelming and I start feeling stressed out. That's when I have to pray, trust, and take one step at a time. Ultimately, God is our source and provision but after much prayer, we believe that we have His go ahead to work towards bringing in the funds as well as provision that He wants to provide through offerings and supernatural means.
We hope to do one fund raiser a month until we have raised all our money along with lots of online auctions like we did to raise money for Anna, Betsie, and David's mission trips they went on this past summer.
We have been given some wonderful items to auction off online to raise money for our Swaziland trip. We also bought some things while in Thailand that we'll be auctioning including some earrings I'll be showing you at the bottom of this post.
If you have anything you'd like to donate, let me know.
Items that would be great to give and easy to auction off include:
*Donated services (like housecleaning, tires rotated, photography session, oil change, lawn care, hair cut, tax prep, closets organized, manicures, etc.)
*Artwork and crafts (paintings, knitted hats, crocheted scarves, wall hangings, jewelry, etc.)
*Gift cards
*Blog banner design
*Home-cooked meal, baked goods, deer sausage, home-canned jellies, etc.
*Books (especially nice if signed by author)
*Cds
*Collectibles (one friend donated a cross made out of a famous missionary's home, another friend donated British magazines about the recent royal wedding)
*Items from other countries
*Coffee
*Sports team related items
*Missions or Christian themed t-shirts (maybe you had some leftover from your own fundraiser?)
*Gift baskets of assorted items (baby gifts, toiletries, regional foods, etc.)
*And so much more!
This is a great way to help us if you desire to give but don't have the money. Most of us have items or services that we could donate that wouldn't cost us a dime. For instance, a missionary friend had several things that he had brought back as gifts but hadn't given away. He gave them to us and we made a lot of money from them. Another friend is a massage therapist. She donated a half hour massage and we made a lot of money on that one.
If you don't live near me, when the winner is announced, you can send the item directly to the person who won the auction if it is something that can be shipped.
Another option is to hold an online auction yourself on our behalf. It is very easy to do. Just post about our story and an item or service you want to auction off on your blog, website, facebook, etc. Set a deadline and then have people bid. At the end of the bidding period, whoever bids the most, wins! You either mail the item to them or deliver it in person. This is a great option as it taps into a group of bidders that we probably don't know.
Thanks in advance! We can't do this on our own so any and all help is greatly appreciated.
And now to kick off our first Send-the-MacLellans-to-Swaziland auction, I've got two lovely pairs of costume jewelry earrings that Jim bought while he was in Thailand with Betsie.
They are both gold, big, and glimmery. Perfect for someone who likes shine!
The first pair is comprised of cascading leaves. These flirty 4-inch long earrings would be perfect for fall fashions. The bidding on them will start at $7 with $2 added for shipping.
The second pair is also 4 inches long. It is a cluster of circles dangling down to form a loose, oblong shape. The bidding on them will also start at $7 with $2 added for shipping.
To bid on either or both pairs, leave a comment with your name, contact information, how much you are bidding, and if you want the "leaf earrings" or the "circle earrings". The bidding will end Friday night at midnight with the winner announced on Saturday.
Happy bidding! Oh...and would you please consider passing this on to others who might want to help? And keep on praying for us. We can never get too much prayer covering.
Thanks so much!
Elysa
*************
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Friday, 10:12 pm
The auction has officially ended but since there were no bidders on the cascading circles earrings, I will extend that auction til 5:00 this Sunday. Michelle H has won the leaf earrings.
We are trying to do everything we can to make the trip as economical as possible including considering the option of just finding someplace, like a church, that will let us sleep on their floor the majority of nights that we are there. We are also liquidating some of our own assets to help finance the trip.
That said, we still are looking at a bunch of money that needs to come in. And to get our airline tickets at good rates, we really need to purchase them as soon as possible.
I'll be honest. Sometimes it seems overwhelming and I start feeling stressed out. That's when I have to pray, trust, and take one step at a time. Ultimately, God is our source and provision but after much prayer, we believe that we have His go ahead to work towards bringing in the funds as well as provision that He wants to provide through offerings and supernatural means.
We hope to do one fund raiser a month until we have raised all our money along with lots of online auctions like we did to raise money for Anna, Betsie, and David's mission trips they went on this past summer.
We have been given some wonderful items to auction off online to raise money for our Swaziland trip. We also bought some things while in Thailand that we'll be auctioning including some earrings I'll be showing you at the bottom of this post.
If you have anything you'd like to donate, let me know.
Items that would be great to give and easy to auction off include:
*Donated services (like housecleaning, tires rotated, photography session, oil change, lawn care, hair cut, tax prep, closets organized, manicures, etc.)
*Artwork and crafts (paintings, knitted hats, crocheted scarves, wall hangings, jewelry, etc.)
*Gift cards
*Blog banner design
*Home-cooked meal, baked goods, deer sausage, home-canned jellies, etc.
*Books (especially nice if signed by author)
*Cds
*Collectibles (one friend donated a cross made out of a famous missionary's home, another friend donated British magazines about the recent royal wedding)
*Items from other countries
*Coffee
*Sports team related items
*Missions or Christian themed t-shirts (maybe you had some leftover from your own fundraiser?)
*Gift baskets of assorted items (baby gifts, toiletries, regional foods, etc.)
*And so much more!
This is a great way to help us if you desire to give but don't have the money. Most of us have items or services that we could donate that wouldn't cost us a dime. For instance, a missionary friend had several things that he had brought back as gifts but hadn't given away. He gave them to us and we made a lot of money from them. Another friend is a massage therapist. She donated a half hour massage and we made a lot of money on that one.
If you don't live near me, when the winner is announced, you can send the item directly to the person who won the auction if it is something that can be shipped.
Another option is to hold an online auction yourself on our behalf. It is very easy to do. Just post about our story and an item or service you want to auction off on your blog, website, facebook, etc. Set a deadline and then have people bid. At the end of the bidding period, whoever bids the most, wins! You either mail the item to them or deliver it in person. This is a great option as it taps into a group of bidders that we probably don't know.
Thanks in advance! We can't do this on our own so any and all help is greatly appreciated.
And now to kick off our first Send-the-MacLellans-to-Swaziland auction, I've got two lovely pairs of costume jewelry earrings that Jim bought while he was in Thailand with Betsie.
They are both gold, big, and glimmery. Perfect for someone who likes shine!
The first pair is comprised of cascading leaves. These flirty 4-inch long earrings would be perfect for fall fashions. The bidding on them will start at $7 with $2 added for shipping.
The second pair is also 4 inches long. It is a cluster of circles dangling down to form a loose, oblong shape. The bidding on them will also start at $7 with $2 added for shipping.
To bid on either or both pairs, leave a comment with your name, contact information, how much you are bidding, and if you want the "leaf earrings" or the "circle earrings". The bidding will end Friday night at midnight with the winner announced on Saturday.
Happy bidding! Oh...and would you please consider passing this on to others who might want to help? And keep on praying for us. We can never get too much prayer covering.Thanks so much!
Elysa
*************
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Friday, 10:12 pm
The auction has officially ended but since there were no bidders on the cascading circles earrings, I will extend that auction til 5:00 this Sunday. Michelle H has won the leaf earrings.
4 comments:
Elysa, I would like to bid $7 on the leaf earrings. They are so cute.
Got it, Michelle! Thanks for being our first bidder!!!
Once again, a Troubadour and W Sister comes thru. :D
Michelle---You are the winner! Congratulations and THANK YOU!!!!!
Yet another W Sister has come thru!!! My bff from college (who was also my maid of honor) has bid $8 on the circle earrings.
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