Our first auction fundraiser and more sweet treats to benefit Swaziland!

There are more items to come, but we have our first donated item for fundraising for our trip! My sweet friend Krissy is donating a never worn, beautiful, pink Easter dress, size 8. If you are interested in this dress, comment with your bid below. The starting bid is $10. We will take bids through Wednesday, April 4th.

Also, Krissy is the "amazing cupcake lady" as she's known around this house. She owns Flower Cakes Bakery and did the combination cupcake/chocolate dipped strawberry orders with me for Valentine's Day.

She will be offering Easter-themed cupcakes for the holiday, in two decorated versions. You can choose from cute and whimsical, or more ornate with a lovely cross. Photos coming soon! They will be $24 for a dozen, or two dozen for $40. Here are the details of flavors available:

Mint Chocolate Chip
Red Velvet
White Chocolate Vanilla
Double Chocolate
Strawberry Cream
Pink Lemonade
Carrot
or
Assorted Dozen

We receive commission off any orders coming through our recommendation, so let us know you heard of her here!

She does cupcake delivery as well, and the link to her site is here. Feel free to support this sweet, hard-working mama and dear friend. Thanks ya'll!

Fiesta Recap

Whoa! What an exciting event the Africa Fiesta was. I'm still smiling from ear to ear, over the turnout, awesome food, encouragement we received, and surprise guests who showed up! It is so cool how God works out details and provided new friends who are gifted at catering and helped with food and organization. Other friends loaned crock pots, or helped set up and clean up. Youth assisted in serving and refilling. Another friend helped cook part of the soup. I am so thankful. After nearly 9 straight hours of standing today, I know we couldn't have done this without so many helpful folks who gave cheerfully of their time and talents. It is humbling and so rewarding to see people come together and enjoy serving on a project benefiting such a wonderful cause. 

We decorated with the colors of the Swazi flag, and had photos of children from the care points, as well as pictures of the McAdams and Clyburns on the tables, so our guests could see who we will be visiting and ministering with. I had made some small Africa plaques as decor, and sold those as well, which helped us even more financially.

Our conservative goal for this event was to have 80 guests for lunch. Then, my dream goal was 100. We don't have an exact count, but we had well over 100 people come! We served 110 burritos alone! At one point I looked up and saw all of our 90 chairs filled, with a line of folks still waiting to be served. What an incredible blessing!

Alli and I recorded a couple of short video clips to sum up the day.  Hope you enjoy them. Lastly, THANK YOU to everyone who came out and gave to help us get to Swaziland!

First Fundraiser Update and Upcoming Events

29 of these

stacks of boxes everywhere!

Strawberries for Swaziland:

I am so happy that I just have to share how great the first fundraising event went. I took orders for chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine's Day and had a personal goal in mind for how many I would like to sell (20 dozen).

What is so great about all this is that God blew me away by sending more orders than I imagined. It's been a super busy, crazy few days of chocolate, berries, buying boxes, needing more chocolate, berries, and boxes. Then, more berries. And, more berries! What great problems to have!

Monday and Tuesday, James and kids have been delivering these goodies to friends all over, and I am so thankful for your support and encouragement! This money goes to help me purchase my plane ticket, which we estimate will cost around $2000. I'm thankful to be making a dent in that large sum.

Upcoming Events:
Alli and I are both looking forward to our African Fiesta, this coming Sunday after church. This will be a large, joint fundraiser. If you live anywhere near our area, you have to eat lunch, so why not come eat a home-cooked, delicious meal with friends, and support a great cause? Our menu is going to be awesome, and we have a wonderful couple of chefs who are donating their talent to make a great deal of the food. I really would love for you to experience it with us! You can find our event on Facebook and RSVP there ("African Fiesta").

We have been approached by several friends who would like to contribute by allowing us to share in the profit of their small businesses or to sell their handmade items. We will share details about those dates, items for sale, and locations soon - possibilities include a jewelry show, hand-knitted items, seasonal dessert items, and a painting party.