Stephen's BIG idea...

Back in April, the aftermath of an earthquake and tsunami in Japan was all the news...
Stephen saw a commercial on TV that showed the devastation and destruction the earthquake and following tsunami had caused.  He was quite taken by it all. he came to us and said rather matter-of-factly, "i want to help Japan!"

i was a bit surprised, but it was not at all unlike Stephen's character....he's very empathetic. so we asked him, "how would you like to do that?"  and he replied without delay, "sell some of my toys."  my heart grew at that moment!  i was just inspired by this 7yr old boy who was willing to sell his own possessions to help those in need.  remarkable.

the following day, as my husband and i discussed the possibility of having our own garage sale to raise money to benefit the relief efforts in Japan, it occurred to him that perhaps we could have a "church-wide" sale to try to tripple our efforts!!  what a wonderful idea!

so we approached the elders of Temple Baptist Church to request this undertaking, and find out the logistics of it all.  i told Stephen not to get his hopes up because it may not be feasible.  however, the elders agreed and we started the planning!!  we were all so excited!

we started collecting items from around our home, and Nick was going to sell lemonade. the church started dropping hints to the congregation, and everything started in motion! Stephen was interviewed and video taped so the church family could see who's big idea this was! i was so proud to see him up on the big screen! advertising in the Penny Saver and on Craig's List helped notify the public, and blurbs in our church bulletin helped get people involved.

well, today was the day of the yard sale!  despite the nasty, wet weather, there was a good turnout.
Nick sold his lemonade, and the teens sold baked goods for their missions trip to NC. i'm not sure how much we raised, but i know every little bit will help!!

it was an amazing experience to see people come to support Stephen's big idea!  truly inspiring for all of us!  if a 7yr old can have his dreams come to fruition, why not anyone??!!
what's your big idea?

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