No Greater Joy

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you  clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

'Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

'The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

We invited a wild assortment to our table.  We had to pull in extra chairs to get everyone seated.  We weren't sure that we would have enough to go around but we trusted that God would bless our little pot of stew.

He did.

He blessed our little pot of stew beyond our wildest imaginations.  

Not one orphan or family left our table hungry.  Every single one was fed with leftovers to spare.

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We set an unspoken and terrifying goal of trying to raise at least $1,000 in each of our orphan's grant accounts.  Eight orphans.  Eight thousand dollars.  Every single one of them reached that goal and WENT BEYOND.  Do you see their numbers?  YOU POURED OUT LOVE ON THESE KIDS!!  Thank you!!  Thank you!!

Harmony - $1,992.64 raised

Laurel -  $2,391.30 raised

 Igor - $1,440.50 raised

Emmitt -  $1,158.50 raised

Heath - $1,512.64 raised

 Hanson - $1,117.00 raised

 Jack - $1,380.50 raised

Victoria - $1,952.35 raised

And because of your donations - $1,294.54  was donated to Reece's Rainbow Voice of Hope fund.
We also raised over $525.00 for precious Bernadette who found her family at the beginning of our stew!!

We set an unspoken and impossible goal of trying to raise at least $2,000 for each family adopting from Katie's orphanage.  Eight families.  Sixteen thousand dollars. Every single one of them reached their goal and WENT BEYOND.  Again, do you see the numbers?  YOU BLESSED THESE FAMILIES BEYOND WHAT WE EVER BELIEVED OR IMAGINED!!  

The Unroe family - $5,002.77 raised

 The Carpenter family - $2,738.50 raised

The Burman family - $2,070 raised 

The Menges family  - $2,540 raised

 The Duncan family - $2,300 raised
The Booth family - $2,136 raised
The Brown family - $2,430 raised 

The Archer family - $2,696 raised 

We didn't have a goal for the Heim family or the Lost boys.  We just prayed that they would be blessed. 

THEY WERE.

We raised $9,277.46 for the Heim family.  

Traci and Scott are beyond grateful for every person who donated to help them bring Maria and her siblings home.  They have some hurdles to climb as they wait for approval on this side of the ocean.  We need to pour out our prayers on their behalf that God would move in the hearts of all those who are signing the papers.  Pray those kids home.  

Our Lost Boys... $1,934 came in for them.

Some of that money went through Harvest International and it will be disbursed to Alyona and Slavik in the next month or so.  The rest of the money is going to be carried across the water by a very special couple, Jed and Kimber, who will be MEETING Alyona and Slavik.  

They will be giving the money directly to them and it will be used to cover expense and provide supplies and clothes for the Lost Boys.  

Finally, through the PICK A CHILD prizes, ANOTHER $460.00 is going to be donated to Reece's Rainbow today. I'm hoping to share who the precious treasures are who will be receiving that money!

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Altogether we raised $48,708.24 for our Mulligan Stew...

 519 people donated!

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This week we celebrate Easter.  The reality that 2,000 years ago Christ gave His life as a ransom for us.  He conquered hell and the grave.  He rose.  He lives.  He won.  Two thousand years later, He still wins.  I serve a Risen Savior.  I worship a Living God.  He came to bring life and hope to the oppressed.  

Rob and I are well aware that we can  take no credit for this Giveaway.  From the beginning it was way too big for us to handle.  We took on something that was insane.  This has been God's show.  His display.  His reminder to each and every one of us that He won at the cross and He wins every single day of our lives.  

If you don't KNOW Him than you need to because there is no greater joy on earth than to stand beside the King of Kings and watch HIM battle for the weak and the hurting and the oppressed. 

He came to set the captives free.  

He is risen.  He is Risen indeed.

"A Common Stew for an Uncommonly Good Cause!"

 

CLICK HERE to view Our Mulligan Stew Giveaway winners!!