(Please forgive me if you don’t appreciate my little play on the words of Jesus.)
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5
Those well acquainted with my sister, Sarah, know she lives up to her maiden name. So it’s no surprise she decided to host a bake sale to raise money for our seminary expenses. Since Valentine’s Day is all about sugary treats (right?), she thought it was a perfect time to sell heart-shaped cakes and bouquets of cupcakes decorated with flowers. A simple flyer at her church and a post on the Baltic community Facebook page were her means of advertising. She didn’t expect the response to come.
Family and friends spread the word to their family and friends, and before long, Sarah had orders for four cakes and 596 cupcakes! Despite her baking prowess, she was obviously going to need some help to tackle this massive undertaking. Enter the rest of my fabulous family. A plan was devised - my parents (God bless them) would pick up and keep the grandkids for a few days so my sisters, my grandmother, and I could take care of the cakes during the extended weekend.
Now, some of you might be saying to yourselves, “Making hundreds of cupcakes sounds miserable.” Others of you might be saying to yourselves, “Working with my family for days sounds miserable.” But let me tell you, it was pretty great. Chatting and joking with my sisters is always a delight, and the whole process went quite smoothly. The first orders were fulfilled Thursday afternoon, all the baking and decorating was completed by early Saturday afternoon, and the last deliveries were made by Sunday afternoon. We were even able to enjoy some card games and a few cupcakes for ourselves during the whole thing.
The reason I share all this is because it so clearly speaks to a point we’ve heard from seminarians. There are many unknowns in entering the ministry which can cause some anxiety. Not the least of these unknowns is the matter of finances during seminary. How will we pay for my education and meet our basic needs for four years with extremely limited income? It is only through the generosity of others that we can even consider this. Pamela and I have been overwhelmed by the support we have already received from family, friends, acquaintances, and people we’ve never met. In this instance alone, at least 60 people contributed in some way to making this fundraiser a $1,559 success!
Pamela and I will do our best to individually thank those 60 people and the countless others who will help us these next four years, but we’ll add a huge public THANK YOU to all of them right now. It’s heart-warming to know there’s so much kindness in a world that’s also so bad, and it’s wonderfully humbling to know so much of that kindness is directed toward us. Thanks be to God.
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