He provides:
Our agency offered to accept the first half of our fees this Thursday to begin the process with the agreement that the second half will be ready at our next step. Our total agency fee will be $3500 so we needed to provide $1750 today.
Here is how He provided:
In-person marathon sponsor #1- $50
In-person marathon sponsor #2- $100
Unexpected escrow check- $602.58
Unexpected insurance check- $268.74
Unexpected business reimbursement check- $25
"Change For China" returned in the past 4 days- $35.51
Cash donations- $60
Personal items sold- $150
Mary Kay party- $91.25
Donated furniture sold- $140
Psalm 37:5 "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thursday, May 16, 2013
A new goal
It would seem my timeline never seems to match the timeline of the One who is really in charge of our adoptions. I created this nice little plan thinking I was setting big goals and showing faith. I felt so good about that quaint little plan but still said with my heart, "If this is not your plan, just show me and we will do what you ask." Little did I know...
Since laying out that quaint little plan we have experienced a job change. But through the confirmation of the Spirit, and a clear work of God himself in our lives, we continued to just put one foot in front of the other knowing with 100% clarity that we were indeed meant to continue this path of adoption. Even though we understood clearly that we are to continue on the path of this adoption, it turns out our expectations were still just a little off. God does not want us to "just" move forward with the adoption process at our leisure. He's got something in mind, and we're supposed to get to it now.
When we first started the process of adopting from Russia in October of 2011, we didn't understand why, but we had an unusual feeling of urgency. We knew we needed to not drag our feet. It was not until 8 weeks after we got our son home in 2012 when the Russian adoption ban passed that we realized why. God had a timeline. That little boy needed to be home in time. We could not wait.
So here we are again, not understanding our Father's timing. But we know we are supposed to have our agency fee ready to go by next Thursday, May 23. God has a timeline. And as of yesterday, I finally caught up and realized what His timing is. So I have 9 days to put together about $2500 for our agency fee. Impossible? No. All things are possible. Intimidating? A little, yes. We just got our running team off the ground (and even received our very first donation!!) today. But the funds raised by our team will not be sent to our agency until after the race in October. This $2500 needs to be raised now and in our hands by next week.
So, here are the latest fundraising ideas for the next 9 days:
#1- My fantastic Mama (who also happens to be a Mary Kay Sales Director) has generously offered to donate 50% of sales generated by yours truly to our adoption account. So, I have a good old fashioned party planned next Wednesday and have opened online ordering at www.marykay.com/beckyk. All orders accompanied by the comment "shopping with Kim Krinke" will contribute to our adoption.
#2- I am selling "Helping Hands" to friends, family, and others. These little certificates are purchased in advance of service. It's a donation with the agreement to provide a service in the month of May. Friends who participate by donating will receive a "Helping Hand" certificate that is good for a service valued at the amount they donated. For example: mowing a lawn, washing a car, cleaning a toilet, etc. The donor will chose the value of the task (if they want to donate $5 for a clean toilet or $50 it is up to them) and the service will be provided before the end of the month.
#3- Good old fashioned charity. It is hard to be humble enough to admit you can't reach a goal on your own. It is hard to be humble enough to accept the help of others without offering something in return. One of the reasons I originally set this goal ($3500 agency fees) for July 4 is I really thought I could put together some fun events by then. If Heavenly Father wants to show me this is not about what I can do, but what He can do, I am trying to accept the generosity of others and bring glory to my Heavenly Father by showing His power, not mine.
Watch that thermometer over the next 9 days 'cause here we go!
Since laying out that quaint little plan we have experienced a job change. But through the confirmation of the Spirit, and a clear work of God himself in our lives, we continued to just put one foot in front of the other knowing with 100% clarity that we were indeed meant to continue this path of adoption. Even though we understood clearly that we are to continue on the path of this adoption, it turns out our expectations were still just a little off. God does not want us to "just" move forward with the adoption process at our leisure. He's got something in mind, and we're supposed to get to it now.
When we first started the process of adopting from Russia in October of 2011, we didn't understand why, but we had an unusual feeling of urgency. We knew we needed to not drag our feet. It was not until 8 weeks after we got our son home in 2012 when the Russian adoption ban passed that we realized why. God had a timeline. That little boy needed to be home in time. We could not wait.
So here we are again, not understanding our Father's timing. But we know we are supposed to have our agency fee ready to go by next Thursday, May 23. God has a timeline. And as of yesterday, I finally caught up and realized what His timing is. So I have 9 days to put together about $2500 for our agency fee. Impossible? No. All things are possible. Intimidating? A little, yes. We just got our running team off the ground (and even received our very first donation!!) today. But the funds raised by our team will not be sent to our agency until after the race in October. This $2500 needs to be raised now and in our hands by next week.
So, here are the latest fundraising ideas for the next 9 days:
#1- My fantastic Mama (who also happens to be a Mary Kay Sales Director) has generously offered to donate 50% of sales generated by yours truly to our adoption account. So, I have a good old fashioned party planned next Wednesday and have opened online ordering at www.marykay.com/beckyk. All orders accompanied by the comment "shopping with Kim Krinke" will contribute to our adoption.
#2- I am selling "Helping Hands" to friends, family, and others. These little certificates are purchased in advance of service. It's a donation with the agreement to provide a service in the month of May. Friends who participate by donating will receive a "Helping Hand" certificate that is good for a service valued at the amount they donated. For example: mowing a lawn, washing a car, cleaning a toilet, etc. The donor will chose the value of the task (if they want to donate $5 for a clean toilet or $50 it is up to them) and the service will be provided before the end of the month.
#3- Good old fashioned charity. It is hard to be humble enough to admit you can't reach a goal on your own. It is hard to be humble enough to accept the help of others without offering something in return. One of the reasons I originally set this goal ($3500 agency fees) for July 4 is I really thought I could put together some fun events by then. If Heavenly Father wants to show me this is not about what I can do, but what He can do, I am trying to accept the generosity of others and bring glory to my Heavenly Father by showing His power, not mine.
Watch that thermometer over the next 9 days 'cause here we go!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Run
This is what's got me so excited lately:
This is our run. This is going to be our "big" fundraiser. With our last adoption I got really excited about our yard sale. I knew it was going to be our "big" event. And it was. Success doesn't even begin to describe how well that fundraiser went. When I began planning the yard sale, I felt so excited. I knew it was what we needed to do. That's the way I feel about this run. I know it is what we are supposed to do. And I cannot wait to start "Running to China."
In case I have not managed to catch you and blurt out all of the details yet here's the gist: the Chosen Marathon is a USATF certified marathon put on by a non profit organization called ABBA Fund. Adopting families can fundraise for their adoption by participating in the race and forming a team. Each team member who registers for the race (even those who register as "sleep walkers" and do not participate on race day) adds funds to our 'bucket' through their registration fee. Participating in the race also allows us to create a 'family page' where we can receive tax deductible donations that will also be added to our 'bucket'. All of the monies raised through registration and donations will be distributed to our agency for our adoption after the race.
We chose the team name "Running to China" because we plan to create a team that will run the equivalent distance from our home to Guangzhou, China where our adoption will be finalized. All together we are striving to run a total of 6,879 miles before the end of our race day, October 26, 2013.
Check out our YouTube video:
We're running to China, wanna join us?
This is our run. This is going to be our "big" fundraiser. With our last adoption I got really excited about our yard sale. I knew it was going to be our "big" event. And it was. Success doesn't even begin to describe how well that fundraiser went. When I began planning the yard sale, I felt so excited. I knew it was what we needed to do. That's the way I feel about this run. I know it is what we are supposed to do. And I cannot wait to start "Running to China."
In case I have not managed to catch you and blurt out all of the details yet here's the gist: the Chosen Marathon is a USATF certified marathon put on by a non profit organization called ABBA Fund. Adopting families can fundraise for their adoption by participating in the race and forming a team. Each team member who registers for the race (even those who register as "sleep walkers" and do not participate on race day) adds funds to our 'bucket' through their registration fee. Participating in the race also allows us to create a 'family page' where we can receive tax deductible donations that will also be added to our 'bucket'. All of the monies raised through registration and donations will be distributed to our agency for our adoption after the race.
We chose the team name "Running to China" because we plan to create a team that will run the equivalent distance from our home to Guangzhou, China where our adoption will be finalized. All together we are striving to run a total of 6,879 miles before the end of our race day, October 26, 2013.
Check out our YouTube video:
We're running to China, wanna join us?
Team "Running to China"
If you clicked on the "Count My Miles" button in the menu bar, scroll down to the bottom of this post to see information about logging miles for our team.
Thank you for considering joining our team! From May to October 2013 we will be training for the Chosen Marathon. If you are not familiar with this race please visit www.chosenmarathon.com.
I would like to know more about you before I participate, how can I learn more about your adoption?
Thank you for considering joining our team! From May to October 2013 we will be training for the Chosen Marathon. If you are not familiar with this race please visit www.chosenmarathon.com.
I
don’t have time to look up the site, tell me a little about it.
The Chosen
Marathon is held October 26, 2013 near Austin Texas in New Braunfels. This run
is a Boston Qualifier and USATF certified. It will definitely be a great race
for running enthusiasts and novices alike. The course moves along the Guadalupe
River and includes hills and scenery. A half marathon is also run along this
same course for those not ready for the full 26.2 miles. MANY families run or
even walk the half marathon without previous race experience (training yes,
previous half marathons no).
Whether you
are already a competitive runner or still a couch potato wishing to cross a
finish line in triumph you can support our team!
That
sounds like a run I want to participate in, what do I do?
You can register for this race online to benefit our team at www.chosenmarathon.com
You can register for this race online to benefit our team at www.chosenmarathon.com
Register to run the full OR
half marathon and when prompted enter the team name:
Running to China. Then be sure to get in contact with us so we can add
your training miles to our team’s goal (see below).
I’m
not ready to run that far, can I still participate?
If you cannot be present the day of
the race, or perhaps your training has included too much couch and not enough
finish line, you can register as a “sleep walker” and support our team from the
comfort of your home on race day. Just go to www.chosenmarathon.com and follow the registration prompts. Be sure to enter the team name: Running to China. And if you are
walking or running any distance between now and October 26, 2013 please contact
us so that we can add your miles to our team’s goal (see below).
I would run this race if it were near my hometown, but I can't travel to Texas, is there someway I can participate?
Many friends have already expressed a conflict the day of the race: can't travel to Texas/already running another race in October/can't afford the registration fee/etc. If you would run the race with us under different circumstances, consider a way you can contribute that would match your initial expectation. If you would join our team if the registration fee were lower, consider making a donation to our family page and logging your miles without participating in the actual race. If you would run the race if it did not require travel or did not conflict with an existing commitment, consider registering as a "sleep walker" so you can be on our team without being present race day. Bottom line: we want your support and participation in whatever way you can offer it. And if you just can't join the team, spread the word! That will be the most valuable contribution you can make!
How
does registering for the race benefit adoption?
Your registration
fee will be placed into our team’s “bucket” and distributed to our agency after
the race is complete. The funds will be applied to our adoption of a special
needs child from China. The more runners we have on our team, the more funds we
will have to apply toward our adoption. And, by creating our team, we are given the opportunity to create a family page where tax deductible donations can be made and will be distributed to our placing agency in the form of a grant. Visit our family page at: http://www.abbafund.org/blog/running-to-china/chosen-marathon-teams/
I would like to know more about you before I participate, how can I learn more about your adoption?
We would love for you to visit our
family blog: www.krinkes.blogspot.com and continue to follow our story
here at adoptingwithoutdebt.blogspot.com. You can also view our YouTube videos
by clicking the links in the menu bar on this blog.
I
would like to make a donation without having to register for the race.
Tax deductible
donations of any amount can be made to our team online through our Chosen
Marathon family page at http://www.abbafund.org/blog/running-to-china/chosen-marathon-teams/ . Direct donations can also be made
through the ‘donate’ button on this blog.
Why
do you want to know about my training miles?
We have made a team
goal to “run to China” (hence the team name). This means that between May and
October our team (friends, family, neighbors, race participants, and random
strangers who decide to participate) will tally all miles run or walked during
training. Our goal is to run or walk a total of 6, 879 miles (the distance from
our home town to Guangzhou, China) by the end of race day October 26, 2013.
This is a goal we are tracking as a family separate from the Chosen Marathon
and we want everyone to be able to participate regardless of mobility or financial
participation. But we need to know who you are and how far you are going.
So, if you would like your miles to count toward our total go to www.dailymile.com and create an account to track your miles. Once you have an account you can click on the "challenges" button and find our challenge "Running to China". Or email me at kimkrinke@yahoo.com and I will send you a challenge invite (you need a dailymile account first). Dailymile is free and easy to use. You do not need a phone app or anything fancy. You simply input your total after each run or walk and your miles will be tracked for you and shown for our team. It's that easy.
So, if you would like your miles to count toward our total go to www.dailymile.com and create an account to track your miles. Once you have an account you can click on the "challenges" button and find our challenge "Running to China". Or email me at kimkrinke@yahoo.com and I will send you a challenge invite (you need a dailymile account first). Dailymile is free and easy to use. You do not need a phone app or anything fancy. You simply input your total after each run or walk and your miles will be tracked for you and shown for our team. It's that easy.
We hope you
will consider supporting this race even if it is not through our team. Please
visit the Chosen Marathon site and spread the word!
Marathon Sponsor Information
Who
can sponsor? Anyone and
everyone! Businesses, clubs, groups and individuals.
Let’s
get right to it, what’s in it for me? All “great causes” aside, we want this arrangement to hold
some interest for you. Here is what we can offer your business, club, group, or
you as an individual:
-all
donations made through our family page are tax deductible
-business who choose to sponsor us will have their
logo listed on the main page of both our blogs with average exposure of over 750 page views
per month
-direct
link to your webpage from our blog.
All business
references and advertising will be recognized in order of donation amount.
Individual
and club/group sponsorship will also be recognized in all publications above
and will also be listed in amount order.
What
am I sponsoring? The 3rd
annual Chosen Marathon will be held near Austin Texas in October 2013.
“As an official charitable outreach of ABBA Fund, Chosen’s mission is
to host sporting events to financially impact orphans & adoptive families
and raise awareness of the 165 million orphans worldwide. Our purpose is to
help children come into families, provide direct orphan care to those who are
not adopted, and educate the community about the global orphan crisis, while we
transform the world of Sports for the Kingdom of God.”
To learn more about how our team raises money for our
adoption and how funds are distributed visit www.chosenmarathon.com
Where do I go to donate? Tax deductible donations can be made
through our family page at: http://www.abbafund.org/blog/running-to-china/chosen-marathon-teams/ and will be distributed to our
placing agency after the race. Direct contributions to our adoption can also be
made with PayPal through the ‘donate’ button on our blog page.
Training
Brad and I
plan to run the full marathon and have found a 6 month training program that we
will be following. There are numerous variations and plentiful information
online about training for half and full marathons. I have included our training
schedule below and the link to the site where I found it because I can't get the picture any bigger here on the blog: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/marathon-training-schedule.html
We would love to have you join us on our training runs! Each Saturday we will be participating in local running groups, clubs, and Meetups. For more information about our upcoming runs click on the “running schedule” tab in the menu bar.
We would love to have you join us on our training runs! Each Saturday we will be participating in local running groups, clubs, and Meetups. For more information about our upcoming runs click on the “running schedule” tab in the menu bar.
The training
goal of our team will be to run the equivalent distance of Roseville,
California to Guangzhou, China, a total of 6,798 miles. In order to log your
training miles go to our blog and click the “Count My Miles” tab in the menu
bar for instructions. Remember, your training miles count whether you race or
not.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thank you, cookie dough...
Actually, thank you to our friends and family who purchased the cookie dough...
We have officially met goal #1- raise $300 for our application fee. Tomorrow is the big day and we will be submitting our application! The big, huge, enormous, gigantic, gargantuan ball is slowly beginning to roll...
I found this sassy little mama online, copied her by hand, and added the globe for our 'label'.
We have officially met goal #1- raise $300 for our application fee. Tomorrow is the big day and we will be submitting our application! The big, huge, enormous, gigantic, gargantuan ball is slowly beginning to roll...
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