It’s been awhile since a blog post so thought I would catch you all up on what’s going on with Firefleyes and the wonderful things God has in store for the future. God continues to surprise me each and everyday. I have to remind myself that his will is not always mine, but I know there is a reason for his surprises if I just sit back and trust him. For me, this is the hardest realization that I will have to continually remind myself of for the rest of my life. His ways are more powerful and everlasting if we stop resisting him and give him the glory for having control of our life. I have to constantly remind myself of that….. every single day. Speaking of trusting God, he is testing me in ways that I often find overwhelming. Sometimes I catch myself saying “ God, why are you doing this… I don’t know if im capable of what you think I am right now. Can you just give me a break?” But the great thing is… God does not have limits. His ways surpass anything we could ever imagine! I often find myself praying for God to appear in my everyday life and show his presence in everything that I do. It’s a crazy journey that we are on in this life ….. but it’s a beautiful one if we really take a look isn’t it?
A first ever Firefleyes trip was planted in front of me about two months back. I will be headed back to Sierra Leone with my mom, Grandma, and Regina, along with a few other strong women. God told me to take this leap and jump….. how do I plan a trip? Regina and I can’t lead a team of people all the way to Africa all by ourselves!? What will we do while we are there? Where will I get the money? There are SO many details that go into planning a trip….. how will this be possible?! These are all questions and concerns that I wrestled with for weeks. I know that this will be a big mile stone for Firefleyes and it will be a life changing trip for us, to give us the chance to spread our love to the people and children of Sierra Leone. We have a few projects in the works…. SO….. let the planning begin!! Contact me if you are interested in learning about these projects and how you can help!!
On Novemeber 27th from 10am-3pm there will be the second annual Firefleyes Holiday Market Place Fundraiser at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell. All money raised will be hand delivered to the children’s hospital in Freetown Sierra Leone in March by me and my team. The portions of food that the babies are getting at this hospital are very low because there is simply not enough food to go around for all the children who come in everyday. I witnessed this devastation first hand in June. I held the mothers while they sat on their Childs bedside knowing that there was nothing they could do. I held the children whose bones were so brittle I thought they would break when I held them close to me. Children are dying from severe malnutrition and WE can help. All donations and money raised will be to purchase formula in hopes that it will literally be SAVING lives. Praise God that we get a chance to make SUCH a difference! SO…. Why should you come to this event??
-Over 20 vendors will be coming to sell their products, such as Scentsy, Tastefully Simple, Schepers Jewelers (gold buy back from 10-2!!!), Premier Jewelry, Mackenzies, All Things Girly, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Creative Memories, Sundog Coffee, 31, Norwex, Alter Ego, Silpada Jewelry and MUCH more!
-First 25 guests in the door will get a FREE gift bag with goodies from all the vendors!
- Christian artist Christy Freeman will be giving a FREE concert in the sanctuary from 12-2!! She will be sharing her AMAING talent, so bring everyone because you don’t want to miss it!!
- The organization The Raining Season and Kids Against Hunger will be joining us in the efforts to promote their incredible mission. You can fill out their sponsor cards and be a blessing to a child all the way across the world, or sign up with a group to do a food-packaging event! They are such wonderful ministries to learn about and get involved with, so bring your hearts wide open and learn how YOU can help!
- Last year at this event there was a collection at the door for baby dolls and soccer balls. We had overwhelming donations and made HUNDERDS of children happy all around the world with a total of 400 baby dolls and over 100 soccer balls! THIS year we will be taking donations of money or baby formula at the door. Lets fill the boxes and SAVE some lives at this children’s hospital!
We are looking forward to the event and hope to see you all there! It’s a GREAT time to get some Christmas shopping done!!
I would like to close this post with a huge THANK YOU to everyone. You have all been so supportive in this journey that Firefleyes is going on. Many plans are in the making and I know it would never be possible without our amazing father God and all of you. If you would like to learn more about the projects that you can help with, please email me or visit the web site. Read further blogs about our experience this past June in Sierra Leone. Let the stories break your heart…. Then sit with it, pray about it, and ask God where his place is for you in all of this. Have your heart wide open to God every single day. He is waiting to fill it with endless possibilities!!
As I will say until the day I die…. Take your passion and use it to impact the world.
God Bless,
Bethany
