Mercy Graduate and her Family Give Back!!

It is always amazing to me to hear about the creative things people do to help support the work of Mercy Ministries. We are so blessed! I just received a letter in the mail from the family of one of our graduates sharing about how they wanted to help give back to Mercy. They are so thankful for the transformation they have seen in their daughter, Autumn’s, life that they have started having annual yard sales to raise money for Mercy. This annual event not only raises money for Mercy, but it has really started to make an impact on the people in their community. I thought I’d share with you the letter they just sent me along with a donation to Mercy, sharing about their most recent sale so that you could see just what kind of impact this family is having – we like to call this the ripple effect! I hope this blesses you as much as it blessed me!!

Dear Nancy and all the staff at Mercy,

It is that time of year we refer to at our house as “The Mercy Sale Time.” This was the 4th Mercy Sale we have had, with all of the items donated by friends, family, and leftovers from other people’s garage sales. We collect items for months and store them in our garage, although this year we had so much donated that we had items overflowing into the yard, filling a trailer, and also our van!

The morning of the sale, we hauled everything out, arranged it into categories, put up the Mercy Sale signs all over town, put out the donation jar since we do not price things, but simply ask for a donation to Mercy, put the packages of M&M’s (for Mercy Ministries) into a basket for everyone who makes a donation, turned on Christian music, said a prayer for the sale that we would be witnesses for God and for Mercy and a blessing to all who come to the sale, and got ready for an exciting, blessed day!

We always have a notebook for people to write down prayer requests that they may have. This year we had three pages full! The first couple who came wanted to know what a Mercy Sale was, so we gave them a short explanation that we have typed out for everyone, and after they read it, they looked at each other and started to cry. Their best friend’s daughter was in the hospital struggling with an eating disorder.

Thank you so much for the box of books and magazines you sent to us to give out to people! Almost every magazine and book was given away. One woman could not stop crying because she was abused as a child and has been a cutter for 15 years. She took home the book “Cut,” we prayed for her, and the next day she came back to the sale. She had read the book and said, “I saw myself on every page! Where can I go for help? I want to get well!”

Our daughter was home for five weeks this summer with her two children while her husband was in Afghanistan. She helped with the sale and could not believe how many people donated items, came to the sale, and how much money people gave. In the picture below, you can see her two year old, Austin, who greeted everyone who came to the sale, and her five year old daughter, Audrey, who sold pens the first day, candy the second day, and artwork the third day.

The other picture is of Jim Glasco and myself. He was the lead singer in the Calvarymen Quartet for 20 years and is now a singer with the Master’s Men Quartet. He and his wife have come to the sale for the last two years.

This year, a friend of mine who is a professional photographer made a special donation of one of his framed photos. We held a silent auction with the photograph going to the highest bid. We called the people who won and when they came to pick up the photograph, they told us that they knew they would win because their daughter had almost died from an eating disorder. She got help for it in Tennessee and is now doing great! The daughter was with them as we rejoiced with them and prayed for all who would be helped with the proceeds from the Mercy Sale.

We praise God for each one who donated items for the sale, for all who came to the sale, and for all who donated money to Mercy. The grand total this year was $1,100.55! Thank you, God! Thank you, Mercy, for being there for our daughter. May this money give help, hope, and healing to others at Mercy. We love you so much!

Dawn and Jim