Why Am I Surprised When God Shows Up?

About 2 weeks ago I sent out a request for help. I needed to get some funds for shipping a metric ton of clothing out of my room so that 1. Hundreds of orphans can have new clothes, shoes, and games and 2. I can actually use my bedroom for things like getting dressed and walking around and sleeping. The response was instant and BIG. Within 48 hours over $2000 had been collected. As of right now over $2600 has been donated. I'm stunned. For some reason I doubt that this is real. I always feel like someone made a mistake. In short, I'm surprised when God shows up.

Yo! What's up? Surprised to see me? How do like this shirt I just picked up at the church rummage sale?

 (Source)

I'm the best at putting Jesus in a box. Like, trying to define what He can do by what my feeble human mind can think up. For example, if I pray for donations of shoes then I'm thinking a couple of pairs of ratty sneakers. And then someone gives me 100 pairs of Air Jordans and I'm like, what?!?! Because in my mind I really want the Air Jordans but for some reason I think God's only going to come through with the ratty sneakers. The worst part is I DON'T SHOT HIGHER THAN RATTY SNEAKERS. If wishing for ratty sneakers gets me Air Jordans then what would asking for Air Jordans get me???

Ratty sneakers (Source)

Air Jordans (Source)

I'm working on the not being surprised by Jesus thing. I'm also working on not limiting Him. I'm trying to aim higher and higher each day. I pray that my asking is closely in tune with what He wants to give me. Because I'm pretty sure He has bigger and better things still to come.

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"-Matthew 7:11 (ESV)

APB

I need help. And I don't mean the psychiatric kind. I need financial help. Well, specifically, EEROP/Walking with Orphans needs financial help. I just want my bedroom back.

See, all the donations that come in to Walking with Orphans get placed in my bedroom. Why? Because I'm the president and we don't have office space (yet). Extra large packages get put in the basement. Once the boxes are all unpacked the donations get logged, sorted, and stored. In my bedroom closet. When I get enough ready for a shipment or someone contacts me about a need then I repack everything. In my bedroom. Then I either send it with my operations manager to be shipped or I wait. Why do I wait? Usually because we don't have enough funds to cover the shipping at the moment. Which means that the huge boxes of donated items sit. In my bedroom.

Right now we have SEVERAL boxes that are ready to ship but not enough funds to cover them all. So they are waiting. In my bedroom.

Exhibit A:

A stack of girl's clothes just waiting to sent off. I have at least 3 places these could go.

Exhibit B:

More girl's clothes waiting to be packed up.

Exhibit C:

A packed box for children in Russia. I have the address and everything ready to go. Winter and summer clothes plus games for the kids all packed up.

Exhibit D:

Underwear. Yes, underwear. A whole box of brand new underwear. Specifically designated for an orphanage in Ukraine. Just waiting...

Exhibit E:

3 boxes of hats and scarves ready to go to a new orphanage (1st time contact). There will be 1 more box going to this same location.

Exhibit F:

A box of baby clothes to go to a friend in Romania who works with abandoned infants and gypsy children. There is enough clothes in stock to send probably 3 boxes to her. But, for now, it sits.

As much as I like using boxes as a bedside table it's not really the look I was going for. What can you do to help? Click on the link below and donate. Then share with your friends and get them to donate too. I have at least 4 more bags of donations coming in and I need to make room for everything. The longer these sit the longer the kids go without. Just remember...

$20 will get a small box to Romania
$50 will get a small box to Russia or Ukraine
$100 will get a large box to Romania
$150 will get a large box to Russia or Ukraine
$500 will get 3-4 boxes to Russia or Ukraine
$1000 will get a box to Bulgaria
$2000 will cover shipping for 2-3 months
$3000 will get a round trip ticket, 2 weeks in country, and HAND DELIVERY of 2 suitcases worth of items (plus the opportunity for that person to love on some kids and develop a personal bond with them)
$10,000 will get us office space and cover shipping, operating costs, and even travel for approximately 6 months. Yes, 6 months. $10,000. Over 1,500 children impacted. And I get my bedroom back.

Just to sweeten the deal...if you are a playboy millionaire who needs to be persuaded, here is a picture of me in a bathing suit in a pool...

playing with a little girl from a Romanian orphanage last summer.

Give away:

Waiting...

I feel like everything is a waiting game right now...

Waiting on the 501(c)3 approval for the nonprofit...

Waiting on the new logo and website design so I can launch Walking with Orphans...

Waiting on my first paycheck from my new job...

Waiting to see if I will be going back to Romania this summer...

Waiting, waiting, waiting on so much more...

I think I'll eat this brownie while I wait...

Thursday

Is it really Thursday already? This week has flown by! Yesterday was a full but great day which may explain why I can't believe the week is already half way over.

It started out with letters and drawings from one of my sweet boys in Romania.

Pic of us this winter.

He is truly precious and his kind words started my day off right.

Next I got to meet with my new Russian friend Natalia and her husband, Terry.

I think I have found my kindred Russian spirit. Or my long lost Russian sister. This was the first time we had ever met and yet I felt like I've known her forever. It was such a blessing to get to meet someone who shares my passion for the orphans of Russia and Eastern Europe.

Finally, I got a late afternoon surprise: a picture of my sponsor child from Ukraine with a picture of my first letter I had sent him!

Needless to say this helped me push on through the rest of a long work day.

I even allowed myself extra time to knit and relax last night. I'll be back at it today but it's officially the downward slide to the weekend!

In Like a Lion

Happy March everyone! Last month my Totally Do-Able 12 Month Plan went out the window almost totally. It's nothing I'm upset over though. Most of the reason why I wasn't able to stick to my plan was because, even though I now have a paying job, I won't get my first paycheck until the middle of this month. Which meant another month pinching pennies and buying/doing only what was necessary to get by. I'll get back on track this month though.

That doesn't mean that I was idle all month. I finished the Wurm hat (which I already blogged about) and a Tweed Watch Cap.

Tweed Watch Cap

The Tweed Watch Cap is a pattern from 60 Quick Knits put out by Cascade. this is actually one of the hats I have enjoyed the most. The fit is absolutely perfect, not too tight and not too loose. I used a different yarn than Cascade 220 (as suggested) but, of course, any worsted weight yarn works with this pattern.

Speaking of yarn...I ordered some Knit Picks yarn using my Christmas gift certificate. It's been *a long time* since I've bought yarn from myself so this was a nice treat.

Stroll Sock Yarn

More Stroll

Swish Worsted, a washable wool

 I'm thinking about holding the sock yarn doubled and making some socks for charity since we're really in need of some warm, but thin-ish, winter socks for some of the kids. I don't have definitive plans for the worsted yarn but I'm thinking mittens (another need for the charity) or maybe a sweater (again, for charity, not for me).

In the world of my nonprofit (Eastern European and Russian Orphanages Project) things are busy as always. I made contact with a woman from Russia (through a friend of a friend) who is working with two small villages in need of some tangible support (see my last post for more information). I've begun hitting kids consignment sales and Goodwill looking for deals on like new kids clothes. I would say I've had pretty good success...

This is just one box of clothes that is almost full to the brim for one of the villages. Another box has already been sent and this:

Is the $10 (!) suitcase I picked up at Goodwill yesterday that is getting stuffed with more clothes and being sent this week with yet another friend of a friend who will actually be visiting the kids this summer! Despite all I've managed to get together (including 3 sets of sheets) there is a still a lot that they need. Shoes, bathing suits, and sports equipment are now becoming a priority. As always you can check out the EEROP website for info on shipping and needed items. EEROP will also be undergoing some changes this month. We are planning on rebranding under the name Walking with Orphans. While EEROP has accurately described our purpose for years it's not as memorable as Walking with Orphans (which, coincidentally also describes what we are doing really well). Be sure to check the website and Facebook page for more information as we make the switch.

It's only the 3rd and March is already shaping up to be a whirlwind of a month!