Hey, were did the summer go? It seems I was just writing about the busy months of Kids' Club, an extra day of meal service and...NOW the State Fair has begun! Somehow I am not really ready to think September and, gulp, cooler temperatures on the way, just sayin'...
We did have a great summer here at Open Hands. Our Kids' Club site leader from YouthWorks, Kimberly Wedinger, was AWESOME! Each day she arrived with a smile on her face ready to engage with not only the kids who came to us on their summer mission trips through YouthWorks, but the neighborhood children who participated in Kids' Club each week. We had some challenges and some, um, first time experiences too. Ask me why we had to get the glass replaced in the Fireside Room of the church next time you see me IF you haven't already heard that story, just sayin'...
I want to update you on our July 31 Golf Outing and Supper. It was a gorgeous day and YES, if you are wondering, I did actually play 18 holes of golf. Our team even won a prize, we got the HIGHEST score! I know, I know, you're thinking, isn't the goal the lowest score? It is, but hey, the main thing was we had fun. We were blessed to have many generous people make financial contributions that evening. We were blessed even further when we were told that an anonymous person would match donations up to $1000.00! I am happy to say we met that challenge. Those who participated are already talking about doing it again next year. I guess you can count on it. If you have any interest in helping us organize next years event, as we are told to start early, please feel free to contact me at kay@openhandsmidway.org OR call me at 651-646-6549 x12 and we can talk about it. Recently I was talking to a friend about faith, trust and patience. I said, "It seems these are words I have used a lot in conversation about Open Hands." I began to think about that more, especially with regard to the financial circumstances of Open Hands. Anyone who has ever been a business owner or leader of an organization, as I am now, knows there are times we feel uncertain about what is to come. There are also times when financial contributions are going to be down and spending is going to be up. What we have to remind ourselves of, as that owner or leader, is to put our faith and trust in something far greater than ourselves. For me, that is trusting and having faith in God. Now I am not saying I sit here and wait for money to rain down from heaven, that would be nuts. What I am saying reflects one of our Open Hands values and beliefs which states, "All things are possible." Trusting and having faith helps us realize we do NOT have to try to make something happen all by ourselves. When we take the time to be patient, greater things than we ever darned to imagine can happen, like the surprise of the anonymous person's $1000.00 match at our recent golf event. My point, and I do have one, is to ask if you would keep the finances of Open Hands in your prayers. I believe Open Hands continues to exist because our work is not even close to being done in this mission field on Roy St. There are still greater things to be done, there are still lives to be changed and there are still people being called to join us in the work and mission we are about, just sayin'...