80 Mugs = A Community Center in Russia

Who knew that such a cute little mug could help support a building project in Russia? Well, here's how......

This past Sunday Rod preached a sermon on faith in God, even when it seems crazy and people around are laughing at you, using Noah as an example. During the whole service up by the stage had been a table with 80 cute ACF (Alliance Christian Fellowship) mugs. Then, right before the band started up, Rod told us of our missionary family's (in Russia) idea to build a community center to use as a place to witness, build-up christians and start church plants. But they need money. He then went on to tell us of the idea he had, using these mugs. Each mug was for sale, this week only, at a great deal of $500.00! If each and every one of these mugs sold, we would raise $40,000.00!

Now, we have done some "crazy" things before, most recently giving up the very shoes on our feet for Soles for Souls. But this one hit me like none other. If you know me or having been reading some of my past posts, you'll know that money is a tough subject for me. It's almost like a security blanket, the more we have, the safer I feel. So when Rod told us the price, I was kinda shocked. Of course I wanted to help, but that was a lot of money. Even more so with a baby on the way! I just started thinking about the things we needed to buy and how expensive they were going to be. So started a tug-a-war within me, the whole time wondering "does God really want us to do this or am I just feel peer pressure?", while watching other people walk up and grab 1 or even 2 mugs.

Eli was working in the sound booth, so after about 10 minutes of wondering (and worrying), I walked back there to talk to him about it. Then started the emotional part (I blame being pregnant!), tearing up because I could not bring myself to take a step and trust God in this matter. Eli was one the who said "God will take care of us, let's do it". So holding hands, we walked up, grabbed a mug and then had communion.

All 80 mugs were gone in 20 minutes. Yeah God!

Now looking back, I feel great about it. God has blessed us with jobs, a place to call home, family, friends, etc. I should be using those blessings to bless others. And if $500 for a mug is how God wants us to bless others (and trust Him to take care of us) then let's do it!