Garage Sale Success!

New Bremen had its community garage sales this past Friday and Saturday. If you have not been to the Bremen garage sales, it is quite the ordeal. People began opening up their sales on Tuesday evening in hopes to getting people to buy them out before the end of the week. It is crazy intense! I decided to take a personal day this year and open up Friday and Saturday.

We had already decided that we were going to use the garage sale as an adoption fundraiser, so we hung signs and advertised as such. We also had so many people generously donate items for us to sell. Our garage and driveway was packed, which was great because it brought people in. The weather was not the greatest...it was somewhat cold Friday, and seriously cold on Saturday...but at least it was dry.

The sale was a complete success, although I am exhausted. My favorite part of the sale was not the money we raised (although that is extremely helpful), but it was the openness of many shoppers to tell us their adoption stories. On Friday, we had at least 3 different adults tell us that they were adopted and how much their adoptive families mean to them. And on Saturday, we had many tell us of others that they know that are going through/have gone through the adoption process. I can't get one couple out of my mind. They were a younger couple that started by asking a few questions about the adoption process and our adoption decision and then they shared some very personal details of their attempts to conceive, much of which resembled our own story. I gave the couple my contact information and encouraged them to contact me so we could talk further. I truly hope that they take me up on the invitation and get in touch because my heart has just been aching for them since they left.

It is a reminder for me that we are not in this alone and a reassurance that God has a plan for us to help others through their journey, whether it be a battle with infertility or a blessed adoption plan. I feel that this is our calling and I am anxious to be able to follow His lead. Below are some pictures of our sale and the many items that were donated!