All's Well That Ends Well

The Well-Raising Yard Sale was a smashing success! It felt miraculous! From the neighborhood kids waking up at 6:30 to help us set up, to the weather that turned around (not a drop of rain,) to the GRAND TOTAL of more than $1,400 brought in, we felt God's hands all over this one.

Now I've had a lot of yard sales in the past, but even when they've been moving sales with tons of big ticket items worth hundreds of dollars, we've never, ever brought in that kind of money. There wasn't even a rush of customers. Just little sales, here and there. How did it all add up?

Perhaps it was this little cutie asking for donations:

Or maybe it was the alluring sight of me in a neon t-shirt and fanny pack:

But I really think it was the prayer circle my small group and I had before the customers started coming.

And there were no Early Birds... Isn't that a miracle in itself?

Speaking of miracles, we loaded up 5 complete van/truckloads to donate to charity afterwards. It felt very loaves and fishes-like to me.

A regret:

When my cleaning lady's sisters showed up early in the day, I charged them full price for stuff. If I had realized we were raking in the dough, I would have given it to them for free. I'm going to feel embarrassed the next time I see them, and not just over the piles of dog hair in my house.

Not a regret:

When a mom complained about the price I was charging for paperback books, I didn't budge. Later in the day, we were giving them away-- I just didn't like the snotty 'tude, lady.

An observation:

I am so glad my kids don't have a real shopping bug in them (unless we're talking Legos). The neighborhood kids bought and bought and bought. This helped with the bottom-line, but it made me glad my kids don't bring home a lot of little junk. I want to be the only junk bringer-inner in this family.

Thank you so much for your encouragement and support throughout the whole process! After an awesome $1,000 donation that came in on Friday night, which is a story in itself, we have reached our $5,000 goal.

Can't wait to let you know which country our well will be built in. I hope you will enjoy following the progress with me.