Well this week has been so busy and so full of blessings! Let me just share with you an amazing example:
Many of you know that we have been without air conditioning in our offices all summer and I shared on fb a few days ago that someone came by the office and handed me $500 and said “Go get you some air!” Well, we needed 2 portable units to cover 3 offices (with the needed ability to move them to other spaces) so I wasn’t sure how far I could get with the donation but yesterday morning I went traipsing off to Lowes like a woman on a mission. When I laid my eyes on the least expensive portable units, they were $399 each! One was a floor model so it was marked down just $30. I thought to myself that “I could just get one but what about which volunteers would have to suffer because I couldn’t get both?” A little disappointed, I thought I would try and find them somewhere else. Anyway, I walked away in search of three lighted EXIT signs required by the insurance company only to find them at $50 each! Slightly discouraged and with a desire to be the best steward of the donations given to the ministry, I planned to leave and find another way. However, the Holy Spirit just kept saying to me “you need to ask…just ask.” I picked up an exit sign and upon inquiry to see about a small discount, I was referred to the manager on duty (I will not list his name here so he does not get flooded with requests).
Upon his approach, I handed him my business card and briefly described what we are doing here being careful to note that we are in the start up phases, do not have residents yet, and plan to take residents in October of next year. I explained that my office t-stat has been reading better than 90 degrees, expressed concern for the volunteers. Then holding up the one exit sign, I explained that I needed three of them “but they are $50 bucks each!”
So we went and looked at the air units (noted that they only had two left in stock) and he wrote some stuff down on his notepad. Then he took my exit sign and wrote some more stuff down. Then we went up to Customer Service and he looked some stuff up…and entered some stuff in the computer. AND THEN he looked up from the computer at me and said “I can meet your budget…you can have it all for $500.” I started crying right in the middle of Lowes!!! (so unlike me by the way).
To make a short story even longer: he then personally brought up the two portable AC units and three exit signs and guided the cashier through the purchase. As we were finishing up I was thanking him again and he said “Oh, no problem, I come from that and me and my wife spent last night changing locks on my sister’s doors because of her abusive husband.” NOW YOU TELL ME who is it that went before me to Lowes and made sure this young man was the manager on duty at the time?!!
“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8)
The total purchase price was $497.05 including tax! AND…The most complicated thing about the whole transaction was FITTING THE BLESSING INTO MY CAR!
To all of our ministry friends and supporters, my hope for you is blessings so big you can’t even fit them into your car 😀
Much love and blessings to you all,
Sheryl Dorsey
President