Mothers in Georgia share how their daughters were inspired to change the lives of families in Guatemala, and the incredible lessons they learned about God’s faithfulness.
Christmas greetings from Georgia!!!
It is with great joy that we are writing to you today!! Earlier this month, our daughters, Sophie Mausz (age 9) and Emma Sue Loveland (age 10) hosted the Jingle Bell Run in our neighborhood in Marietta, Georgia to benefit Food For The Poor and the greenhouses you are helping to build in Guatemala. They heard about the efforts on our local Christian radio station, 104.7, The Fish Atlanta, and before we knew what had happened, they had planned a “race fest,” complete with plans for a silent auction, drafted a race course through our neighborhood, created awards, and were full speed ahead to move forward with it… they were going to raise $1000 to build a greenhouse. How could we say no?
Over the course of one month, the girls registered over 60 people to run in three different races – the Santa Run (3.5miles), the Reindeer Run (1.75 miles) and the Elf Run (for our small friends, 2 laps around our cul-de-sac) – and collected beautiful, handmade auction items from family and friends from here to Texas. We had planning meetings to discuss race details, they made medals for finishers in all three races, stuffed goodie bags for all participants, made jewelry and other crafts for the auction, and offered their own time for auction items such as gift wrapping services, dog walking services, and a homemade brownie plate. Everything was set for December 1 at 9 a.m. and they were ecstatic!!!
And then came the rain. It rained and it rained and it rained. Sophie and Emma Sue were terribly distraught, but we encouraged them with the Word and the the Lord’s promises… that He would provide if only we all had faith. Most of their registered participants weren’t willing to brave the cold, wet conditions, and we could hardly blame them, but 22 brave souls ventured out to run and walk!!!
And as He promised… He provided. The participants who didn’t come insisted the girls keep their entry fees ($10 per
person) and many sent additional donations. The girls received a number of very generous donations from family and friends, their auction was a smashing success, and in total, Sophie and Emma Sue raised an amazing $2,678 for the greenhouse projects in Cofradias and Sansur, Guatemala!!!! They were so excited to send their proceeds on to Food For The Poor and pray it will impact lives for Christ.
Thank you for the work you do to spread God’s word and the love of His people to those in need. We are blessed to have had this opportunity for our daughters to learn from such an experience of giving and we wish you a beautiful Christmas and 2019.
Our best,
Greg & Heather Mausz
Andy & Becky Loveland