The Craigs: October 2010

The MINA Project 2010

For the last 4 years our church has been doing something we call The Mina Project. Each year our pastor literally hands out money to the congregation & we are to multiply what we've been given. We are given anything from $10-$500. It goes back to the story in Luke were 3 servants are given a "mina" and are to invest it while their king is gone. The first 2 servants multiplied their mina & the 3rd servant buried his treasure & sat on it. Moral of the story- DO SOMETHING WITH WHAT GOD GIVES YOU!

Every year its interesting to see what ideas folks come up with in order to increase or multiply their mina. My small group has done things like sell Christmas cards & host a 5k race. This year my small group was at the beach for our annual retreat during the weekend the mina was passed out. So we missed out on the money. When I got home, Todd asked what "we" were going to do with "our" mina money. I politely reminded him that there's no "we" when it comes to one of us receiving mina money. I was the lead last year for our mina project & told him I would support him with whatever he decided to do but I wasn't going to lead the effort (I tend to do that a lot). So I sat on the sidelines this year & watched as my husband and his group lead the way.

Their idea??? HOMEMADE ICE CREAM!

This past Sunday, I had 5 guys at my house making homemade ice cream. They set up shop in the garage and for 4 hours they made vanilla, peach, strawberry & black cherry ice cream. My husband loves making SIGNS so Todd got his handy Post it board out and advertized their effort.

We had neighbors walking their dogs who stopped & bought ice cream. We got to share with them what we were doing & a little bit about our church. The weather was gorgeous and we all had a great time! The boys sold 70 pints @ $5 each and had some donations. So they turned their $60 they were given into close to $400. Not bad!

I couldn't have been more proud of the guys. They had a great idea (Aaron), worked together as a team, increased what they were given & had a great time doing it. Thanks to all those who helped & bought ice cream! We appreciate it !

Avery & the State Fair

Today is the last day of the NC State Fair- Thank God! I have been woking at the fair for the last 10 days b/c the Department of Ag owns the fair & we were doing a survey. But on Thursday, I got to go & enjoy the fair. This was Todd's first experience at the NC State Fair & he loved it! We also took Avery to the fair. Avery is a little girl in my small group at church and we have started to babysit her on Thursday nights so her mama can go to a bible study. We LOVE having Avery! Its a chance for her mother to go & fellowship with believers & grow in the Word, a chance for Avery to get some love and attention from Mrs. Candice and Mr. Todd and a chance for us to test out some parenting skills. Its a win/win for everybody. This is Avery at our Field of Dreams exhibit learning about agriculture-

Avery got to play games....

And ride rides.But after one turn @ the Tilt A Whirl Mrs. Candice was done with rides.

So Mr. Todd was happy to step in.

But I hung for the merry go round.

But this was the one thing I wasn't going to get on & I wasn't going to let Avery ride.

But of course there were enough tickets for all 3 of us to ride the ferris while so I did it. Figures! This was my face on the ferris wheel.

Todd & Avery looked a little happier

A view from the top

So every weekend I teach 10 eight years about God's love for them. I teach them that its because of God's love that we learn how to love. Love God, love our parents, our brothers and sisters & our friends. So in my mind the one you would love the most is the one who teaches you how to love (God) or my case, the Sunday School teacher. Nope! Thats not how it works here. This is the love she loves the most.............

Sseko Sandals

Ok so its been a REALLY slow week at work (minus working every other night at the Fair) and I've been surfing the internet a lot this week. Just found the coolest thing I've seen in awhile. Sseko Sandals!

This 24 year old woman, Liz Bohannon, visited Uganda in 2008 & met some women who could not afford to get a higher education at a University. She came home determined to do something about it and created Sseko in 2009. The company employs women to make the sandals in Uganda and then they are sold in the US.

The wages that the women earn are then used to put themselves in school. The sandals are popular on the west coast but hopefully word will spread and they'll come this way.

Just like anything else, you can have a Sseko party. You order a few pairs, have friends over to try them on, learn about the organization and maybe help an Uganda women get a higher education, a better life.

Sounds pretty cool to me. If you're in the Raleigh area and interested in coming to a Sseko party, let me know. May have to have a party soon.

These are the sandals I like....

Check out their video

Sseko Road Trip! from liz bohannon on Vimeo.

Dasha.... A God Story

There are SO many sad stories in the world. Yet there are SO many good stories. I'm about to share with you a real life story how God can take a bad thing & turn it into good. So many people ask "How can a loving God allow bad things to happen to good people?". I never know how to answer that question. Its a hard one to answer. I only know that I'm not God & I don't know the bigger picture. I hope you'll read this and see how good our God is despite the bad things that happen in this world.

On June 21, 2010 a young Raleigh police officer took his life. His wife, Michelle, reached out to her local church (my church) Hope Community in Raleigh, NC. Our church immediately helped Michelle with childcare for her two small children and our pastor, Mike Lee, even flew to Michelle's hometown in Michigan to conduct the funeral. Michelle's 2 year old daughter, Lucy, has special needs and our congregation pulled together a large sum of money to help Michelle financially during this trying time.

Several weeks later Michelle flew back to Raleigh to say thank you to the church for their generosity. She brought her sister Danielle with her as support. During their visit, they learned that Hope was hosting orphans from Ukraine for 3 weeks through Redline United. The Ukraine kids had been there for almost 3 weeks and were leaving the next Monday. This was the 1st time Hope hosted orphans & hoped to get all 16 orphans adopted by local families. It was that Sunday that Danielle (Michelle's sister) learned about DASHA.

Dasha is a 15 year old girl who needs to be adopted soon. Once Dasha turns 16 in February 2011, she will be transferred from the orphanage to a vocational school with poor conditions and statistics say that she has a 60% chance of ending up in prostitution. Danielle immediately felt God calling her to adopt Dasha and returned home to MI to explain to her husband her experience in Raleigh. It didn't take long to convince her husband, Al, that they needed to save Dasha and have been committed to making this adoption happen with full force.

They are currently holding fundraisers & have even sold their most precious possesions such as wedding rings. Anything to save Dasha.

You can check out their blog here http://donations4dasha.blogspot.com/

They are hoping to raise $35,000 in order to adopt Dasha and so far have raised over $13,000. Unfortunately they are under a time crunch & have to adopt her by the beginning of next year.

I heard about this story & it broke my heart. Maybe it was because I just got back from an orphange in Belize & saw how orphans live. Maybe its because its such a great story of how good can come from bad. Or maybe because God is doing something in my own heart about children who need families. Whatever it is, I feel compelled to help. God has truly blessed Todd & I and we feel fortunate that we can help Michelle & her family. I hope that you'll reach out and help this family save Dasha.

In Him,
Candice

Babies!!!

It seems like everyone is having a baby lately! There were lots of babies born in 2010 & I know 3 more people who are having babies in 2011. No Mother Therese, one of them is not me. When babies come that means a baby shower. This past Sunday we had a baby shower for my friend & small group co-leader Heather. It was a "John Deere" themed baby shower since Heather's husband, Aaron, grew up in Iowa & loves John Deere and they're having a BOY. We had a lot of fun & fellowship but I'm in my opinion the best part of any shower is the CAKE! This cake was from BlueMoon bakery in Cary, NC & it's Heather's favorite bakery. After eating a piece of it yesterday, I now understand why she loves it so- ITS FREAKIN AWESOME!

Diaper cake- I had never heard of that before

Yummy food- thanks Ashley!

Tractor outfits!

Brad Paisley inspired picture frame!

Homemade John Deere quilt from Mother Therese

Group shot

Heather cutting into the cake

Candice, Heather, Kaleena & Ashley

8 months of marriage

I haven't posted a lot since I started this blog so to catch you up on whats been going on I'm going to show you what 8 months of marriage looks like around the Craig Household...............

80's themed SURPRISE 30th Birthday Parties

Murder Mystery parties

Hanging out with the Craigs in Destin, FL

Princess Themed Sleepovers

1st EVER American Brew-A-Que

A mission trip to Belize

Go cart rides

Weekend trips to the beach

A weekend in the mountains

White water rafting

Hang Gliding

Sailboat riding with the Levins

Pyramids in Egypt- Just joking!!!!

Tailgating at country concerts

Being married is a WHOLE LOT OF FUN! We've had a great time over the past 8 months and look forward to whats ahead!

Honeymoon: Turks & Caicos

After an absolutely perfect wedding, we headed to the Turks & Caicos. I've been a lot of tropical places but have never seen water so blue. It was beautiful & relaxing. After planning a wedding in just 3 months- it was just what we needed.