We are so sorry we’ve been on a blogging hiatus, but we’re back with lots to fill you in on! Here’s a couple of the things that have been happening, and what the Lord has been teaching us through each of them. Get ready, it’s a long one! 
Our Silent Auction and Dinner was a HUGE success! We raised over $2,900!!! There was lots of good food (including a s’mores bar!), fantastic fellowship, unique and exciting auction items, and an opportunity for us share part of our hearts. (We’ll be posting an album of pictures on our Facebook page soon.)
The Lord taught us that He will provide even when it seems that no one else will.
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” -Matthew 19:26
We sent out and delivered over 100 letters telling local businesses about our mission trip and requesting donations for our Silent Auction. We received less than 10 donated items from those, and although we were exceedingly grateful for those businesses that did support us, we were crushed and frantic. However, through the graciousness and goodness of the Lord, we were able to compile more than 40 auction items through our and our families own collections and talents of a couple of friends. There’s no way this whole evening could have been pulled off without the hard work and dedication of our families. To each of you who sponsored a table, bought a ticket, bid on a silent auction item, gave of your time and energy, donated a silent auction item, and gave us some of your love, Thank you!
The Lord reminded us to find our rest in Him.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28
We experience full exhaustion after our amazing Auction. No kidding, full physical and emotional exhaustion; we couldn’t even function on Sunday and moved from bed to the couch and back to bed. We had poured so much of ourselves into this event, that we had worn ourselves slap out. And although all of that hard work was definitely worth it, it was such a sweet reminder through that exhaustion that we find TRUE rest in our Lord. He brings the kind of rest that can’t compete with a 10-hours of sleep night; the kind of rest that leaves you totally rejuvenated from the deepest parts of you; the kind of rest that can’t compare!
Garage Sale! We had someone tell us that what we had wasn’t a garage sale, but what we had was a flea market; we couldn’t argue with him! We were beyond blessed with so many great things for our garage sale that it took multiple days, multiple people, to set up everything we had. There were so many people who gave towards our garage sale, and we are so thankful! It also gave us an opportunity to begin purging our own things. While sorting through our things and deciding what to sell, it began to stir up emotions and attachments to certain things.
He reminded us that things are just that, material things. He has called us to greater things than that of this Earth. We were reminded of the Call that He has given us.
“When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” -Luke 18:22 (Entire parable found in Luke 18:18-29)
This was such a great time for us to reflect on where we were “lying up treasures.” This isn’t to say that there aren’t things we hold dear, things that remind us of a certain time or place or person. But at the end of the day, whether or not we have those things with us, we have the memories. During this cleaning of clutter and clothes, we were able to do some “Spring Cleaning” of our hearts. We’re working hard to rid ourselves of the things that aren’t important and prepare ourselves for moving forward with the necessary. Worry. Resentment. Hardheartedness. Lack of faith. We don’t have room for you. We’re not going to pack you up and put you in storage, and we sure don’t have room for you in the hiking packs we’ll be living out of for the next year. But man, how much room we do have for love, peace, kindness, grace, gentleness, joy, and Jesus!
**An addendum to our Garage Sale: While we brought in $1,200 for our trip through this sale, we sadly had someone steal a little more than $200 of that from our home. Although we felt violated, hurt, and angry, we feel so sad for the person who committed the crime. Please join us in praying for them; more than just returning the money, our desire for them is to learn the freedom and forgiveness found in our Lord.**
While we didn’t rent it for the entire year, we found a renter for our house! We have an amazing couple moving into our house in July for at least 6 months, with a great possibility of extension on a month-to-month basis afterwards. While this wasn’t what we had originally envisioned for our renting situation, the Lord clearly orchestrated this. Before we could even advertise our home as available, a family friend approached us about her brother and his wife looking for somewhere to rent while they build a new house around the corner from where we live. Wow! And while we weren’t thinking of moving out until we leave in August, having renters in July gives us all the money we need to pay the taxes on our home next year!
His plans and thoughts are so much higher than ours.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” -Isaiah 55: 8-9
There’s still some uncertainty about job situations upon our return, but God has given us so much peace that He will provide, no matter what!
He takes care of the birds, so there’s no doubt He will take care of His chosen children!
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” -Luke 12:22-24
We are less than 30 days away from meeting our entire squad at Training Camp! Our excitement is continuing to build as things continue to get “more real” as we quickly approach August. We will now be known as the “X Squad” and we are voting on a squad verse and hashtag now. Stay tuned for that.
Also, God has placed it on our hearts to aim for being 70% funded by the time we go to Training Camp on June 7th. While we know that it seems like a huge amount, our God is bigger! Please consider partnering with us as we go out to be the Hands and Feet. Make sure you share our blog, Facebook page, email address, etc (links at the end of the blog) with those around you who might also be interested in being part of taking the Love of the Lord around the world.
A ginormous THANK YOU! to everyone who has gotten us this far. We have exceeded our first Financial Deadline of having $10,000 in our account by May 10th. However, there are many on our squad who are short of their $5,000 deadline. Please be in prayer for them as well. The rest of our Financial Deadlines are bellow:
$20,000 in our account by July 21st (55.5% funded) $26,000 in our account by September 30th (72.7% funded) $36,034 in our account by November 30th (100% funded)We are praying that we are more than 85% funded by the time we leave in August because we know that it will be more difficult to continue raising funds while we are on the field. To do this, we have a couple more fundraisers in the plans that we would ask you to pray over and consider participating in.
-Adopt a Box (Starting NOW!)-T-shirts! (Coming super soon!) -Adopt a Country Jars (This is currently ongoing, but please let us know if you’d like to join in!) -Murder Mystery Party -Southern Kernel’s Popcorn Sale -Flamingo Flocking (You won’t want to miss out on this one!)
We’ll be posting more about each of these as they get closer to happening, so please make sure you are following our Facebook page and that you’ve subscribed for blog updates!
Our hearts are so full of love and gratitude. Please continue to keep us, our squad, our fundraising, and those we will come in contact with in your prayers.
-Jonathan and Devon
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCarothersWorldRace/ Instagram Tag: thecarotherswr Email Address: [email protected] Amazon Wish List: http://a.co/3W9YR8T
