These little pieces of leather have turned into something so much more than I could have ever imagined. Just to give you a little recap of where they came from. Almost one year ago I made my very first one. I was working in the oil field at the time and was quickly realizing that I was not going to be able to raise all this money on my own. With the help of my friend Grace, we came up with the idea to make keychains and do “adopt a box”. It was a very simple simple fundraiser. I made a hundred keychains and numbered them 1-100. Anyone could pick out a keychain, donate the amount on the keychain and then I would mail it to them. Within 48 hours of starting the fundraiser, over 75 of the keychains had been spoken for. It was incredible! After that day, God began opening my eyes how these could be used to bless others.
The first thing He highlighted to me was that I could help my teammates. I had not met them yet but I was beginning to realize that they were getting ready to be my family for the next year. I made 3 more sets of 1-100 and sent them to teammates to use for fundraising.
At this time, I also had a few people ask for custom ones with words or numbers that were special to them. I was then trying to figure out what to charge for these custom ones. On a drive back home from working on the oil rigs in Ohio, God really touched me. He opened my eyes to exactly how much everyone has poured into me through not only preparation for this race but my entire life. I knew in that moment these keychains were no longer a fundraising tool. Ever since, I have been making keychains for free with just one request. If someone has me make them a keychain, I ask that they will write down some way I can be praying for them in my note book. Now I have a note book, crammed full of peoples’ names, their struggles, their shame, their hopes and desires. I have the honor of getting to pray over these people all the time.
It’s crazy to me to think that this all started off with me carrying around a shoebox with leather and a few tools, making keychains in bars and at oil rigs.
Now over one year and 600 keychains later, these keychains are spread all over the world and have been so much more than just a piece of leather.
