“The CPC Kingdom Assignment ... golf balls for Bulgaria”
August 17, 2010
After much prayer and family discussion, we decided to use our Kingdom Assignment to raise money to feed the
children of Bulgaria.
Each year for the past 7 years our children have been blessed to attend our fantastic VBS at CPC. They have
a wonderful time and look forward to it each year. But at the same time, we have mixed emotions as money
is collected to put on a much simpler and much more sparse version for the poor in Bulgaria and to supply
each family a bag of food staples to help them through the season. This year we thought we could use our
Kingdom Assignment to do more to help these children. Our kids really wanted to participate, and this was
something we could all get involved in and excited about. Our dear friends, the Garrett's, joined us as well.
Our kids thought of the idea to have lemonade stand, and since we live near a golf course we decided to call
it "Golf Balls for Bulgaria." This way we could offer lemonade, homemade brownies, and golf balls which
might attract more adults. We decided not to charge but rather to give all away; we just asked for donations.
Our pricing strategy worked. We collected much more than if we had just set a "going rate" price. We were
surprised that many golfers stopped and donated generously taking very little in return. Our hearts were blessed
by there warmth. Not everyone stopped or donated, but even this provided our children a valuable lesson
about not expecting or judging others as we never know where they might be giving generously elsewhere.
When we raised our hand initially to take the Kingdom Assignment, we had much different and possibly bigger
ideas in mind. We wanted to do something big - something that would make a huge difference. What we learned
instead is that, when we stop and seek God first before acting and wait for his lead, we might end up doing
something that might seem small in monetary measurement but huge in how it works to transform the heart.
This had a wonderful impact on our children. This was something they wanted to do, and God did a mighty work
in their hearts as they grew in their compassion for these children. They felt empowered to make a difference.
Multiplying the $100
Our total collected was $647
Our agreement with our kids was we would match whatever they collected. Since we already had the golf balls
and the lemonade and brownies were inexpensive we also added back the initial $100. That brought the total to
$647
Impact on Others
Melanie announced the lemonade stand at VBS this year, and I had many people come up to me and say they
might do something like that next year. We had a number of friends that want to join in next year as well.
Also, with the signs, flyers on Bulgaria and the children excitedly telling neighbors and golfers about the children
in Bulgaria, it surely had to have made an impact. I don't think you can have children and families out trying to
raise for the poor without it giving others ideas of how they can join in. I think we will not see the full impact
this side of Heaven, but I am confident that God used it to do more good than we can measure by dollars.
Impact on CPC
It was a blessing to do this with our children. To see our kids get excited and motivated to help others beats all
other activities. We live in such an affluent area and with such temptation to have more all around us, it is very
difficult to keep them from being "conformed to the world". The Kingdom Assignment grounded me in what is
really important to be teaching my children.
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