To say that our family has been through a challenging time, would be an understatement.
AJ lost his job in July of 2007 when his stock brokerage firm went out of business due to the U.S. financial crisis. His ability to provide for us was practically eliminated and we liquidated his 401k to pay our bills, and eventually sold all remaining investments as well.
Through all of this we remained faithful to God; that He would keep his promise to us to not give us any more burdens then we can handle, and that He would provide for us. There were many times in this period when our faith was tested to its absolute limits, but each time we stepped off that “roller coaster”, we gave praise and thanks that we got off of it unharmed spiritually. We tithed in times when we were literally giving up our grocery money for the week, and when we were unable to tithe we maintained giving hearts by serving in both our church and in our community. Eventually it got to the point where if we tithed, we wouldn’t be able to afford health insurance. We asked our Pastor how we could tithe if we didn’t have money? He reminded us that “God knows your heart” and if you’re serving His people, you’ll be tithing with your time. He encouraged us to try to come up with a ministry idea.
In the very early morning of Thanksgiving Day, 2008, I was posting an ad on the “free” section of Craigslist to donate Aiden’s clothing that he had outgrown. I noticed that there was a “wanted” section as well, and the first ad I read was entitled “Dear Santa.” It was a desperate cry from a single mother of two who was struggling to make ends meet, and was asking for help as well as a Christmas tree. I immediately wanted to help her, and began searching for free children’s clothing and items that would be of use to this mother. As I searched for these items I was shocked at how many people were giving away clothing for free. In the “wanted” section the ads were just as overwhelming, the need so great! I responded to every ad in the free section that would possibly help a family in need, and went from home to home picking up the items. Then I responded to the “wanted” ads and let them know I had what they needed.
Thanksgiving Day I sent out an email to all of our friends and family asking them for their generous donations and before I knew it I had filled up our car. Within that first week we received over 500 pieces of clothing. I then posted my own ad on Craigslist letting families that are in need know that we could help them. What followed was an email barrage that consumed most of our waking hours. By the end of the year we had welcomed over one hundred families into our home, blessed them with clothing & other essential items for their children, and prayed over them. Today, we have a working list of more than 8,500 families in Orange County that we have come alongside of, in their time of need.
All of us have, at one time or another, donated clothing and children’s items to Goodwill, Church, a neighbor or family member, etc. But ask yourself, out of all of those donations, how many people did you personally impact and create a relationship with?
This is our goal, to not just donate items but to get to know these families, witness to them out of our own struggles giving them a sense of hope, come alongside them and pray over them if they allow us. We want to be someone that not only hands these families a bag of clothing, but who is willing to listen to them and minister to them, with warm hearts and sincere smiles.
How big will this get? Only God knows, but we’re ready and willing to be His faithful servants and to continue to help those in need.
Jo Sexton
