Passion Explosion!

Four of my passions are combining into a single event and I can hardly think straight because I'm so darn excited!

If you've been reading my blog from time to time, you know my heart for the poor around the world. You also know about the crazy kick I've been on the last few years, attempting to combat Christmas Consumerism. If you've seen any photos on my blog in the last year and a half, you know about my passion for adoption. And although I haven't blogged extensively about it, I've shared with many about my desire to somehow create more stability for vulnerable families to actually prevent orphans worldwide.

And YES, it is possible for these four things to combine into a single event. Let me explain...

Part I:
My college roommate Lindsay approached me a few months ago and asked if she could help me raise funds for our adoption. She knew of a company called Noonday that has some pretty sweet stuff for sale made by artisans across the globe. And YES, Noonday has artisans in the beautiful country of Ethiopia. :) Noonday provides a sustainable, livable wage to all their employees, and is working hard to better the lives and communities that their 1,000+ artisans reside in. Best of all? They're helping vulnerable families stay together and move away from a crisis point to a place of stability. (Read: orphan prevention)


Part II:
The stores have Christmas things out, friends! Christmas things! As we preview ads for Black Friday and map our store routes, let's consider again what our dollars do post-purchase. When you buy a Christmas gift from a big-box store, you pad the wallet of a corporate exec. When you buy from a store like Noonday, you help families around the globe survive and thrive. Noonday gifts are like a double gift - you get a sweet gift for your friend and you give financial stability to a family across the globe.


Part III:
A portion of each sale goes to support our family's second adoption. This isn't like a Tupperware party where I will receive $200 in Tupperware when the night is over. Noonday has a heart for supporting adoptive families, so a portion of all sales will be paid on our behalf directly to our adoption agency. This is especially meaningful to us at this time because we recently needed to raise our adoption fund goal. We have been praying for God to provide in radical ways, and we believe that our friend Lindsay hosting this show is part of God's answer and provision. Remind me to tell you more stories about this later. God's doing some crazy awesome things in our lives right now.

How You Can Be Part of the AWESOME

First of all, browse Noonday's collection. I dare you to not find something you love. I may have already purchased this card set while typing my blog tonight. Please take your Christmas shopping list and browse through Noonday's Jewelry, Accessories, and Home+Gift Items. See what you can find for the people on your list. My dream is that Noonday's demand would explode because of you, creating exponentially more jobs for people in vulnerable communities.

When you find something you like, add it to your cart. At checkout, make sure that you select Sara VanZee as the Ambassador and then type in Lindsay Millard in the Trunk Show spot before completing your purchase. This particular sale closes on Monday, November 18th, so make sure to choose your items before then! Doing so will ensure that a portion of your purchase will go towards giving Feven a sibling. In case you're wondering, she has stated on numerous occasions that she wants a "really big girl."  I don't know what that means, but we're leaving it up to God. :)


Please share with your friends and family as you see appropriate. I'm so encouraged by companies like Noonday and I want to shout their praises from the mountaintop!