Beard Update and NEW clarification of Rules

I'm sure a lot of you are excited to see where we're at right now.  So first up is the latest graph.  This is the graph as of 11/21.  If you're reading this after 11/21...the most recent graph is posted in the toolbar to the right.

So as you can see, the Cut it Off fund is A LOT bigger than the save it fund.  So depending on how you want this to finish out, you want to get into the action.  If you want to see me clean shaven, you're not far away, get to it.  If you think "I won't be Aaron without my beard", you all have some work to do.

CLARIFICATION:
We had a little hiccup last week and it showed a flaw in our rule system.  The hiccup was taken care of and I now want to change the rules slightly and close a loophole.  This isn't an attempt to save my beard.  It's a plan to make sure the original intent of me cutting my beard off is met. 

Here are rules that we will be using from here forward:

-Instead of the auction ending immediately, we are going to keep the auction going until the end of Dec. 31.  Auction will end 12:00am EST January 1, 2013.

-I will cut off my beard if at that time the Cut it Off fund is 4000 dollars above the Save It fund. NO minimum balance in the Cut It Off fund is needed as long as the total of both funds is equal to or greater than 5000 dollars total.  (ex:  if the Cut if Off fund is a 4500 and the Save it fund is at 500, the beard goes)

-I'm making a concession to the Cut It Off fund supporters.  If money is not clearly marked one way or the other, we will make every attempt to contact individuals for clarification rather than just lump it into the Save It fund.

-Money can be donated one of several ways:
-You can directly hand us cash or checks made out to Aaron Reinard;
-You can send us checks made out to Aaron Reinard (please use the memo line to signify which category your money is to be placed in.);
-You can donate using the "Donate Now" button in the right sidebar via Paypal. (make a note of which category money goes to); OR
-You can use the Tax Deductible Giving option in the sidebar as well.  If you use this option, please send us a message telling us what and when you're donating and to which category.  Money will not count until we can verify it with our adoption agency.  However this is a financially responsible option.

Note:  Someone just did this and it's a great idea.....they sent us their check made out to YWAM so they can get the tax deductible giving, but sent it to us, to send on to YWAM.  They included a note to us making sure their funds were added to the Cut It Off fund.  We then were able to record it properly and get the money where it needed to go for them.  Easy.  Just and idea.


So there it is.  SPREAD THE WORD.  There are a lot of people who know me well and haven't heard about this yet.  Why not?  Because you haven't told them.  Make this happen!  Blog this.  Facebook this.  Tweet this.  E-mail link this to people across the country (or based on the statistics we see...around the world.)  I'm putting my beard on the line here!!!!

Aaron Will Cut Off His Beard

19 years.  That's the last time I saw what my chin looks like.

I've always thought that at some point I'd cut it off.  I have no desire to do so at the present time.  I kind of like it.  HOWEVER.....if it's going to happen, there's going to be a really good reason for losing it.

How about bringing home our third child?

So here's the deal....I'm willing to sacrifice my beard for our adoption.  I don't WANT to cut it off, so it's not going to be easy.

Rules and Stipulations:

1.  There are two categories that people can donate toward.  As I've told people about the potential of cutting it off several people are excited and others are horrified.  So you can donate money to either
1"Save the Beard" or 2"Cut it Off" .  Because people usually feel pretty strongly one way or the other, and because I'm kind of attached to it, I'm putting the stakes high.

2.  Money that has already been donated or promised does not count toward these goals.  All donations must be new donations.  To be clear, no money previously promised or donated before 12:00am November 1, 2012 will be counted in this contest.

3.  This auction will end only the following ways:

-I will cut my beard if the "Cut it Off" fund instantly raises 5000 dollars to the "Save the Beard funds 0 dollars...Auction will end IMMEDIATELY;
-I will cut my beard if the difference between "Cut it Off" and "Save the Beard" is 4000 (as long as the StB is a minimum of 1000.....so 5000 total raised for our adoption)....Auction will end IMMEDIATELY;
-I will stop the auction and KEEP my beard if the "Save the Beard" fund is 4000 dollars more than the Cut It fund....auction will end IMMEDIATELY; OR
-The auction will end with no results at midnight New Years Day (12:00am EST January 1, 2013)

4.  Money can be donated one of several ways:
-You can directly hand us cash or checks made out to Aaron Reinard;
-You can send us checks made out to Aaron Reinard (please use the memo line to signify which category your money is to be placed in.);
-You can donate using the "Donate Now" button in the right sidebar via Paypal. (make a note of which category money goes to); OR
-You can use the Tax Deductible Giving option in the sidebar as well.  If you use this option, please send us a message telling us what and when you're donating and to which category.  Money will not count until we can verify it with our adoption agency.  However this is a financially responsible option.
NOTE:  While purchases of T-shirts are encouraged and we are supremely grateful, they do not count toward this specific fundraiser.  If you purchase a shirt and include monies above and beyond that of the shirt, you can specify where the extra goes.

5.  Any money that comes in that is not CLEARLY designated for the Cut if Off fund, will automatically go into the "Save the Beard" fund.

6.  I will be weekly updating the graph in the side bar to show all money donated.  Graph will be updated on Sunday afternoons...and probably daily, the final week of the auction if needed.

7.  Should the horrific happen, and I have to shave my beard off....a video and lots of pictures will be taken of the momentous event and posted here for all to see. There may or may not also be an "Event" created via Facebook to physically attend the cutting of said beard.

So for everyone who has desired me to be clean shaven.....it's time to put your money where your mouth is.

For those who think "you won't be Aaron without it".....you better put up or shut up too.

Again, I know I've made it hard to have it cut off.  I'm hoping that it doesn't happen.  I don't mind it.  Marjorie will personally thank all those who donate to Cut if Off though!  (she's not allowed to donate....but she's already plotting with people......so help a brother out.)

So spread the word.  Tell everyone who's ever remotely met me.  Chances are they feel strongly one way or the other about my chin hair.  Direct them here.  At the very least to follow along as we delve into this adventure together.

Case of the Missing T-shirts: SOLVED!

If you haven't read THIS POST yet, you need to start there.

If you have already done so, then proceed.

As you will remember I sent some T-shirts to my sister-in-law on August 24.  She never got them.  I followed them via their customs tracking number, as they made their rounds of the United States.

THE UPDATE:
Since I posted, the USPS stopped updating the tracking.  I actually had to send a request that the tracking continue to be seen.  So here's what I saw.

Warren PA (where we live) 
Jamaica NY
Bethpage NY
back to Jamaica NY
Brooklyn NY
back to Jamaica NY
Warrendale PA (which is down near Pittsburgh.....I was hoping it was getting returned to us here)
Chicago sort facility #1
Chicago sort facility #2
Chicago sort facility #3
back to Warrendale PA (again hoping it was being returned to us)
back to Chicago sort facility #1
back to Chicago sort facility #3
back to Chicago sort facility #1
back to Warrendale (outside Pittsburgh) facility for the 3rd time.  (THIS is where I last updated the trip)
back to Chicago sort facility #1
back to Chicago sort facility #2
back to Chicago sort facility #1
finally back to Warrendale (outside Pittsburgh)

It seemed as if it was just stuck in Warrendale.  No movement for a few weeks.

So yesterday what should be in my mailbox?  THE PACKAGE!!!!!!!

OK I will take ownership that I didn't address the package correctly.  I screwed it up.  I addressed it on what I was given and that wasn't right.  So it was destined for struggles. 

HOWEVER.....why did it have to take the trip it took?  The USPS recognized that the postal code wasn't right.  But my return address was.  Why did it have to go to all those sort facilities before they returned it?  Why did it take 2 1/2 months?  Why didn't they send it across the border and let Canada Post sort it out? 

Regardless.....I have the shirts back in my possession.  There was a small rip in the padded envelope, but the T-shirts were fine as were the cards that we sent with them.  Actually they're still both nicely pressed.  I now have to extra shirts to sell.  Anyone want them?  I'll tell you what....if you're reading this and you want to redeem those two shirts, I'll drop their price to 18 local or 21 shipped (just for those two shirts).  HA HA

I have blurred out the postal code so as not to incriminate myself.

Permission

We are giving you permission.

Hopefully by now you've read our story.  You know our hearts and what God's been doing.  You see the need and want to lend a hand.

We give you permission to do so.  We recognize that we are not the most creative people.  We don't have all the good ideas.  We also don't have time to undertake every idea that we come up with.  On top of all of that...we are very aware that we have a lot of creative minded friends and family who live near and far.

We have no problems at all with you brainstorming and carrying out ways to help us.

Maybe you want to hold an event.  A 5k run.  A dodgeball tournament.  A bike ride.  A dinner.  A rally.  A street carnival.  A costume party.  A contest of some sort.  A triathalon.  Whatever.  We give you permission to do it.  We don't even have to be there.  You can read here what our story is.  You can tell that story. You can share what we're doing.  You can share this blog.

Here's the other thing.  Maybe you are part of a group or organization.  Maybe you'd like us to come and speak to you about adoption, the world wide orphan situation, what's going on in Ethiopia, what God's been doing in our lives over the last couple months and years, etc.  We (Aaron probably....since he's the talker) would love to set that up.  It will take some advanced planning of schedules to make it happen, so please contact us WELL in advance of what you're planning.  Sunday mornings are hard as we are very committed to our church family...but they're not 100% out of the question if that's the only time that works with you.

OR maybe you can combine the two.  Maybe you're going to hold an event and would like us to be there to tell our story or to be visible or to pass our cards with our picture and blog site on it.  We can work that out too...obviously lots of advance warning is needed.

We would ask that you DON'T hold a raffle, or Bingo or anything of that nature though.  We're not big fans of gambling or games of chance.  While we know that most raffles are guaranteed profitable, we'd rather just avoid that please.

So brainstorm.  Be creative.  Can you help us reach our goal?
Ready. Set. Go.

The Case of the Missing T-shirts

OR  Lost in Transportation
OR  _____________________(fill in the blank with a good title and comment below!)


So my super awesome sister-in-law Veronica ordered two of our super awesome T-shirts on August 24th.  (You too can order a super awesome T-shirt by clicking the T-shirt logo on the right and following the directions)

I was on my game that day and packaged her shirts and some of our cards up immediately and got to the post office on my way to pick Corban up from school.  So I sent them out the day they were ordered (actually I'm pretty good at that, unless we are back-ordered....I mean you can't beat our customer service!)

So they're on their way.  Veronica and family live just across the US/Canadian border over near Detroit.....just to give you a geographic idea of where the shirts need to go.

Also....I had shipped an identical package of two shirts to another super awesome sister-in-law Helena just across the US/Canada border near Buffalo and it arrived in around a week.  AND I regularly ship paintball parts and markers to Canada and they average about a two week time between my house and their final destination.

So when Veronica messaged me saying that she still hadn't received her shirts after 3 weeks, I thought, "that's odd."

USPS won't let you put normal "tracking" on an international package unless you pay a gazillion dollars.  But they do have a code on receipts that allows you to track your package to the border (and sometimes in friendly countries inside the final destination country as well).  So because I"m a pack rat I found the receipt and plugged in the numbers.  I expected to see that it made it to Customs and was just stuck there (which happens from time to time).  I was amazed that instead the package had done a tour of the state of NY.

I went to the local USPS office and asked about the package and was told that since I didn't get insurance there wasn't a lot they could do.  So I just watched to see if it'd make it to the border.

Well here we are a month and a couple weeks later and guess what?  Still not there.  Here's where it has been though.

Warren PA (where we live)
Jamaica NY
Bethpage NY
back to Jamaica NY
Brooklyn NY
back to Jamaica NY
Warrendale PA (which is down near Pittsburgh.....I was hoping it was getting returned to us here)
Chicago sort facility #1
Chicago sort facility #2
Chicago sort facility #3
back to Warrendale PA (again hoping it was being returned to us)
back to Chicago sort facility #1
back to Chicago sort facility #3
back to Chicago sort facility #1
and now currently resides in the Warrendale (outside Pittsburgh) facility for the 3rd time.

You would think that with modern technology they would be able to just flag the package and send it back to us.  I'm gonna go check it out this week.  At this point I don't WANT it to get to Canada.  We've already made a trip north and hand delivered two more t-shirts to them.

So where are they headed next?
Guesses?

water in the desert

So our last post I told you that we were discouraged with the obstacles to completing our homestudy and paperwork.   It felt like we were in the desert.  And we needed water to keep going. Isaiah 43:20

I'm pleased to tell you that God has answered that prayer.  Here are some of the ways that God has provided drink in the desert.

-prayers from my prayer group

-taking a day off work to not think about anything, do something fun away from obligations

-holding a couple babies, including one who spit on me :)

-women's retreat including a great speaker who said these 2 amazing things (among others)
"our greatest weakness may be our greatest strength when in the hands of God."
and "God is in the pit with us.  Emmanuel."

-having friends ask how it's going, telling us they are praying for us, and remind us of God's character and role in this process

-friend selling 5 shirts for us :)

-the paperwork I needed from Canada was worked out within a week, and it should go smoothly.  I was at my desk when the RCMP called me.   I previously envisioned months of waiting, it should be complete next week (DV).

Trust is a repeated theme I've heard repeated in the last couple weeks.
Are we trusting God in this process or ourselves?
2 Chronicles 20:17 The battle is the Lords.  I need to follow the task He laid out for us.
I expected to be past this homestudy stuff by now, but I need to trust God's timing.
Do I believe God's word with my head or do I trust Him and follow Him with actions as well?

Our computer crashed last week.  Some of our paperwork was on it.  A few weeks ago I would have cried and been angry, panicky even.   I did not react that way.   Proof that there is water.

This was a prayer shared at the women's retreat.  It was perfect.

Father, I confess that I am anxious to see Your promises made manifest in my life, in this time, in this place.  Lord please forgive my anxiousness and help me to be patient, waiting on You to move in Your time and whom You move.  Help me to move with You as well.  
Father, help me to be still and to be confident in Your promises, knowing that You will fulfill all that You have promised, not only in my life, but in this world, in this time.  Your ways are so far above mine, I praise you for who You are, and for what You have promised. 

Thanks for your prayers as well.

May hearing of God's blessings to us be a blessing in your life as well.
I Samuel 7:12 this is my Ebenezer.  Do you have one to share?

water

Today was our last homestudy visit. It was not as much of a relief as I hoped.  We were told we need to get a background clearance (which is not uncomplicated) for myself from Canada before our homestudy is final. 
It makes me want to be unfriendly to people.  To yell.  Is all this worth it I ask?
I read my post again about my trip to Ethiopia and the things I encountered there.
I hug and kiss my boys.
I look again at our family picture at the top of the page.
The reason all this is so difficult, is that we don't yet know for whom we are doing it for. 
Who is the question mark?  
If we knew it would be easier to plod on.
I'm reminded again of our verse Isaiah 43. 
It seems we are in the desert.  I need water, God will provide water.
water is tears.  water is rest/oasis.  water is strength to keep going. 
We keep going.