Vendor Spotlight: THE RAINING SEASON

This story is very close to my heart.  It is the story of an organization called The Raining Season, which finds its home both in Sierra Leone, West Africa and in America.  That statement alone wells up emotion in me because The Raining Season is really a family, living on two separate continents but standing together in order to defend the cause of orphaned children in Sierra Leone.  In America, TRS works to meet the administrative needs of this ministry.  On African soil, TRS works to meet the everyday needs of the children and community.  In both cases, it is the love of Jesus and these precious children that is the tie that binds.

The Raining Season began in 2007 when a family who had adopted from Sierra Leone 3 years before wanted to do more to make a difference in the lives of those there.  On a trip in 2008, God began to unveil the deplorable conditions of so many children in this country.  It was made very clear that more had to be done.  So in 2009, The Raining Season opened The Covering, an orphan care center that provides 24/7 care to 110+ children.

Allow me to show you some "before and after" photos of Moses, one such child who is now home at The Covering.  A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say....

I traveled to The Covering this past summer, and part of my heart is still there.  The Spirit of God is palatable.  You can see it in the love and dedication and passion of the staff as they are, quite literally, COVERING these precious ones with their love.  You can hear it in the always singing voices of these joy filled children.  You can feel it as their hands hold on to yours and in the pure affection of their sweet hugs.  

This place is more than an orphanage.  One leader there said that he calls it a life development center, and that it is.  In addition to having their basic needs met, these children are receiving constant Biblical teaching and discipleship.  They attend school at the center in the elementary years, then are taken to a local school as they grow older.  The children are taught life skills and given ministry opportunities within and beyond the walls that surround their home.  They are matched with sponsors in America, with whom they develop precious relationships and affectionally call "Auntie" and "Uncle."  (I am one such "Auntie," and I could write another whole story on the sweetness of this relationship and the ways our sponsored children minister to us!")  At the Covering, these children can begin to heal and grow.  And then THRIVE!

The story of TRS so clearly belongs HERE, on the A New Thing blog, because from the beginning it has been obvious that God had a master plan to do a new thing - to redeem and restore the lives of these children.  And we are thrilled that they will be represented at the Marketplace with their beautiful handmade items.  You can expect coffee bean necklaces, fabric bracelets, purses, and much more!

The merchandise in an of itself is beautiful, but let me tell you about the beautiful hands that did the crafting.  One of the caregivers at The Covering, Auntie Hawa, is the creator of many of these goods, and she and others have involved some of the older children in creating their merchandise as well!  My first impression of Auntie Hawa was her dancing joyfully with the children at our welcome ceremony upon our arrival.  Throughout the week, I watched that same joy overflow from her heart and onto the special needs children she cares for every day.  And you know what, those children are FULL of joy!  The merchandise has been purchased from Auntie Hawa and other craftsmen and women in Sierra Leone, so EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR is being directly invested into this community!!! 

Before I left for Africa this summer I had reservations about leaving my family behind and traveling ahead into the unknown.  But, I had a clear sense that Jesus was going to meet me there.  And I was so right.  I've never seen such a powerful and beautiful example of God's redemptive love.  He is working in a mighty way through the servants at The Raining Season!

The money you spend at The Raining Season's booth will go directly to their ministry.  And I can personally attest to the fact that the money they receive is handled with the utmost integrity, going directly to care for the needs of these children.  

PURCHASE WITH PURPOSE!  What a blessing to know that the money you spend at this booth, perhaps to purchase gifts for your loved ones, will in turn become a gift to these children.  I can think of no better return on an investment than that!

You can learn more about the ministry of The Raining Season HERE.

Vendor Spotlight: DAPPER DAVE

Let me introduce myself - I'm Angie, a new writer for "A New Thing Fall Marketplace" blog, friend of Marcie (event master of the Marketplace), and wife to Dapper Dave.

Here's a true story...

I was sitting on my couch last Saturday, making conversation with a new friend, and I mentioned the upcoming FABULOUS A New Thing Fall Marketplace.  She had already heard about it (because it's gonna be AWESOME!), and I threw in this little comment, "My husband David is going to be a vendor at the Marketplace.  He is making bowties and bar-b-que sauces."  Her response, "Wait a minute....YOUR HUSBAND IS DAPPER DAVE?!?  SHUT UP!!!"  We laughed our heads off together and she went on, "I was JUST telling my husband about Dapper Dave!  He won't believe that I am at DAPPER DAVE'S HOUSE RIGHT NOW!!"

You're either thinking, "Who is Dapper Dave?"  or  "That is hilarious because I know Dave."  or  "I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM HAVING A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION WITH DAPPER DAVE'S WIFE!!!"  (Probably one of the first two.)

Let's tackle that first question....

Who is Dapper Dave?  Well, Dave (or David, as I know him) is this amazing husband and father and medical professional who also happens to be a tightwad and frequently becomes hobby obsessed.  The last two often cause him inner turmoil.  Here's why - when you are my husband and you start a hobby like, say for instance, racquet ball, you're going to need racquet balls, racquet ball shoes, protective eye gear, a racquet, a racquet case, special racquet ball gloves, premium sweat wicking socks/shorts/shirt/towel specially designed for racquet ball playing sweat, and (obviously) a membership to a gym.  Hobbies aren't cheap for this man, so he usually relies on Christmas gift money.  Just for fun, let me give you the short list of hobbies that David has ventured into in our 15 years of marriage:  cycling, triathlons, guitar playing, mandolin playing, learning Greek, airplane flying, disc golf, camping (this lasted for exactly one minute), bowling, Bob Ross painting (not even joking), home movie productions, golfing, and (I'm also implicating my brother here) professional sand castle building.

You've gotta respect a renaissance man.

But, as I said, these hobbies created quite the inner conflict for my financially conservative husband.  Enter bow ties.  We were a month deep into this bow tie making hobby before I even asked, "What in the world got you started on this?"  His answer, "I was looking online to order a bow tie and they were so expensive.  I thought, maybe I could make one."  So, he borrowed his mom's sewing machine, watched a You Tube video, bought some 99 cent shirts at the thrift store, and the rest is history.  It's a match made in heaven really - thrift store shirts and a borrowed sewing machine.

Cheap and hobby = Dapper Dave.


After making a few bow ties for himself, David pitched the idea of selling his bow ties at the Fall Marketplace to Marcie, who is organizing and running the event.  She was instantly on board and suggested that he have a booth called, "Bow ties and BBQ" - also offering homemade BBQ sauces.  (Enabler.)

Now my husband can be found either in our kitchen inventing a new BBQ sauce recipe or at our coffee table, whipping up a new bow tie.  His products are featured on his facebook page "dapperdaveties."

Dapper Dave's son, modeling "The Twain" bow tie.

I have to admit, he's doing an amazing job.  He will be bottling up three flavors of BBQ sauce:  Bourbon Bacon, Pork Potion #9, and Sue-y Sauce (which is made with smoked Yazoo Sue beer and has a spicy kick.)  In the spirit of the A New Thing Fall Marketplace (handmade, up cycled, and repurposed goods), his BBQ sauces are being packaged in recycled beer bottles. Each 12 oz. bottle of sauce will cost $6.00.

And then there are the bow ties, of course.  There are three bow tie designs:  The Churchill, The Lincoln, and The Twain.  Each bow tie is uniquely hand made out of vintage material, repurposed from those 99 cent shirts.  There are plenty of patterns to choose from.  The bow ties are made to fit neck sizes   15 1/2 - 17 inches.  They will be priced at $20 each.  He is hoping to have some child sized bow ties available at the Marketplace as well.  Get this - He has already been approached by a shop in Missouri to sell his bow ties on a regular basis!  Better get while the gettin' is good.

The best part - ALL profits from Dapper Dave's "Bow ties and BBQ" booth will benefit the Autry's Ethiopian adoption!  Jamie and Marcie Autry are our dear friends and we cannot wait to welcome home their new child(ren) through this adoption.  Hopefully, they will be bringing home at least one little boy so he and his big brother can wear coordinating Dapper Dave bow ties!  

So tell us.... do you know Dapper Dave?  Which bow tie or BBQ sauce is calling your name?