The Brat Fry Benefit Was Amazing!

All glory to God for the great day we had this past Saturday at the Brat Fry benefit! 

• We prayed earnestly about the weather, because the forecast was for rain and strong winds; it sprinkled here and there, drizzled for a short time once, was breezy but not windy, and the temperature was comfortable.
• When we arrived to set up, my friend Tammy Augsburger, who organized the event, told us that there was a cart waiting for us with a couple bags of charcoal and some water and soda which had been donated by Piggly Wiggly employees.  That was the first time I cried that day.
• My sister and brother-in-law, Joy & Jeremy, and youngest brother, Tom, drove here from Michigan and surprised us by showing up to work at the benefit all day.  I bawled when I saw them (but that made them cry, too, so I wasn't alone).  ;)  The three of them plus our other brother, Steve, who lives nearby manned the hamburger/brat hut all day and did it very efficiently.  They were helped out by the men grilling who, from what I heard, kept the meat coming at the perfect pace.
• There were many volunteers, most of whom stayed the whole day.  Tammy, her husband, Dave, and son, Matt; Bonnie Mallman; Pastor Steve & Jo Schultz; Rebecca Krueger; Steve & Rebecca Abrams & their kids Luke, Joe, and John; Doris Popp; Richard & Betty Schnell; Holly & Mallory Prigge; Lisa Manz; Lisa Schwarz; and, of course, my Love, Bob, and our kids Heidi, Ben, and Rose.  (I didn't do much work; I spent most of the day talking to people and giving hugs.)  :)   Everyone did a great job, and things ran very smoothly.  We can't thank everyone enough for all their help!
• The amount of baked goods donated for the bake sale was astounding!  Several of us women who were setting up wondered what in the world we were going to do with all the leftovers.  It turned out that there weren't that many leftovers considering how much we started with--the bake sale made roughly 50% more than the brat/burger sales!
• Butch's Army gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a beautiful card--that was the third time I cried.
• The profits from the sale far exceeded what we expected!
• I felt great the entire day, and my leg gave me no problems whatsoever, even though I was on my feet most of the day.

In some of the pictures, you will notice several people wearing purple "Butch's Army" shirts.  Butch Mallmann passed away in June of this year after his own long battle with cancer.  My friends, Tammy & Dave, have been close friends with Butch and Bonnie since grade school.  I knew about Butch from Tammy, and I prayed for him throughout his battle.  Butch's Army is the group of family and friends who supported Butch during his fight, and since his passing, they want to keep the Army going to help other people fighting cancer.  They chose the benefit for me as their first project, and their support was overwhelming!  I was humbled by their willingness to volunteer and by the amount of goodies and crafts that this group--most of whom didn't even know me!--donated to the benefit.  And then the flowers and card on top of it!  This is a special group, and God used them to be a huge blessing to me and my family.

I also want to give a special Thank You to Tammy.  Planning an event like this was out of her comfort zone, but she will tell you that God put the idea in her mind, and she just obeyed Him.  It was a ton of work, but she did a super job, and God brought it all together.  Thank you, Sister!

It was an amazing day full of unbelievable love and support, and as Bob said, "a day we will never forget."