Church rummage sale benefits mission trip to help children
Furniture, clothing and electronics drew bargain hunters to Farragut Church of Christ, which held its annual rummage sale to raise money for a mission trip.
The church held a pre-sale at the church from 6 to 9 p.m., Friday, July 8. The sale took place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sat-urday, July 9. Friday night’s rain did not dampen the determination of shoppers. They left buying everything from clothing to tables, beds and even an alpaca rug.
“There is generally a line at the door before 6 p.m.,” Betty Perry, event organizer, said.
“I just heard about the sale,” Pat Watson of Knoxville said. “It’s great. I love these kinds of sales.”
Lillian Wombles of Knoxville said she did not know the money was being raised for a mission trip until she came to the rummage sale.
“That’s good,” she said.
Money raised from the sale will be used to fund a mission trip to Mexico.
Abby Phelps, 16, mission team member, said 19 church members, youths and adults, will leave Saturday, July 23, and return Saturday, July 30, to help children at an orphanage, Casa del al Esperanza, in Anahuac, Mexico.
“We will be spending a lot of time with the kids,” she said. “They are children from the streets. The government turns them over to an orphanage. Casa del al Esperanza translates to House of Hope.
“We make sure the children know they are loved,” she said. “When you go there, you realize how blessed you are to live here.”
“It’s a real viable means to take care of children in an orphanage,” Paul Phelps, Far-ragut Church of Christ senior minister, said. “It’s about the ministry experience. At the end of the day, it’s about connecting with kids in a third-world country.”
“Most of the kids there don’t know what love is,” Abby said. “When you spend time with them and do activities with them, it puts smiles on their faces and literally brightens their day.”
“It is a great opportunity for our kids to be a blessing to those kids,” Phelps said.
The team also will help make repairs and does maintenance projects on the orphanage building, help build a school and work on orphanage grounds.
All the proceeds from the rummage sale went to the trip. The church also held a flamingo fundraiser. Abby said members placed a plastic flamingo in a person’s yard. The person could then pay a donation to have it removed or insurance to prevent being “flamingoed.”
“We have some other fundraisers going as well,” she said. “Last year, we had more people going on the trip. We still were able to raise enough money to pay for everyone to go.”
This year is the second time the church went to the orphanage in Mexico. It has been holding the rummage sale for years as a way to raise money for mission trips.
“We sell things really low,” Perry said. “Everything — clothing or a pair of shoes – is $1. It’s very inexpensive. People just remember that.”
