Writings

2004 Missions Benefit Auction Day 2 / Report

Saturday was the second day of the annual Missions Benefit Auction at my church. The auction raises money for the yearly missions trip. This year we have 18 youth and adults who will be going to El Salvador at the end of June. As always, it was a long day, but was ultimately a great success.

Read about Day 1 of the Auction

The auction lasted from 8AM until around 9:30 that evening. I didn't get home until about an hour after that. Between both days, through the auction and food sales we raised nearly $17,000!! Every year we are reminded just how faithful God is. :)

We got an early start. I was up at the church by around 7:30 AM to get a breakfast sandwich and get ready for the day ahead. Despite the night before, we still had a lot of items to sell. I spent some time as a runner, but unfortunately had to leave for a short while in the morning for a rehearsal.

I returned at about 12:30 to continue helping out with running and whatever else I could do. We were able to rotate runners better than the night before since there was much more time. I took a short break in the afternoon to rehearse the marimba concerto I've been working on, though.

By mid-afternoon there was still no end in site; the tables were still well covered with items to sell. Interestingly enough, there was a small crowd on Saturday than there was on Friday. I had expected there to be even more than the evening before because Saturday is the main day for the auction (We used to only have one day for the auction, Saturday). Regardless, there were very few 'no bids,' and most the items went for reasonable prices.

Finally, the crowd and the tables began to thin out. We eventually started putting together box lots with the remaining items so the auctioneers could sell them quickly. There are still a few boxes left though. There were a few items that went fairly cheap at the end. The pastor bought a couch for a few dollars for his "cabin" as I recall. It ended up forming the last row of seating for youth group.

There wer a few interesting moments throughout the day. It's always interesting when relatives inadvertantly bid against each other for the same item. There was also an instance where some people were bidding on an item which the runners were getting ready, but actually it was another item up for bid which they did not want. Another time near the end, Jesse Parker was hyping a particular item (I believe a coffee maker). Shortly after this solicitation/advertisement, the cup fell and shattered on the ground. Despite something being broken, the irony and levity was welcome after a long day.

The auction is always really a great time though a lot of work. There's a lot of work in the months prior to the auction while we acquire donations, all culminating in the weekend of the auction. It has proven every year to be a very good way of raising funds for missions trips. Everybody wins. :)

The only next big event for us is the trip itself. It's not far away. It'll be great. :)