A brief Thank You letter to some friends

To those of you who have been holding my hand (and perhaps holding your breath) from the very beginning, thank you.  You know who you are.   You are the women who bought 50 "training birds" and believed that the broken birds made by broken women were not the end of this story.  You told me that as the women healed, the birds would also improve, and I should keep putting one foot in front of the other.  

You also told me (more than once) that it was pure blessing that I didn't know what was coming down the road, because I might have been tempted to panic.  (You were right).  But God knew what He was doing the whole time.  He knew when to keep my blinders on and exactly what He was weaving together.  

Thank you for sending me a check in the mail and calling it an investment but not a loan and trusting me to use it wisely- twice.

Thank you for organizing entire craft projects and girls nights.  

Thank you for paying the rent for the co-op house through March 2015!  

Thank you for buying 500 birds in one fell swoop because you thought my friends and I were worth all your money.  Thank you for telling all your friends and clients and colleagues about my work and for advocating boldly for women you will never meet this side of heaven.

Thank you for donating your time, your talents, your wisdom, and not complaining when I didn't have time to wash my hair before coming over for lunch.  

Thank you for typing up my business plan just to be nice, when the very thought of it made me a little cross-eyed.  

Thank you for taking sparrow to your neighbors and your work to sell for me.

Thank you for buying a white board and sewing machines for the co-op.

Thank you for mailing product to me for free as a ministry donation.  

Thank you for hauling 50 pounds of sparrows all the way around the world for me, when it would have surely been easier to travel with only one piece of luggage.  

Thank you for faithfully lifting some pretty extreme prayer requests up and telling me to just keep sending more your way.  Thank you for asking your family to pray, too.

Thank you for opening your home up to trunk shows and partnering with me in advocating for artisans all over the world, including the women of More than Sparrows.  

Thank you for each garland and ornament purchase you made.  Every single purchase meant another night a mom did NOT have to sell her body.  She thanks you.  And I thank you.  Every dollar you spent was a vote for what you value.   

Love,

Annie