Indiana—The Adventist church has a plan to help its members raise support for overseas missions. It is called investment. Each Sabbath school department is encouraged to plan investment activities to contribute to the church's investment goal. Members are also encouraged to participate with individual investment projects.
In my earliest recollections, my mother grew things for investment. I remember one year she purchased ten ducklings and intended to raise them to sell for investment. We had a gully washer one day and the small ducks were washed down the creek, never to be seen again. It is only reasonable to assume not every investment project will be a smashing success. It reminds us that we are dependent on God; God is not dependent on us.
Through the years at the Cicero Church, God has blessed our efforts in a variety of projects. Our main effort, as a combined church, is a garage sale each spring and fall. We start advertising weeks ahead, people drop off their items at a designated place, and workers begin pricing and sorting.
On the day of the sale, which is usually held in the parking lot of the Indiana Academy gymnasium and the Adventist Book Center, a number of volunteers arrange sale items attractively. Several stay through the day to help sell, and then another group helps pack up and load the remaining items to take to the local auction house.
At our sale this spring, a co-worker was adding up some items for a lady. When it was discovered that the tally had mistakenly resulted in an overcharge, it was immediately corrected. The buyer smiled, and said, "I know that on the grounds of the Seventh-day Adventist Book Store, I will be treated fairly!" The yard sale gives us another opportunity to meet members of our community.
Through these efforts, and many individual projects, the return on the investment of Cicero members amounts to about $3,000 a year. It is a labor of love, and those contributing and working help further God's gospel around the world.
Ramona Trubey, Cicero Church investment secretary
