Aha Moments with Kendra- Part 7

What happens when someone challenges you to think bigger than you ever imagined? In Part 7 of AHA Moments with Kendra, Kendra shares about BAC’s very first church partnership, and a challenge from her cousin Justin to dream and pray BIG. Those prayers led to the creation of the very first BAC benefit dinner fundraiser.

And in true God-fashion… doors opened in ways she never expected—including a FREE venue and FREE food for the very first event.

For more Aha Moments visit https://buildingallchildren.org/podcast

Transcript

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Welcome! My name is Kendra Morgan, and I'm the host of the Rise and Build Podcast, where we hope to empower you to rise up and build a strong family, knowing you have to strengthen your hands to do the good work. Come with us as we rise and build. Hey you guys, welcome to the Rise and Build Podcast. We are still in the aha moments where we abide here and act, and I just get to tell you all the God moments and the God stories with Building All Children. So the last one I talked about, our logo, how we got launched. Um, I did not launch it, but somehow um it got launched and it was public knowledge that I was starting a nonprofit um wanting to serve children and families. And so as we kept creating it and as we kept building it, we knew that it was time to figure out this church partnership and what that looked like and to go tell the story. And so the first church that I felt the most comfortable sharing with was my hometown church. And so I am from Kingfisher and I was raised in the federated church. And so I called them and asked them if I could come share about this nonprofit that my family was starting and share a little bit of my personal story. Um, and so they were, of course, you know, excited for me to come. And so it was like the congregation that I was raised in, um, it was mainly just my family and my close Kingfisher friends, and then of course Ryan and the kids. And so I would say there was, oh my gosh, 20, maybe 30 people there. It was not very many people. Um, and we were in the sanctuary, and I stood up and for the first time told my story publicly, which if you haven't heard my story, it is on our website. You can listen to it. But I told my story publicly and then told how I received the vision to start building all children and kind of where I was. Um, and part of that was the business side of the church partnership. And so I really was just starting, starting the whole idea of sharing my story and seeing what people thought about it. Um, and so I was nervous, um, would not say that I was a public speaker at all, um, didn't really have my thoughts together. Um, I had notes in front of me. Um, I think if you hear me speak now, I hardly ever use notes. But at that time, I hadn't, I mean, I had never even really, I just didn't know how to speak. And so I ended up standing in front of the church and in front of my family and shared my story. And then afterwards, um, some of my family was surprised. Some of my close friends were surprised. They didn't know about um my story and my struggles. Um, and then to hear about building all children, they were excited. And I'll never forget, my older cousin, um Justin Mecklenburg, sat down and he was there and he had a gazillion questions. Um, he's a little bit of a visionary, and so he was asking me, like, okay, if you had a big building, what would you do with it? And I was like, I mean, I don't know. I just got my logo figured out. You know, I mean, I was just taking baby steps, and he just was really challenging me to think big, which now is funny because I'm a pretty big thinker. But I think when I was in the middle of creating it, I just didn't even know what tomorrow brought. And so I just kind of kept, you know, going day by day. Um, but he challenged me with some really big thoughts that I really kind of took to heart and I really started praying bigger and I started praying um bolder after those conversations. And so my first step of telling my story publicly was a big deal. Um, and then also being challenged the way that Justin challenged me was a big deal. And so I started researching other nonprofits. Um, and I I knew the business side, but I also know when you have a nonprofit, you have to do fundraising. And I had never done fundraising. I didn't even know what that looked like. Um, I say that. Uh as a kid, we sold blue and gold sausage, and I did really good with that one year, but I had never like truly done fundraising. And so um, I don't know. I I told Ryan, I said, I feel like maybe we should have a dinner. And Ryan is like, I think you need to have a dinner and you need to tell your story like for real, like really share it with maybe people you don't even know or maybe your close friends. Um, and it's always nerve-wracking to tell your story. And so I remember I just went back to the Bible and I just read in Revelations that it says that he defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by his testimony. And that is what I wanted to do. I wanted um to stand up and I wanted to share what the Lord had done in my life, maybe to help someone else out, or also maybe just to glorify God in the story that he gave me. Um, and so I remember I told myself, anytime I share my story, I'm gonna say the scripture because I always wanted to go back to why I'm doing this is really only to glorify the Lord. So we decided to have our first fundraiser. And so um we had very little money, um, a few little church partners, but we did not have very much money at all. And so um I went to my church here in Tulsett, and I they knew that I had started a nonprofit, and I asked them if they would be willing to allow me to do a dinner in their church and not charge me. And they were very generous, told me that they wouldn't charge me a penny. Um they had tables, they had chairs, they had tablecloths. Um, I could use their facility. I just would have to get the food. And so um I just, I mean, it's expensive. And so Ryan and I just kind of, you know, sat around and we kind of just prayed about it and we're thinking through all that. And I had a guy come up to me at church and said, Hey, I heard that you might be doing your fundraiser. And I said, Yeah, I got my first one. We're just praying through it, trying to figure out the food. It's expensive. And he said, Well, I have a friend that just opened up a barbecue place. I think maybe he would give you a really good deal. And I was like, Really? And I was like, huh. And so I remember asking Ryan, like, what do you think about barbecue? And Ryan's like, I think you have to take what you can get. And so I ended up meeting with this gentleman. He did not know me, and he um had a restaurant, and I kind of told him the heart behind building all children, what we're trying to do. And I asked him if he would, you know, what he would charge me, what would that look like? And he said, Well, how many people? And I was like, Well, Ryan, the kids. I mean, like, I didn't have anyone. And so I was like, I mean, I don't know, 25, 30, maybe 40 people. Um, and he was like, okay. He's like, yeah, he's like, let me get some numbers together and I'll get back with you. And okay, didn't think much of it. Well, he called me a few days later and he said, So I've looked at the numbers and I would like to do it for free. And I was like, what? And he goes, Yeah, I did I'll be at that church. It won't be too inconvenient. It's not a lot of people. I'll just I'll do it for free. And so, I mean, I remember I cried. I like got off the phone and I was like, why would he do it for free? Like, that's so much food. Um, and so I called Ryan so excited. And so we set a date. We were gonna do this fundraiser. And so, I mean, we had no help. I I I wish my kids were here to say, yes, this is true. Like, they are the ones that put the tablecloths on. The church set the tables up for us, which was sweet, but we made these little center pieces and we checked people in. And I mean, we were we were it, it was the Morgan, it was the fab vibe. And so we were gonna do this fundraiser. And I remember like it was all set up, and maybe 30 minutes before it started, I kind of got that panic feeling. And Am Ryan said, Are you okay? And I just kind of remember looking at him. I'm sure I had tears in my eyes, and I said, What if no one shows up? Like, I'm gonna let this man down that donated all this food. What if no one shows up? And he said, We will wait and see. And I said, Okay, but what if no one shows up? And this cracks me up because we still joke about this. Ryan so calmly looked at me and he said, If nobody shows up, we are gonna be eating barbecue for a few months. And I remember I just started die laughing. And um he said, Kids, do you guys like barbecue? Kind of kidding around, but it was super sweet because it totally broke the ice. Um, and then I remember I was kind of in the back of the stage, like looking over my notes, kind of preparing myself to share my story. And Ryan goes, Kendra, and I was like, What? And he's like, Kendra, and I was like, What? And he's like, Come here, and I was like, No, I've I'm looking through this stuff. And he goes, No, come here. I want to show you something. And we walked through the church and he opened up the door, and there was a line outside the building waiting to get in. And I I just remember, I mean, I'm gonna start crying. I just remember kind of taking a deep breath going, why? Why would these people show up for this? And it was a beautiful reminder that he just provides. And he started laying it on people's hearts to clear their calendars and to come to this event. I don't even know if we sold tickets, it might have been free. Um, just to come and hear the heart behind this. And so it was, I mean, it was a good 40 to 50 people. We did have enough food, praise the Lord, buffet style. So I don't know, my kids were serving. I mean, they were exhausted after the event. Um, and I told my story and we raised a little bit of money. Not much, but we raised a little bit of money, and it was I remember putting my head on the pillow and just thanking the Lord for providing. That's what he does, he just provides for his people.