Hey Everyone!
I have posted pictures from out lastest event, last night. I am working on finding a more professional way to post these and also a way that I can label them for you.
God has begun some major reconstructing on what we are doing physically as a CARES team and with our lifestyle as a married couple.
We had a marshmallow roasting on October 2nd. It was a lot of fun, but not many people came. This was beginning to be the routine.
October 6th, we had a fitness awareness day, which was the kick-off to a 6-wk weight-loss challenge. Two people showed up. That evening and the following day was very frustrating and left us very confused and discouraged. What are we doing wrong? Why does it seem that no one cares about what we are doing? Why won't people come to our events?
We began to re-evaluate our strategy. We began to realize that we have been focusing on certain people at a time. Right now - as we are trying to get our names out in the community - we need to be including everyone in all of our events. So we began to plan for that in the following month.
On October 12th, we put on our second breakfast-on-the-go and it was, once again, a hit! I actually had help from some dear friends at church, so we were able to cover both sides of the street. It was so easy and much more fun to do an event for the second time! We are big fans of that concept!
On the same day, we had our first weigh-in for the 6-week challenge. Four people showed up! It was a small number still, but it was a lot of fun as a woman came to give some nutrition facts and show a couple of new exercises.
October 16th, we were informed we had a new manager. We knew this would change possibly change a lot of things; some things for the better and possibly some things for the worse. We could only wait to find out.
On October 19th, we had another disappointment. One person showed up. Not even our instructor showed up! This was becoming embarrassing.
On October 22nd - a Thursday - I, Rebekah, was called into the office. The regional manager and the new manager were awaiting me. In short, the regional manager was not happy with the direction we were headed in. We weren't known well enough in the community yet and she was more than upset. The new manager was right behind her and telling me how I needed to better what we had been doing. It was a good thirty minutes of slapping me on the back of my hand and telling me that things were going to change. A lot of direction was given, though, and Steve and I both feel that is just what we needed. It was a painful and tactless session of direction, but it was received humbly and gratefully.
The next couple of days involved involved both of us finally sitting down with the new manager together and getting on the same page together, and the two of us intensely discussing how we can change direction and meet the high expectations of these two women. Prayer also entered our lives a little more than usual. We were overwhelmed. I began to find resources and use them. I emailed every CARES team in the valley - 22 of them. I asked them for direction on how to better approach the business side of CARES and not so much the ministry side of it.
We are beginning to get loving and encouraging responses back from other teams. It feels so good to have that family and support team offering what they can.
Following all of this was our big event of the month: our pumpkin carving.
We brought out music this time and balloons to draw people in a little better. Some kids showed up early and we sent them out to find more people. They also helped us set up, which was such a blessing and a lot more fun : )
We bought thirty pumpkins, fully expecting to have to return some. The end result: we ran out of pumpkins! Praise God around forty people showed up! We had all the tables we could find and they were too crowded. People ended up on the ground. Whole families came, which has never happened. Children are almost always the only ones to show up to events. We had almost ten parents! Many preteens and teenagers came as well. We even took pictures and people loved that. Afterwards, people stayed to help clean up! The kids who helped set up stayed to help clean up until there was nothing left to do. It was so much fun!
Some one told us we are great parents. When we told her we weren't parents yet, she was shocked and assured us we would be great parents : ) Other mothers thanked us for saving them the mess in their kitchens. Everyone thanked us for putting the event together and told us how much fun it was. God gave us success this time and we know it was Him.
We have so much to learn from this successful event and we can't wait to put on our next event.
Thank you for prayers. They were a help as well.
In Him,
Steve & Rebekah 
