The Great Thirty Day Giveaway - please share!

Friends, I want to offer an apology of sorts.  There have been a few things (financially speaking) that I have not shared.  It is not because I wanted to be dishonest.

The truth is, we were scared.

About a week or so ago, an anonymous donor connected to someone we know offered us a matching grant.  The "challenge" was this:  If we could raise $2500 in 30 days, he would match that amount for us. 

I held off not saying anything - honestly because I was afraid to say "yes".  I was afraid I would fail. 30 days - to me - is not a long time. 

Then, two days ago, we received news that we are eligible for a matching grant through Brittany's Hope.  This grant, for $2,000, requires us to raise $1,000 as a seedling gift. 

We have filled out the paperwork to receive this grant, but have done so slowly...because of fear. 

"Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."  Deuteronomy 31:16.

We have been so very blessed in our adoption process.  Gifts have been given to us from friends and strangers alike.  We have over $3400 in our Reece's Rainbow account because of this unmitigated, undeserved generosity.  It is, truly, a blessing for our family; one that continues to humble us. How is it that some members of our extended family don't care about our adoption, yet strangers bless us?

It was the words of a very kind woman who has befriended me during our process to bring our son from The Bad Place in Bulgaria who prodded me into action.  She reminded me of the mightiness of God, and promised to help.  Others promised too. I was reminded of 1 Chronicles 28:20:

"Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished."

The work is not finished.  We are not yet fully funded, and we are traveling on our first trip JULY 21ST.

I will do the work, Lord.  Forgive my unbelieving spirit.  You have given us gifts that will provide gifted funds to finish Your work. 

It is time to step out in faith and use the gifts given to us.

And so....*drumroll please*...here we are with MULLIGAN STEW TWO:  THE GREAT THIRTY DAY GIVEAWAY.

We have prizes!

First, the entry system.

If you share this giveaway, you will be entered. By leaving a comment here and a link to your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc,  you will earn free entries. That's it.

If you would like more entries, we are going to use the same "amounts" as were in Mulligan Stew for donations.

$10.00 - 2 entries
$20.00 - 5 entries
$35.00 - 9 entries
$50.00 - 13 entries
$75.00 - 19 entries
$100.00 - 25 entries
$150.00 - 36 entries
$200.00 - 47 entries
$250.00 - 58 entries
$500.00 - 110 entries

Where do you donate?

You may donate to our Reece's Rainbow fund or our Chip In fund.  The Chip In will be used to pay the seedling gift needed for Brittany's Hope.  When we reach $1,000 in that account, we will have met our goal.  You are free to donate beyond that, but we are seeking the funds needed to receive the matching grant from Brittany's Hope.

For Reece's Rainbow, our current total stands at $3,430.  To receive the second matching grant of $2500, the total must reach $5930.  To be completely and fully funded, we must raise an additional $800.  This will cover expenses such as additional care for our future son in Bulgaria and some fees that we just discovered TODAY we will be paying in-county. It also covers the costs of the prizes we are offering, since only a few of them have been donated to us. 

Therefore, the total we need to raise is $1,000 (for matching Brittany's Hope grant), $2500 (for second matching anonymous grant) and $800 for additional expenses  = $4300. 

I want to make sure you all know where we are in the process and how much  more is needed.  When you see the Chip In reflect $1,000, you will know (before I even say!) that we have met that goal!  When you see Reece's Rainbow with $5930, you will know that we have met our matching grant.  And when our account reads $6730, you will know before we write a word that we are FULLY FUNDED.

GET TO THE GOOD STUFF!  Prizes!!!

We have prizes! 

We have a $25 VISA gift card:

We have a $50 AMAZON gift card:

We are also going to provide 2 "top" prizes - and allow the winner a choice!

The second place prize will be a choice.  Do you prefer coffee...

A KEURIG B40 ELITE coffee maker?

or do you prefer SODA?

A SODASTREAM GENESIS - complete with starter kit!

The runner up winner will get to choose one of these prizes.  So which is it for you?  Soda or coffee?  Either one is FABULOUS!

The grand prize winner will also get a choice.

Do you like games?  (Or do your kiddos love gaming?)  You might like:

A NINTENDO 3DS handheld gaming system!  It's okay; you can pretend it's for your kids when it's really for you :)

If games are not your thing, the grand prize winner can choose this:

An IPOD TOUCH 4th GENERATION - 8 GB with Facetime and an HD camera.

There will be other prizes added as we are able so that more people have a chance to win.

What do you need to know?

1.  Donate to our Reece's Rainbow account or Chip In to support our matching grants.  PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT to note that you've entered and how many entries you have (note the chart).  Notes are moderated.  Please leave a name or a way to identify you so that entries can be verified through Reece's Rainbow or Chip In.  Your comment WILL NOT be published, so no identifying information will be shared.

2.  Share to enter and leave a comment on our blog to note that you've shared.

3.  Second and first place winners will get a choice of prizes (as described)

This giveaway ends on JULY 28th, 2012.  We will be returning from Bulgaria on that day.  Entries will be tallied and drawn at random using assigment of numbers through random.org.  We will do this as SOON as we come home and as quickly as we can.

THANK YOU for your support, for your prayers and thoughts.  Thank you for your entries, and for sharing this with others.  Thank you for praying for our future son. 

And THANK YOU to those who very kindly "kicked us" a bit into action.  :)

**ADDITIONAL RULES**

This giveaway is void where prohibited. 

No purchase is necessary to enter; simply share a link to the blog and leave a comment with a way to verify your "share"

Please leave comments regarding entries on THIS BLOG ENTRY only.  Comments left on Facebook, through twitter, or on other blog posts will not be counted. 

The top 2 prizes are CHOICES.  You will not receive both prizes at the top 2 prize levels.  Choose between a Keurig or Sodastream for 2nd runner up, or an Ipod Touch and a Nintendo 3ds for the top prize. 

Prayers do not earn you entries.  But prayers are free, and appreciated :)