Welcome to Grand Avenue Presbyterian

ON 7/28/04, THE FINAL TOTAL FOR THE 2004 GARAGE SALE IS $3718.69.
GAPC Presbyterian Border Ministry

GARAGE SALE FINALE

Everything from our 19th annual garage sale has been sold or distributed to other charitable organizations but the money is still trickling in. To date we have raised more than $3500. It’s always interesting to see how much money comes in after the sale is over; this year, we have collected more than $700 since the general public
departed. We also had significant contributions and a lot of physical labor this year from members of Covenant.

Our sale had things that were unique and interesting. We had a two-cylinder, 220-volt air compressor; a 40-year old Japanese doll encased in glass; three complete Nintendo games AND a Gameboy; a hospital bed with controls; a Stairmaster AND an exercise bike; a 4-piece cast-iron outdoor lawn set that weighed about ninety eight pounds; four lawnmowers; and enough pairs of jeans to clothe the entire church. Except for about 30 pairs of jeans, we sold them all.

Many of our customers were repeat buyers who have come to look forward to our sale. Many were customers who were delighted with their purchases. The best story came about as a result of the sale of the compressor. Mr. Salvador, a 70-year-old man from Mexico, came to the church several times to examine the machine and to ask questions. He told us fervently that it had been his lifelong dream to own an air compressor. In the last hours of the sale, we agreed on a price and he brought in his neighbor to pay cash, insisting that it was “more right
to the church” than writing a check. He later drove away with his arm around the compressor in the back of his neighbor’s pickup. Before he left, he shook our hands and said, “Good people! Good church!”

We distributed the leftover items to a number of different organizations and projects:
Sherman Public Library
Crisis Center of Sherman
Juvenile Alternatives
Home Hospice
Salvation Army
Presbyterian Women mission project

Now that all the money is in (we think!), we plan to send the check for at least $3500 to Presbyterian Border Ministry this week.

The Witness ministry thanks all those who contributed items, sorted, priced, worked the sale, and cleaned up. Thanks also to those who purchased treasures to take home. It takes a church that is committed to mission outside our borders to host a successful sale year after year.

Laurie Mealy

(P.S. We were unable to sell or distribute a television (with cart and rabbit ears). Please call the church office if you can think of a good home for it.

To donate items to the sale, please call the church office at 893-1921 to arrange for a pick-up.

The members of Grand Avenue Presbyterian Church hold a massive garage sale in May or June of each year. This sale has turned into an annual "EVENT". Items are collected for months prior to the sale. The proceeds from the sale are donated to the Presbyterian Border Ministry. 

The Presbyterian Border Ministry is an international cooperative which is jointly sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico. Many of the residents along the US/Mexico border who are helped by the PBM lack clean drinking water, electricity and adequate shelter.

 The people of Los Recuerdos colony live in shacks made of scrap lumber and tin. The residents of this colony have only recently finished constructing an elementary school for the area children. By helping the people of that depressed area, we hope to curb in some degree the poverty that people there see in their everyday life.
    The following are the objectives of the annual sale:
  • Raise money to donate to the Presbyterian Border Ministry. 
  • Many of the leftover children's clothes and toys will be donated to the Sherman Women's Crisis Center, the Salvation Army or shipped directly to the border. 
  • The school supplies which are donated to the sale are shipped to the border. The supplies are used by children in the border ministry. As an additional source of school supplies, each year boxes are placed in the Sherman schools. Sherman students donate their leftover school supplies to be shipped to the Mexico border. This is a great ministry to the border children as many of the families do not have the money to purchase school supplies. 
  • Outreach to Sherman and Grayson County. Each year the sale grows in number and variety of items. All of the items are very reasonably priced. Most of the clothes sell for 50 cents each. Many low income families purchase large quantities of clothes for $10 or $20.