Thank you so much for your loving support! We successfully held three fundraising dinners with 421 guests in attendance to celebrate God’s amazing work among children with disabilities in China. Planning and preparing for such an event is not easy as there are many little details we need to be aware and to take care of. Although, we have only 5 staff in our office, we had more than 80 brothers and sisters in Christ volunteering from different churches. They served in various capacities: fundraising, designing the layout of the venue, controlling audio-visual equipment, photocopying of documents, arranging food, hosting table guests, designing the main program, being a MC, translating, etc. Without all the efforts and diligent service from our volunteers, we wouldn’t have had the successful dinners. Rainbow Missions (RM) really appreciates all their sacrifices and involvement. Are you curious who the volunteers are and why they were willing to sacrifice their personal time to join our volunteer teams?
請 按此閱讀中文版 (回應上帝的呼召).
Catherine is one of RM’s volunteers, a student sponsor, and a member of our fundraising committee. She has been a short-term service team member three times and served in the technical team a couple of years ago. Here is a short interview with her:
I: How and when did you know about Rainbow Missions?
C: I learned about Rainbow Missions at my church in 2006. One of the co-founders and I attend the same church. Another friend invited me to join RM’s short-term service trip in December 2007. That was my first RM STST trip.
I: What motivated you to serve RM as a volunteer during the fundraising dinner?
C: I am taking a sabbatical year in 2017 and was exploring different volunteer options. I had already participated in the RM STST trip in March/April 2017. Then, I was invited to join the RM fundraising team. I have attended most of RM’s fundraising dinners, but now would like to understand the work “behind the scenes.”
I: What were your responsibilities during this fundraising dinner?
C: I helped in various capacities—managing guest registrations; sending email reminders to VIPs, table sponsors, and table hosts; drawing the event floor plan; and counting the donations.
I: Is there an area(s) you would like to be more involved in such as joining another service trip, sponsoring another child, providing office support, etc? Why?
C: I am still planning and praying about my serving options.
I: What was the most touching part?
C: Many brothers and sisters in Christ gave their personal time and resources to make these events successful. We experienced God’s blessings and mercies in all aspects. For example– finding an excellent venue for the English dinner, having a professional chef volunteer to cook for the Mandarin dinner, filling the tables with guests at the last minute, God providing 3 airport passes to see Mary off at the gate, etc.
We all possess different gifts, talents, professional skills, and resources. We at Rainbow Missions welcome you to use these to make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities in China. You are welcome to contact us via email: rainbows@therainbows.org to obtain more information. If you wish to join our volunteer teams or other positions, contact Kery Wong, or call (206) 734-7000.
Brief info: Rainbow Missions is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization registered in Seattle, USA. Rainbow Missions centers in Christ’s love, serving disabled children and their families in China. Our website is: www.therainbows.org.
回應上帝的呼召
感謝你們支持、協助和參與，讓彩虹工程今年九月的籌款晚宴可以順利完成，三次聚會共有421位來賓出席，一同為上帝在中國的殘障群體中的奇妙作為獻上感恩。其實每一年籌款晚宴的籌備工作十分繁多，從策劃到實踐的過程中，需要很多人力物力的支援。彩虹工程只有五位員工，晚宴能夠順利完成，當然需要很多一直在背後默默支持付出的義工。今年我們一共有八十多位來自不同教會的弟兄姊妹，在不同的崗位上服事，有些是籌備委員會的成員、有些是設計及佈置場地、控制影音設備、影印文件、安排食物、作枱長款待嘉賓、設計節目流程、擔任晚宴的司儀、拍攝、搬運及整理餐桌與會後之清理、宣傳和邀請、簡報設計、翻譯等。 你曾否好奇他們到底是誰？為何他們會願意犧牲自己的時間精力委身服事？這些默默地服事的義工中，我們訪問了Catherine。
Catherine 是彩虹工程其中的一位義工，她也是我們一位視障學生的資助人，也參加過三次彩虹短期的服務隊。幾年前，她曾在技術支援組幫忙。Catherine現在是彩虹籌款委員會的其中一員。以下是我們與Catherine的一篇訪問實錄:
I: Catherine 妳好，請問妳是怎樣和何時認識彩虹工程的?
C: 2006年我在教會認識了彩虹工程。 他們其中一位創辦人是與我參加同一間教會的。到了2007年12月，另一位朋友邀請我參與短期服務隊，於是我第一次參加了彩虹工程的短期服務隊。
I: 請分享一下驅動妳今年在彩虹工程服事或者成為義工的原因是什麼?
C: 今年是我的休假年，我計劃在這一年當中探索不同的義工選擇。就在今年的三、四月，我被邀請加入晚宴籌備團隊。過去我已經參加過數次彩虹工程的晚宴。藉著今次機會，我希望能了解籌備工作的運作情況。
I: 今次妳在籌備團隊所負責的工作是什麼呢?
C: 我負責幫助來賓預留坐位位置、發電郵提醒特別來賓和贊助人、設定坐位圖表、來賓登記和晚宴後點算捐款。
I: 妳願意在那一個彩虹工程的服事範疇中更多參與？例如：服務隊、助學計劃、技術支援或辦公室的工作…
C: 我正在計劃並為這事奉的崗位禱告，求主帶領。
I: 在晚宴中，那一些事情最讓妳感動?
C: 有很多主內的弟兄姐妹奉獻他們的時間和資源去參與支持是次晚宴籌備，讓今次晚宴得以順利舉行。我們在各方面都經歷神的祝福和憐憫。例如：找到近乎完美的英文晚宴場地；在普通話晚宴中，找到專業的廚師作義工幫忙，為我們準備精美的食物﹔在晚宴前夕，主奇妙地為我們填滿了所有的空位﹔最後我們又經歷了神的介入，讓我們得到了三個機場通行證，順利把分享嘉賓視障大學生孟軼同學送到機場閘口…
神給予我們不同的恩賜和能力，並且希望我們按著衪的心意去運用，彼此服事。彩虹工程摯誠邀請你與我們同行，一起經歷神的愛和奇妙的作為，敞開你的生命，把心中這一份愛活出來，成為別人的祝福。歡迎你們致電郵rainbows@therainbows.org或致電206-734-7000索取更多彩虹工程的資訊。倘若你也有感動參與義工團體，歡迎聯絡我們。
簡介: 彩虹工程是依據非牟利機構組織法501(c)(3) 在美國西雅圖註冊的慈善機構。彩虹工程以基督的愛為中心，服務中國殘障兒童及家庭。歡迎瀏覽網址: www.therainbows.org。