I digress. I also like the word recluse.

What
an exciting life we live. Things are always changing. If you don’t like change,
this must drive you crazy to get our updates. As long as we have some stability, Don and I can “go with the flow”. Too much change and 1) I’ll crash, or 2) I’ll begin
acting like a 3-year-old without a nap. We’re lucky.

AN
EWOK NAMED WATSON.

Purchase
Effect is legit! That means…I have a LLC. Which when I went storming down to
Seth Barnes office to proudly show it, he first said, “You know this means?” “It
means they know where you are and you need to pay taxes”.  We laughed. Still, a triumph and a
celebratory high-5!

I’m
proud. Here’s why I pinched my pennies, took extra jobs with photo shoots,
planning events, decorating weddings, and saying yes when someone wanted to pay
for my meal! 
My friend, Kristen, did the same. We came up with about $1800 and used
that to start the business and buy merchandise. No loans! No debt! No lenders.
Nope, and we hope to never have to go there. Thank you, Jesus!

So,
if you don’t know what Purchase Effect (we refer to it as PE) is by now, here
is a brief description!

Everyone
wants to make a difference.

Mankind as a
whole searches for meaning-answers to questions we can’t answer and the
knowledge that we matter. All the while, we ask: “What’s the point of making a
living if we never actually live? What will people say about me when I’m gone?
Does my life matter at all?”

We know
there are bigger troubles in the world, possibly in another country or even as
close as the other side of the tracks. We know there are people who are
hurting; whose lives have turned upside down-or might never have been right
side up in the first place. Little ones who are sold into sexual slavery,
hungry mouths and eyes pleading for relief; places where child soldiers march
in the night or where AIDS threatens to take the lives of every soul within the
country’s borders. Problems too big to fix on one’s own; problems we want to
touch and somehow relieve, but don’t know how or even where to start.

It’s not an
imprint we seek, a fossilized record of a good deed; it’s the knowledge that
our lives had some kind of fluid power, a ripple effect that started small and
grew greater and greater upon impact, so that the end result is a the world
that will never again be the same.

This is the
Purchase Effect.

Each piece
we sell comes with a story-a person the purchase directly impacts. We’re not
interested in just selling you a product. Our passion is to create a venue for
international and mutually beneficial relationships.

I
love a good story, and I love building relationships with the people I meet.
While overseas, I meet local artisans, build relationships and sell their goods
here. Proceeds go towards non-profits like orphanages, anti-trafficking, and a
drug rehab center. The point of Purchase Effect is to tell the stories of the
people I meet and help raise money and awareness for them. 

You
can find out more and even see some of the products at
www.facebook.com/purchaseeffect.

 A
CUP OFF COFFEE.

Due
the to economy, lost jobs, etc, our financial support has been falling in the
last couple years.  Some of this lead Don to take the missions position at
Fellowship Bible, which he is enjoying. We’ve never gone without food. We
manage, but don’t save.  But, to
continue to serve in the manner that I currently am at AIM…I need to raise
more. So, here is a thought. If everyone who receives this email gives $5 a month, my support
needs would be met, perhaps surpassed!

That’s
the equivalent of a cup of coffee. A pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Less than a #1
Combo at Chic-fil-a or margarita. For some of you, sadly…it’s a gallon of gas.

Will
you support us financially? Will you pray about committing to a minimum of $5 a
month? Or….commit to praying for us?   At the least, I’d love a comment on a blog. A like on
FB. Or…a “Please remove me from your mailing or blog list”.  It’s ok. I’ve had to ask people to
remove my name, sometimes you can get spread too thin and can’t invest in
everyone.  Sometimes it gets
annoying. Heavens, the last thing I want to do is annoy anyone if I can help
it. I do that enough without meaning to. Wait, is this annoying?  

I
digress (and I like that word…”digress”. I also like the word “recluse”)

Ummm…If
so, yes…you’d like to donate, please click the “Support Me” tab on the top left of this screen and go from there.
You can set it up to auto-give every month, or just do a special gift. Or you
can send a check via snail mail to:

Adventures
in Missions, INC.

P.O.
Box 534470,
Atlanta, GA. 30353-4470

Please
make all checks out to AIM and write “Connie Rock” in the Memo line.

AIR
MILES

Last
request (for today): Maybe you can’t give financially… but do you
have any air miles you’d be willing to donate? The highest costs in missions are flights. I
am a member of Delta Skymiles, AA Advantage, and Korean Air. Currently I really
need Delta and AA miles.

If
you have miles you’d be willing to give me, please email me at [email protected]
and I will give you my information.

THANK
YOU!

Whatever
the response is to this post, we truly are thankful for each of you, most of
all for our relationship with each of you. Thank you for praying for us.  Thank you for your encouragement! And
thank you for your support, whether past, present, and/or future. We thank God
for you!

And
thank you for leaving a comment below!

2012
… WHAT IT HOLDS.

Tomorrow
(should time permit and I’m not distracted by Pinterest), I want to share about
“our” Adventures in Missions and what that looks like for the rest of 2012.