23rd Oct 2012. By Donna Uning, Kuching. CM –
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – It was way past 11 am and the container was already looking somewhat half-way desirable. The ladies and gentlemen working hard to clean up the old container were actually excited and optimistic with the new venue for the thrift shop.
After a year of absence, St. Faith’s Thrift Shop in Kuching is coming back. Located at the church’s premise behind the pastors’ housing area, the container or trailer (as I like to call it) has been the previous storage for many of the thrift shop items, as well as, a store room for many.
While sorting the items in the trailer, I get to talk to the hard-working women about the future of the shop. “So far, we are closed for a while and not have any sale until we fix the premises,” said Thrift Shop Secretary, Ms. Jennifer Martin. Jennifer has been with the Thrift Shop since 2010.
“I was surprise that people are very supportive of the sales. People really do like the things there. It was so enjoyable,” said Jennifer. Previously, it usually takes half a day to move the items from the container before the sale. With the new premise, the move will not be necessary. “Many family members, spouses, and even my young nephews helped out with the move. We got quite a lot of money from the previous sales,” she added.
“Even before the first service, people already started buying,” remembered Jennifer about the last sale. She listed that Christmas decors, shoes, and toys make great sales. The Thrift Shop sales are always a great success.
In a meeting with the Thrift Shop committee few weeks earlier, three of the objectives made for the shop were mentioned. One of the purposes of the Thrift Shop is to generate funds for various causes on a sustainable and ongoing basis. The sale proceeds from the Thrift Shop helps other ministries that does not get ministry funds directly from the church. Therefore, the shop gets to help specific individuals with urgent needs like hospitalization or financial emergencies.
Another objective of the shop is to encourage the different church ministries and other church members to work together on a joint project. One of the projects was with the Youth Ministry for the Heart and Soul Project to help donate items to the rural areas.
Finally, the shop activities also provide an avenue for church and non-church members to have fellowship through contributing to a common cause. Looking at the clean-up activity in the container and all the support from the ladies, their spouses and friends – it was no surprise that the ‘common cause’ comes to the same love for God.
The clean-up took a few short hours before the team closed up the container. It was past lunch time on that warm Tuesday afternoon as cars begin to leave the carpark.
