New Bangle Bracelets, Cuffs, Kids Beads!!

 We are in the middle of our Affiliate Grant contest through Monday. We just added some cool new Bangle Bracelets, Cuffs, and Kids Beaded Necklaces to the OH Store. Be sure to check them out in the Accessories category. These are only a smidgeon of what we have.

A new video blog coming soon. You will meet my new Kenyan friend, Charity....such a great woman!

Why Sheep?? Plus Video Blog

So....what about the sheep? What's so great about a sheep? BAAAAA!!

Well....let me tell you.

A sheep is precious in Ethiopia because they use it for FOOD. It is a rare delicacy. Most Ethiopians eat Injera EVERYDAY! I'm talking.....EVERYDAY, the same meal. It is a spongy type bread with a paste that they dab on it. It is very cheap to make and has become the meal of choice throughout Ethiopia. ONLY on holidays do those that are so lucky, splurge on a sheep for a nice holiday meal. Well, we have found it to be a total blessing to provide orphanages, communities, etc with a sheep, or two, or three, or four, when our travel teams go in to serve the children. We show them how much they are loved by filling their bellies up with that special food that some never get, and some only get on special holidays. We love to leave behind a couple for later as well. It is very important to show love in a practical way by providing basic needs in areas of great want and need.  We give clothes, shoes, supplies.....and SHEEP to children in need.
We have sheep available in our OH Store if you would like to purchase a sheep that will feed more than 40 children. You will have the opportunity to follow along on this blog as we travel to ET in July and watch us in action with the sheep that YOU bought and provided for the children. By request, we now have available HALF a sheep for purchase as well. That sounded weird to me until my real country friend said that is very typical on the farm, Ha! So a HALF, or a WHOLE....it's up to you. Gosh! Back in the day I sold Avon. Now I've moved on to sheep!! Who would have ever thought?? Ha!!

To all the vegetarians out there, this whole post will probably offend you, but trust me, it is for a good cause :-)

I'm also going to be unleashing the VIDEO BLOG world on you all!! As much as I go and do....I'm going to be sharing it more with you all. You can see a little closer into what goes on in the OH world, and a little of our big crazy families, with videos I will be posting more regularly. I figure if I can type it out, I could also just show you as well.

So here you go....Here is a small clip when I couldn't get my brain off of the kids in Africa compared to how blessed we are here in America. We have been thick in the season of Easter celebrations, Proms, Spring weather approaching, etc,  which we can all take for granted so easily in America. When we travel to ET, which also happens to be where some of our precious children are from, you see how thankful the kids are for a simple meal.......for a simple SHEEP.  So as you see how far a sheep can go, you will better understand why I have them in our OH Store, right along with the Tshirts.  :-)

Silence my music on the right side bar or CLICK HERE to go to direct link.

I'm Gonna Change The World ~ Plus More Grants, Store Clearance,Sheep,and Bracelets

Look at what a cute video I received in my inbox!! The little guy in the middle was actually adopted around the same time as my Nathan AND from my son's orphanage.
 Look at these Cutie World Changer Brothers!!




Also, Look at who else I have found wearing our merch from our state to yours, from America to Ethiopia.....Sure looks great on these WORLD CHANGERS!!

Even country music star, Bryan White is an Ordinary Hero!! YES, "LOVE IS THE RIGHT PLACE!"

MORE GRANTS coming on Monday for our Affiliates!!! Starting now, Tues April 26th, through Sunday at midnight Central time, we will be offering 3 grants to the 3 top affiliate sellers during that time frame. We are offering a $500 grant to the top seller, a $300 grant to the 2nd top seller, and a $200 grant to the third top seller. That is $1000 we will give away!! Woo hoo!! We will announce the grant winners on Monday!!

What is the biggest obstacle to overcome with adoption and missions? FUNDRAISING!! We are trying to help with that. If you have not joined the OH Affiliate Fundraising Program....NOW IS THE TIME! You don't want to miss out on these grant opportunities. We even have Coach Gina to help give you some great fundraising tips throughout the process. She is an adoptive Momma, herself and has become the Queen of fundraising and now is on board with OH to help show you how to do it.

What's New In the OH Store???
Take advantage of several items moved to Clearance. Grab a great bargain! Also, we have added some great new cuff bracelets, don't forget our new Africa design Tshirt, AND we have added a SHEEP! Yes, I said a SHEEP! When we traveled to ET we purchased several sheep and they ended up feeding SO many children. We plan to go overload on sheep on our next trip and really bless some communities with a delicacy and much needed food that they normally don't get. If you would like to purchase a sheep for us to give you may now do so in the OH store. Yes, you may purchase Tshirts, jewelry, and SHEEP!! These are just some of the things you can find in the store. If you know an OH affiliate, don't forget to add their name in the drop down menu at checkout and they will receive 40% of your purchase subtotal and be that much closer to winning the GRANT!!.

Easter Weekend Sale and New Africa Shirt

HE IS RISEN!! It is time to celebrate!! 

Been wanting one of our GREAT looking hoodies, but didn't want to pay the price? This weekend they are $20 off in the OH Store!! Just enter the word 'Hoodie' in the coupon box when checking out and you will get $20 off our Eco Zip Hoodie. This might be the most comfy hoodie, ever!

Also, we are running a sale on the OH Kid's Contest Tee. This weekend, get $8 off. That's $16.95 for these great looking tees. Check them out this weekend! Enter the word 'kids' in the coupon box during checkout and get $8 off!

And......Check out this new Africa Fundraising Family Tee.  This great looking tee was passed on by the Estes family. They are now through with their fundraising. They brought home two beautiful brothers from Ethiopia. They found these amazing siblings through an OH Speak Up email. These boys are now home and doing great! The Estes family is passing on their Africa tees to further help our affiliates fundraise as well. This shirt is filled with scripture that speaks loud about God's heart toward the orphan. So make sure to check out these new tees available in the store now!

Lastly, We are going to start throwing on one of a kind items into the cart from time to time. That means there is only 1 available most of the time. We currently have 1 handmadeToddler African dress from Ethiopia and 1 African handmade doll available. They are available to first come first serve. These won't last long.

Also, be sure to check out an online Adoption Auction by the Chrisco Family. This is a GREAT auction and has SOOO many great items! Your purchase of these items will benefit the Chrisco adoption. Hop over there and check out all the great stuff and bless this family!

Ok, lots of happy shopping to you as you celebrate this Easter weekend!! He is Risen!! 

Our Grant Winners!!

We are so excited to be able to give away this grant money!! Our affiliates have had this grant contest going on since Wednesday, through Sunday. Grants are awarded to the top 3 sellers! We have offered a $500 grant to the top seller, a $300 grant to the second top seller, and a $200 grant to the third top seller in those 5 days. Well. .......the totals are in!!


We were sooooo impressed with everyone's totals, not to mention excited about giving away grant money, that......


We are now giving away two grants in each category, plus one complimentary grant!!! That just doubled everyone's chances of winning a grant. Plus we need to all welcome our new OH Fundraising Coach, Gina Payne, who has been helping the affiliates along with tips and ideas all week. Gina is the Queen of fundraising and has had some amazing ideas. We hope to hear more from her on our blog soon with some great tips for everyone!! 


Sooooo........The top 3  6 sellers and grant recipients are as follows........

The top two sellers and winners of the two $500 grants are (drumroll please)......
Domesticated Diva who sold $1199.04 in merchandise  with 20 sales since Wed!!! Wow!
and Susan Allee, who sold $1130.52 in merch with 17 sales since Wed!!! Wow!!
Congrats to you two top sellers/winners!!! You must have some really great friends and fam!!

The top two second place winners of the $300 grants are......
Lindsay Morris with $611.16 of sales  with 15 sales since Wed, and
Tracy Autry with $541.52 of sales with 6 sales since Wed...Wow!! Y'all did great!
Congrats to you two for winning the $300 grants!!

The top two third place sellers and winners of a $200 grant are.....
Amber Prevo with $491.24 in sales with 9 sales since Wed, and
Abby Myers with $489.00 in sales with 11 sales since Wed!!
Congrats to you two and for being in our top 6!!

We also have one other affiliate who sold over $400 in sales and went from only having 3 sales in her account to 11 sales. We want to offer this one last complimentary grant of $100 to Caitlin Cooley for being the very next in line of top sales and the only other one who had sales over the $400 mark during this contest since Wed. Her sales totaled $403.76. Thanks for all your efforts to sell, Caitlin! We are noticing :) !! 


So there you have it! That is $2100 in grant give away money today, not to mention the 40% that the affiliates have been receiving from all the purchases on their behalf. MANY THANKS to all of you who have purchased and supported these affiliates. You truly are making a difference for them! 


MANY THANKS to all of you affiliates who are putting the word out there. You all are fundraising for life changing causes. You all are the ORDINARY HEROES for changing the lives of these little ones in need. 


If you are interested in finding out more or signing up for our affiliate program CLICK HERE. 


Blessings!!
Kelly

OH Benefit Pics.....Plus Last Day of Store Sale

First, today is the last day of our 20% off sale in the OH Store. We are making room for new spring items, plus we are giving away 3 grants totally $1000 tomorrow to the top 3 affiliate sellers. Don't forget to support those who are adopting and traveling on missions!! Today is the last day of the sale and grant contest.

Second, Check out our OH Spring Benefit pics!! Special thanks to JenMPhotography for coming and shooting our event for us! I can't tell you how blessed I was by this event! We have such an AMAZING event committee! I must give special thanks to Elizabeth Claybaker and the WHOLE event committee for planning and organizing such a great event this year!! They take sooo much off of my plate and I am forever grateful and blessed! I must also thank Chuck and Carrie Cecil for Chairing this year's event.....and doing such an amazing job at it!! I also must thank the Flores Family and Bryan and Erika White for coming to share their amazing stories.  I must also thank Kristi Neumann for coming and singing her AMAZING song she wrote for those adopting. It is the song you all hear on our waiting children site. We were all blessed to hear it in person at our event!! I also must thank the MANY people and businesses (over 100) that donated to our silent auction this year. It was a huge success and we thank you greatly!! And a special thanks to EVERYONE who came and/or supported OH this year!! It means a world of difference for many children in need in America and across the globe.


Ordinary Hero Benefit - Images by Jennifer McDonald

I few of my own pics.....

Me and my girls!!

Our event was hosted at Durego this year. A beautiful venue!

Charlene and Melissa running our merch and auction table. 

Lastly, these two couples win the prize (if there was one) for coming the farthest. They drove in from Alabama to be at the OH Benefit Dinner this year. Thanks for coming so far Bice and Frye families!! It was a pleasure meeting you!!

Lastly, a Praise Report!!


In my last post I asked for a family to step up to help a young girl from the Ukraine come to America for 4 weeks this summer. I heard from many who were praying and inquiring about it and many who were forwarding our Speak Up email that I sent out about it. Well.....that very first day someone stepped up to the call and are in the process of the paperwork right now!! I LOVE seeing all of you Ordinary Heroes fast at work to help those in need out there without talking yourselves out of it. You will truly change the lives of children in need in this generation and for generations to come. Pray for the family that is trying to bring this little one over and that they get the paperwork and finances to bring this to completion. THANK YOU all for passing along our Speak Up emails. It truly does make a difference in the lives of these children.  I just got word of a little boy in need of adoption in the US which i will post more on once I get the info. Believing for a home for him. 

Need Host Family in Middle TN or surrounding area for 13 yr old girl from Ukraine

I have been contacted about the urgent need to find a host family to take in a precious 13 yr old girl from Ukraine, for four weeks during the summer, as part of the US Russia Global Exchange program. The deadline is May 1st which is fast approaching. I was contacted by Jan Richey. He has traveled to Ukraine and met this young girl. He also knows the family who hosted her last year. Everyone has wonderful things to say about her. She is very sweet. The family that hosted last year also took in a special needs child, which they say this 13 year old was soooo helpful with. That family is unable to host her again this year so everyone is rallying together to try to find this young girl a host family before the deadline of May 1st. This would only be for four weeks. The family would need to live in the Middle TN area, or possibly close surrounding areas, because that is where the coordinator will be which will help during the process and check in on things. Jan Richey and his family would also like to help with the child as well since he knows her and she knows him. He lives in the Nashville area.

To find out more about the process, visit US Russia Global Exchange.  Here you will find out the requirements and all the info of the exchange program. You may also email Jan Richey at jan.richey@ltcfp.net. He can tell you about the child and his experience with her.

Pray that this young girl finds a family to host her soon. Opportunities like this are simply life changing for an orphan. Yes, she is an orphan and her brothers have been adopted out. She is alone and needs to know that there are opportunities and people who care for her in this world. If you think you are considering hosting this child, please let me know as well so I can post an update.

THANK YOU!!!

$1000 Give Away and 20% off Sale

Yes, we are having a SALE!!   20% off STOREWIDE Wednesday thru Sunday.

What is better than that? We have been blessed with GRANT MONEY!! We are giving away $1000 in Grant Money to our top three affiliates. The top seller of sales totaled all day Wednesday thru Sunday at 11:59 pm will receive a $500 grant. The second top seller will receive a $300 grant. The third top seller will receive a $200 grant. There is nothing to match. These grants are going to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd top sellers of sales totaled between Wednesday at 12:01 AM thru Sunday at 11:59 PM. We are blessed so that we can bless. We are super excited!!

So if you haven't gotten our merch yet, now is a good time to catch it while it is on sale. Sale ends Sunday at 11:59 PM. We are making room for our new spring items. Can't wait!!

 As always, if you are supporting an affiliate, you are helping to CHANGE THE WORLD FOR ONE!!
We all say THANK YOU!! Head over to our online STORE to take advantage of these savings! Don't forget, if you are fundraising, it is never too late to sign up as one of our affiliates. Check it out.

Speaking Up in Illinois!!

All I can say is "Wow, I was blessed by the folks in Illinois this past weekend!! "

I flew in Friday night and was blessed by a group of women from Journey Family Fellowship  
in Bloomington, IL. We had a wonderful time together just sharing that evening, and then they blessed me by praying over me and my ministry. The next morning I spoke at their Women's Retreat, getting them all excited to serve in their local community as well as internationally through missions and adoption. Here I am below with Nancy. Her husband, Jason, is the Pastor at Journey Family Fellowship. This church served me, blessed me, prayed for me. They have a true heart for the Lord and the orphan, as do many families within their church who have adopted. Nancy and her husband have adopted from China and are in the process of another international adoption. They have three biological children as well. If you live in the Bloomington area, check out Journey Family Fellowship. You will be blessed! Thank you Nancy, Jason, Lisa and girls, and the list could go on, for blessing me during my time with all of you this past weekend.

I then moved on to Morton, IL Saturday evening to Cornerstone Baptist Church, where they are kicking off their Called 2 Care Orphan Ministry at their Light the Fire event. Again, I was totally blessed by this church and the beautiful families that serve within it. They did a great job of spreading the word and had many families come out from around the community who feel called to help the orphan. Everything was done with excellence and their love for God, Family, and the Orphan impacted me greatly. Pastor Steve Hauter is the father of Rachel, who traveled to Ethiopia with us in July and she will be returning again this next July.

Pastor Steve preached with such passion and love for God, his family, and this Orphan ministry that I literally left in tears after Sunday morning's message. I spoke at their Light the Fire event Sat evening as well as to a Sunday School class and briefly to the congregation on Sunday morning. I LOVE this church and the families within it. They have several families within their church who have adopted and now have a few more who will be beginning the process after this weekend's event :-) Yay! If you are in the Morton, IL area be sure to check out Cornerstone Baptist Church and you will be blessed. Here is the group in charge of putting on this great event.

 They had the alter lined with shoes for orphans which showed a great visual of all the little feet we will be putting in those shoes of orphans from Ethiopia in July.

 They even had the OH cookie with a message of inspiration to be an "Ordinary Hero" attached to each one......very creative!!

Here is a video with some pics from the event. Silence my music on right sidebar to watch or CLICK HERE to go to direct link. Thanks, Cornerstone, for blessing me on my visit to your church.

Real Life Among Us ~ Ordinary Hero

This is why we do what we do. These are recounts of the past year in OH and a glimpse of some of the amazing life stories we have brushed across and become a part of.  Be blessed ~ :-)


Silence my blog music on the right side bar before watching...or CLICK HERE to go directly to video site.


Real Life Among Us~ Ordinary Hero from Kelly Putty on Vimeo.

So Blessed!!

So blessed by our OH Benefit Dinner last night!! We had such a great turn out and sooo many people were so generous to OH. We can't thank you enough!! I will have pics up soon.

Now I am off to Illinois this weekend to speak in Bloomington tonight, and in the AM, with Journey Family Fellowship, and then off to Morton for the Light the Fire Conference at Cornerstone Baptist Church Sat eve and Sun morn. I am soooo looking forward to meeting all of you wonderful folks from Illinois. Anticipating a blessed weekend. Pics to come :)

One Prayer answered and Benefit Dinner tomorrow night

I must first thank you all for praying for my sister, Kristi's court date. THEY PASSED!! Little Wes is officially a Johnson....Yay!!!

Now please continue to pray for my sister, Kasey to receive their MOWA letter in the courts in ET so that she can bring her little one home from Ethiopia. She has been waiting since last July since she started the process, and has been to her first court date. Now all she needs is that letter to show up so please continue to pray for that. There is never any distinctive answer as to why some adoptions take longer like Kasey's and then how some fly through like Kristis.  Regardless we are so thrilled to welcome these two cousins to our family.  Thank you for your prayers to bring them both home.

Also, a quick reminder about our Benefit Dinner tomorrow night. We still have 15 seats left to reach our 250 person goal.  I am amazed at the team of volunteers that have put so much amazing hard work into this benefit. We have OVER 100 silent auction items and the program itself is just going to be fabulous. We already have double our attendance from last year. I am thrilled!! Get your tickets quick if you want to come and have not bought them. Email Colleen@Ordinaryhero.org.

Winner of $100 Grant.....and prayer request

A BIG CONGRATS to Micah Frey and family!!!

 She is the OH affiliate that won the $100 grant from yesterday due to having the top commission for the day!! This grant helps fund their current adoption from Ethiopia. We are thrilled to help our affiliates raise funds for their adoptions!! Way to go, Micah!! Also, thanks to all of you who purchased on behalf of our affiliates. You are helping them reach their fundraising goals.

I also have a prayer request....because we all know that prayer changes things!!

My sister, Kasey and her family are adopting little 3 yr old Lincoln from Ethiopia.

I first met him on our July trip last year. Kasey has seen other families bring their children home and yet, due to paperwork reasons, Lincoln still waits for them.  They are soooo close! They have gone to their first court date and now just need their MOWA letter to arrive so that they can bring Lincoln home. It ripped their hearts out to meet him, bond with him, fall in love with him.....and then have to turn around and leave him there to wait longer, until they can return to bring him home for good. They say he cried his eyes out when they left him......they all did. So I'm sure you can imagine the agony they are in as they sit and wait for this one letter to arrive. Please pray that their approval letter from the MOWA will arrive this next week and they will get notice of it and receive their date to be able to go get him and bring him home.

Also, my sister, Kristi's hubby just flew out yesterday for Ethiopia to meet their son for the first time and go to the first court date. Please pray for his court date and that they will pass court.

Our family is sitting on pins and needles these days, trusting that the Lord will bring the other two little members into the fam quickly.  We all thank you for your prayers!!

New Items in Store and Matching Grant Today!

First off we are having a matching $100 Grant today for the top selling affiliate. Be sure to show your support by checking out our new items....

We have an assortment of new handmade necklaces from Ethiopia. Most of them are one of a kind, so it will be first come, first serve, while supplies last :) Go to our store and check them out under Accessories. They are beautiful and several different styles to choose from. These won't last long.....

I am also excited to kick off our Fundraising Family tees in our store. We have one right now and will have more by next week. We are currently highlighting the Robison Haiti Adoption Tee. 

The Robisons have partnered with OH to allow other fundraising families to benefit from the sale of their shirt. You can read more of their story in our store. They have adopted once from Ethiopia and are currently in the process of adopting from Haiti. They are also signed up as OH affiliates for anyone who would like to show their support to their family.  They run a nonprofit called Impact Haiti which $2 of the sale of every one of their shirts will also go back to their ministry to help orphans in Haiti. I'm excited to announce that OH is partnering with this ministry and we will be offering mission trips to Haiti in the future. Yay!!

So hop over to the store and check out our new items!! Have a great day!!