Oh My! What an AMAZING year 2011 was! I must say that I am so thankful for this community. Everywhere that I was, no matter what the event, there was nothing but love from all of you. Through the generous giving of all of you, Sweet Miracles accomplished a lot. Of all things, I am so pleased that the children at Open Door Orphanage all received new mattresses. Where do we go from here? Well, I am currently finishing up my education. I will be kicking the factory back up in April, just in time for Easter Orders. I have some very specific goals for 2012, which can be read about on our "Goals" page. The first goal of getting Joana into safe housing and into college, is more important that can be conveyed in writing. Joana has lived in an orphanage that has not ever showed her what true love is. She lacks the knowledge of what a healthy loving environment is. She has no idea what that looks like as she has lived in the orphanage her whole life. Joana will be forced to leave the orphanage on April 2, 2012. It is my goal to move her into a foster home (Missionaries home that we have there), get her enrolled in college and help her to accomplish her dreams of becoming a high school teacher. Now getting her into the foster home will do a couple of things. The first being it is a transition spot. It will give her the chance to see what a loving family looks like and experience life on a whole different level. This will help her when she is on her own. She will be less likely to fall victim to being used by men for inappropriate actions. The vision we have for Joana is transitioning her from orphanage to independent living. We do not want her to become dependant on our
American dollar. So we will be transitioning her emotionally first, teaching her life skills, helping her start her college life and then help her achieve a living environment of her own.

Joana, is driven, and she wants to do good. She is willing to do whatever she has to and is always looking forward. She has a bright outlook on life, a beautiful spirit and dreams of a bright future. She longs to serve God someday and I can tell you that she will. She is a bright student and is extremely excited and grateful that Sweet Miracles coming along side of her. I can not wait for the day that I get to return to the Philippines and give her a big hug.

Today is November 6th, Orphan Sunday and I am proud to say that we reached our goal....Today it was an honor to share at a local chuch and offer my goodies. The congregation was EXTREMELY generous!!! I set a goal of 2,000 dollars by the end of the year.  This would supply Open Door Christian Orphanage with new mattresses for all the children. WE REACHED IT!  I have emailed my contact in the Philippines to see if the mattresses can be delivered for the holidays. A mattress seems like such a simple thing to us, something that we even take for granted. However to these children it is a luxery. May I just say that every donation was greatly appreciated, but there were a few that went above and beyond by donating hundreds of dollars. THANK YOU does not seem like enough. I know that the first thing that the children receiveing these beds would say is MAHAL KITA. This means I Love You!. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all that support me financially and emotionally. I am forever grateful. ~Blessings~

I love our community! What an awesome weekend we had...Art Along the Rogue was amazing as usual. I loved seeing all of the families, adults and children alike, walking around and viewing the talent that was on display. What a blessing to be a part of such a wonderful event.

Returning from my mission trip, I set a goal of raising the funds for 33 new mattresses. I immediately started making phone calls and booking events. Christmas Bazaars mostly. This weekend was the first of the events and I am excited to announce that we did AMAZINGLY well. I had prepared and produced the same amount of candy as I would for any show. I am glad to announce that this show made a record for me. My very first sell out show. Not just once but twice. You see, the first day I sold out by 2pm. This included my famouse chocolates and macaroons. So I came home and started baking for day 2. I headed out this morning with all the cookies I could bake in one evening and set up. Guess what? Day 2 I sold out by 1pm.


So how did we do? . We raised enough to purchase EIGHT of the Thirty Three mattresses....:)
THAT IS 24% OF TOTAL GOAL!

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What an AMAZING day! The weather was beautiful and the people were out and about enjoying life. There was live music and dancing and all  were participating. The artist where busy creating 3D art like never seen before. I was right out in the thick of it all. I brought down the Oreo balls, Coffee Crunch, Toffee, and Coconut Macaroons. It was amazing. People where buzzing around and snatching it up. I was SOLD OUT by 2:45. This is a two day event, so what did I do? I came home and started cooking. I look forward to see how our efforts total up in reaching our Goal.....33 Brand New Mattresses which cost 2,000. Check back in tomorrow for the results.

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UPCOMING EVENT: THIS WEEKEND OCTOBER 1 & 2...Art Along the Rogue....All weekend downtown Grants Pass. The event will be held on H Street. You can find ME on the corner of 5th and H.

We have a HUGE goal to meet by the end of the year. I am confident that it can be done. I look forward to seeing all of you there.
First Goal: 2,000 to provide new mattresses for the orphans.
Second Goal: Start raising funds for LONG term mission trip.

Blessings.

When I first started on this journey with the candy, I had two goals for 2011. 1. To raise the funds for a short term mission trip. 2. To sponsor three adoptions. The good news is that we reached our first goal. As most of you know from reading my blog it was and incredable time. However, when I was over there, there was a need at the Open Door Orphanage that I can not ignore. So I am refocusing my fund raising efforts for the remainder of the year. The children here are in need of new mattresses. I would like to replace what they have with
vinyl covered sturdy foam. This would allow for the beds to be cleaned and not damaged. This would also allow for fitted sheets to be made that could be removed and cleaned weekly. There are 33 children and the cost of replacing all there mattresses will be about 2,000. I would have them made in the Phiilippines and I have friends that are willing to deliver them for me. Please pray for this as I continue my fund raising efforts. If you are able to contribute to this cause, and do not wish to buy sweets, you can send a tax deductable donation. All checks should be made out to Home for Good Foundation and sent to:
Alissa Lee
1345 NW Highland Avenue
Grants Pass, Oregon 97526
Thank you so much for your support!. I am excited for the season ahead and look forward to fellowship with all of you.

Thanks to your AMAZING support, I was able to complete a mission trip to the Philippines a couple of weeks ago. This experience was such a blessing. I want to let you know that all of your support went so far....I was able to do so many things for the children when I was there. I visited two different orphanags while I was there and saw the Lord working. I must admit that the trip was far more emotional than I thought it would be. The message I tried to send to the children was a message of HOPE! At one point one of the 16 year old girls said to me "I am JUST an orphan". This ripped my heart out. You see, in Gods eyes we are equal but that messsage was never told to this beautiful, talented, young women. She has completed the entrance exam for the University of the Philippines and we are praying that she gets in. Please join me in praying for her. She will find out in January if she gets accepted.
The Lord showed me many things during my visit. I have been praying for direction and he is being faithful in answering that prayer. The culture is amazing. So eye opening for me. I can not wait to see what the future holds and continue on this journey of sponsoring the adoptions of these children. Hope you enjoy the slide show below.

I am still her on my missions trip. I have been to two orphanages and have gain so much knowledge and insight to the issue here. I look forward to writing up my strory and posting  upon my return to the United States. Please continue to pray for me. Mu