Dutch Letters and So Much More

This past Saturday our small Christian school made 1200 Dutch Letters.

That's right. 1200 sticks of yummy Dutch pastries.

The day started off early with the first volunteers showing up around 7:30ish and ended several hours later around 5:00ish when everything was cleaned and all the Dutch Letters had found their "homes."  I'm not exactly sure how many pans of dough we had or how many pounds of filling we used, but I know there were lots of empty pans and containers at the end of the day.  I'm also not sure how many volunteers were there during the day, but I know there were lots and I also know that the day would not have been possible without these volunteers.

Was it a lot of work? Yes.  In fact, I am quite sore today.  I rolled out dough for 5-6 hours and I am still feeling the affects today and am sure I will for a few more days. I also know that for the committee members who lined everything up it was several days of prep work for them.

Would I do it again?  Yes and I have several reasons why.

First - Any time you get a bunch of women together we start visiting and that in and of itself it a lot of fun! :)

Second - Many of the ladies who came and helped have been doing this for several years.  As we were making the Dutch Letters some of the ladies were trying to figure out how many years we had been doing this for.  (No number was determined, but I know that I helped once when I was in junior high, circa 1993) And with a good number of years comes a good amount of experience.  And that is experience that I am wanting to glean information from.  This was the first year that I made dough and while it was okay there was lots of room for improvement.  And the experience from the dough is only one area that some of these ladies are willing to share about. We talk and share stories from all aspects of life and all learn and grow from each other.  Mothers like myself (who have young children in school) gather all kinds of information from mothers who have sent their kids through high school, college and marriage.  Invaluable information!

Third - Every single one of us who helped has a vested interest in our little school.  (There are many more who have a vested interested who were unable to make it.)  It is such an encouragement to parents like myself to know that there are families who supported the school in the past, who currently support the school and will continue to support the school.  Knowing that there is a heritage before and beyond my children is an incredible knowledge.

So, was it really all about the Dutch Letters?  In my mind - No.  The Dutch Letters themselves are very yummy and raised precious funds for our school, but there is so much more to a fundraiser than the $$$ it brings in. It is about the development of our community of believers.  It is a reminder to all of us that we have this community that surround us and support us.

For us families with young children who are just starting this journey it is priceless information.