When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
As true as the cliché may be, for Tanner Henne, however, it was a stirring from God that led to him making lemonade.
While riding the shuttle to Hillside one weekend, Tanner heard about our Global Mission Partner Living Room Ministries, an organization that seeks to provide dignity and quality of life to people in Kenya affected by life-threatening illnesses through holistic care and education.
Despite his young age, Tanner felt God nudging him to do something. After hearing more during the service, he went to the table in the lobby to learn more about the ministry and how he could help.
“I liked how they are helping people on their last days so they aren’t that sad,” Tanner said. “So, I told them I wanted to have a lemonade stand and give them all the money I make.”
After gathering some pictures and informational cards to hand out, Tanner was ready to get to work. A few days later, he picked some lemons from a friend’s farm, squeezed them all by hand, and made enough juice to make six gallons of lemonade.
On Sunday, March 18, it was time for Tanner’s lemonade stand. Since the weather was cool, they also sold hot chocolate in addition to the lemonade. Over the course of four hours, Tanner had approximately 20-30 people stop by, including many Hillside members.
At the end of the day, Tanner successfully raised $274 for Living Room Ministries, which he proudly presented to Pastor Aaron McRae.
Nicki Henne, Tanner’s mom, recalls a proud mom moment.
She said that after church on Easter Sunday, they were heading back to the parking lot on the shuttle and overheard some of the people from Living Room sharing a bit about the ministry.
As she proudly shared about her son’s lemonade stand, she broke down in tears. Tanner excitedly took over, telling them that he raised $274 for the organization. With clapping and high-fives around the shuttle, a young girl said, “Wow! I need to start brainstorming!”
“That filled us with even more pride, because he inspired someone else to serve,” Nicki said. “He showed this young lady that even kids can make a big difference and can do amazing things.”
It’s never too early to encourage our kids to serve others. Whether it starts by showing compassion to members of their family, or it branches out further to loving others in the community, kids can play an active role in being the hands and feet of Christ.