A lot of people came out to the Clearwater Baptist Church on the evening of Nov. 3 for a Pies for Freedom event that had been organized by Vienna Moilliet. Money was being raised to go to the International Justice Mission (IJM) to be used to free women in sex slavery in India and to provide after-care.
When people arrived at the church they went around to look at the 25 delicious looking pies that had been donated by companies and individuals to be bid on. It was a silent auction. There were also about two dozen cute little mini pies in jars made by the girls of the joint church youth group Y2C. These pies could also be bid on.
At 7 p.m. everyone was called into the sanctuary of the church. Moilliet welcomed everyone for coming out and gave instructions on how the evening was to run. Valerie and John Gerber, Seth Moilliet, and Colleen Rothwell then provided music.
Seth Moilliet and Lorina McLeod gave two tearful monologues, based on true stories. There was a video called At The End of Slavery that showed people in different countries telling how they became slaves and then how they had been freed by IJM. After the video people rushed out and did more bidding on the pies. There was some very stiff competition, which had everyone laughing and wondering who would end up with the pie.
Vienna narrated a story that she wrote that she called God and Suffering. It was about a child going to God and asking Him to end the suffering in the world. The message of the story was that it was up to everybody of the world to do his or her part in getting rid of it.
There was more live music and bidding ended at 9 p.m. Donated door prizes were handed out and then everybody was told who got the various pies. The highest pie bid came to $130 for a peanut butter pie donated by the High Five Diner in Little Fort. The diner also donated a huge pumpkin pie.
The total amount of money raised came to $1,196.68, an incredible amount for a first time event. Moilliet was very grateful to everyone who donated pies and to those who bought them. She said that she felt relaxed throughout the evening. Everyone had a good time and took their treasures home to satisfy their sweet tooth.