Carter Bell first became aware of ServLife in spring of 2004 while attending a small group at her church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Joel and Elise Vestal had just returned from India and were visiting her small group to talk about ServLife. “Upon hearing them share,” said Bell, “I took one of their End Hunger Now bumper stickers and promptly placed it on my Ford Taurus. Everytime I would get into the trunk of the car I was reminded of the work that was being done by ServLife.”

It was two years later, when ServLife first set up the ServLife Store at her church, that she decided to buy items from the store for Christmas presents for her family, instead of adding to the collection of things her family was used to. Carter remembers, “It was so great to see them open presents that helped empower women who were once incredibly oppressed.”

Carter is now married, and her husband, Micah, and her intentionally planned and discussed their vision for their union. It was very important to both of them that their wedding day be a community experience. They have been doing their best to support small business and local organizations through their marriage, and one way they did this was through purchasing jewelry from the ServLife Store for their bridesmaids and flower girls.

“Not only were my bridesmaid’s and flower girl’s jewelry unique, but the jewelry was fairly priced and went towards supporting the ongoing work of ServLife,” Bell says. “From a social standpoint, empowering women and supporting the oppressed is a very dear issue to my heart for many reasons, and I had an opportunity to do so without adding the collection of “stuff” that people acquire through weddings.”