I can't
believe that Christmas is only 10 days
away, I feel like I just finished eating the bag of Halloween candy that I was
supposed to give out!! Actually, the Christmas
Spirit seemed to start early for me this year, October to be exact. No, I
didn't follow the stores and decorate 2 months early and no, I wasn't playing
Christmas music before the " allowed" date, as set by my kids many years ago... I simply
participated in an amazing ministry project called Operation Christmas Child.
This is a worldwide
"gift giving" mission where churches like C3 Church on Long Island ,
along with countless others, all team up with an amazing organization called
Samaritan's Purse. They coordinate the collection, packing and distribution of gift filled shoe-boxes to
children in poverty and high risk
situations internationally. The donations are all new items and based on the
age group the box will go to. I helped collect for younger children, so the boxes usually
consist of basic necessities like soap, washcloths, tooth brushes, socks, pencils, notebooks, art supplies, small toys
and such.
I not only had
the pleasure of working with an amazing bunch of ladies in C3 Church collecting
donations and packing some boxes, but I also had the privilege of working with
some of the kids in the children's ministry at C3, to create beautiful, homemade Christmas
cards, that were then included in the boxes. (**please note this card is not my design. I saw this a long time ago on the internet, but wasn't able to find it again to give the artist proper recognition) The kids were awesome and
completely embraced the reason they were spending all that time and effort creating
these small masterpieces to be given away. These were just a few of the beautiful works
of art that went out!
I think everyone that participated in this effort, was touched by the cause in some way, I know I was. While I loved working with the Ladies and really
enjoyed creating with the children again, I was overcome with sadness by the thought
that there were so many children in the world that are in desperate need of
even the most basic necessities of life and I wanted to help them all, but couldn't. It was really humbling to hear about their stories and
I felt privileged that I was able to play even the teensey-tiniest part of such a wonderful
mission!
If you would
like to find out more about C3 Long Island or Samaritan's Purse, feel free to
click the links below:
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