Give a Christmas gift that makes a difference

Last year I got my mom a goat for Christmas! That’s right a fuzzy, eats everything, stinky goat. OK, technically I didn’t give the goat to my mom. I donated a goat in her name through World Visions gift catalog. A dairy goat was given to a family in need in a third world country to provide them with baby goats to sell, milk to drink, and dairy products to sell at market. They have gifts for any budget, no matter how small or LARGE! They range from $15-$39,000 and they send a really nice card for you to give to your loved one. So, if you know someone who already has everything, think about buying them something that will really make a difference!!

*These pics are from http://www.worldvision.com*

Making a difference

On Saturday my husband and I helped out packing food at our church. We packed enough food to feed 1,000 children per day for a year. WOW! Our church started raising money a couple months ago and this weekend was the final event. We raised around $45,000 and had over 1,000 volunteers show up that day to help pack food. The church was a mad house of organized chaos. When we got there we had to sign a two page document saying we wouldn’t sue the church if we got hurt. HA! Not a good sign for a klutz like me. Then we washed our hands, donned hair nets, and waited for someone to show us to our spot in the madness. I think Brian and I both just stood in aw when we first entered the sanctuary where all of the work was being done. There were people everywhere all working like busy bees. The first stations had people pouring food through funnels into the plastic bags.

Four scoops per bag, rice, soy, seasoning, and dried veggies.

Then the bags got taken to the weight tables where each bag was weighed to make sure it had the right amount of content. Then the bags were sealed, packed into boxes and loaded onto a semi. The boxes were also all be decorated on the outside by children. And of course there were runners making sure that each station didn’t run out of supplies.  The food will be shipped to Haiti and passed out to 1,000 children a day.

It was such an amazing couple of hours. It brings tears to my eyes to think of the children and families that will be blessed with this food and shown the love of Jesus by the missionaries who pass it out. I was/am so bummed that I forgot to take my camera. These are some pictures from http://www.iwant2dosomething.com and some pictures from my mission trip to Haiti in ’99.