I had the opportunity to participate in an event today that was meant to bless those who attended, but as these things go, I came away blessed as well. My friend, Shane Wood, is youth pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church here in Centralia, WA. It is near to the school year again and something that this church does every year is an event called "Kids Closet' where they give away all kinds of supplies to kids as they are getting ready for the school year. This much I knew before i got there. Once i got there though, i was blown away by the magnitude of this project.
The church has this large gymnasium that they used as a large "assembly line" if you will, that allowed each of the kids to collect 2 pairs of new underwear, 2 pairs of new socks, 1 new shirt, 1 new pair of pants, 1 new pair of shoes, 1 dontated (used) sweatshirt or coat, 1 packet of toiletries and 1 packet of school supplies. The Gideon's were also there handing out new testaments in English or Spanish.
My job was to be a "personal shopper" or "guide" for these families of kids. They came with their parents, of course, and most of the kids were 4-10 years old but there were some that were as much as 18. There must have been about 40 people there from this church and, i presume, other churches there to help with this project. In al, 720 kids came away with the above mentioned items.
What impressed me the most was the heart of love that the people showed to these families that came through today. I was also impressed with need for Christians who love the Lord and who love God's people to learn Spanish! I felt very convicted that i have not learned more Spanish because most of the people i helped today were Hispanic and spoke as much English as i did Spanish. We got through it but it was difficult! I think of the apostle Paul who knew Aramaic, Latin and Greek so that he may win some to Christ. While i am not sure about learning three languages, i could at least learn Spanish!
Thank you to the army of people who came together to make this day possible to bless the people of our community. I am sure that everyone involved was also blessed to help, as i was, and we all felt the blessing go both ways.
2 comments:
Dude, that is awesome that you were able to participate in helping others. I think that if you learn Spanish, it will be incredible. Blessings in your endeavors. Your friend, Paul.
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