Greetings friends,
We at Bags of Hope pray that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. As the Christmas Season starts to get into gear, let's all take a deep breath, say a prayer, and remember what the next few weeks are supposed to be all about!
It is called the Season of Giving, and that's where our focus should be. And while it is a great time to give to those you love, it is also a great time to give to strangers in need. In our home, we sponsor a child though Gospel for Asia. Her name is Jaya, and she lives in south eastern India. For the past few years, my siblings, my parents, and I have all regularly prayed for her and her family. In addition to helping her out with daily needs, our support helps Jaya to go to school and be taught the Bible. One of our great joys is when we get to exchange letters with our friend from across the world. Gospel for Asia has a great program during the Christmas Season, they have a full catalog of gifts that you can buy for those in need. Some gifts are for individuals, like livestock or farm animals, some gifts are for whole villages, like a water pump, and some are designed to equip missionaries in Asia. We encourage you to look through thier catalog, and pray about setting some of your Christmas gift budget aside to help these people in need. Here is a link to their catalog: GOSPEL FOR ASIA CHRISTMAS CATALOG.My Uncle Kevin's Church, Shoreline Community Church, which is in Monterey, has adopted the concept of Bags of Hope. After hearing about my website, he donated to Bags of Hope, and took many Bags back to the Central Coast of California. He personalized the Bags that we gave him with some info about his church, then gave them out around town. He was so pleased with the results that he shared it with his ministry staff; they loved it too! Soon after that, the Jr. Hi Group was scheduled for a 'LOCK-IN' event. One of the activities they did was to create and compile their own Bags of Hope! Since then, the church has a table out every Sunday where people can stop buy to purchase Bags of Hope, and pass them out to those in need in the greater Monterey area. Here is a picture of my Dad at the Bags of Hope table when he was in Monterey this fall for a Triathlon.
 | |
| My Dad at the BoH table, Shoreline Church, Monterey, CA. |
Maybe this could be a good project for the youth in your church as well! Let us know if we can help to facilitate that on our end.
As December is about to begin, please place you orders for Bags of Hope now!! It is a great time to get in the habit of keeping a stash in your car. Don't get caught empty handed when 'the least of these' is standing before you in need!
Blessings,
Clara Harney
(with help from Dad)
