Dear Mosaic Families-
Sunday we talked about giving with your kids! We have been learning about what it means to be the Church: The People of God. So far, we have discussed that God’s people BLESS, believe, meet, and obey. Today’s topic was: God’s people give, share and encourage. We also revisited
this idea from last year.
I thought it would be helpful for our kids to have a practical way to participate in this aspect of being God’s people: Giving.
My good friend, Erin Blinn, is a Mission’s Pastor in Texas and has started a program which provides shoes for needy children in Reynosa, Mexico.
Mosaic Kids has signed up for two shoeboxes this year!
We will be filling shoeboxes for a 7 year old boy and a 3 year old girl, who are siblings.Your kids are encouraged to bring a little allowance money to help cover the cost of the shoes (which Mosaic will purchase), OR to go to the dollar store and pick out goodies for the child. We encourage you to pick out crayons, toothbrush and toothpaste, stickers, matchbox cars or anything else you can think of that would fit in a shoebox!
Please bring these items back with you next Sunday, November 29th! We will ship them off to Mexico with Erin and her team to two children in Mexico.
After the trip, Erin and her team will have pictures and information for us about the children we were able to help!
We are very excited to partner in this program.
Here's a note from Erin:
Thank you for your willingness to help with our shoebox program! The little guy in the photo attached this note is Bryan. Last year when we met up with him to give him his shoes, the excited little guy marveled at the Spiderman shoes in his box. Whoever packed the box added some other 4-year-old appropriate goodies.
Bryan unpacked them with delight. Upon discovering a box of crayons in his shoebox, Bryan set the box down, took the crayons out and started dancing in the dusty dirt street shouting, "Colores, colores!" My team and I blinked back tears. Here's a little boy dancing over a box of crayons that you can buy at Wal-mart for $.20 during back-to-school.
This will be the fifth year Grace Vineyard, the church I work at, has participated in bringing shoes to the children of Vamos Tamaulipas, a low-income community in Reynosa, Mexico just south of McAllen, TX. Bryan's story perfectly captures why we take shoes: we believe God's love is practical and that sharing can be as simple as a box of shoes for a little one who might otherwise go without. The community's 520 kids will receive shoes this year, and Grace has committed to providing 300 pairs through our attendees and friends. Which is where you come in. :)
Here's how it works. In September, volunteers traced the feet of each child in the program and sent them to us. We then take the footprints and buy a pair of closed-toed shoes (athletic shoes are best) based on the tracing. The shoes are packed in a Rubbermaid shoebox, and the shoebox is stuffed with age-appropriate goodies (socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, matchbox cars, crayons, stickers, etc).
A team from Grace Vineyard then delivers the shoes door to door December 16-20.
It's pretty simple. It brings a lot of joy. I'd love for you to share in that joy.
And thanks for participating. After the trip I'll send you an update with photos so you can see how your gift affected a community. It's been incredible!!!
Thanks,
Erin
