Angel Tree

Sorry for the late post today, but not really, as we were involved in something very cool. Our church took on 34 families with more than 100 kids in an Angel Tree program put on by the local elementary school. Basically it is a program for struggling parents to assist them in providing Christmas presents to their kids, and in some cases, what this program provides will be all the kids will get for Christmas. Our church is involved in many outreach programs throughout the year, and is VERY generous as a rule, and this program was no exception. It came together rather late when one person found out about the need, and felt called to get us involved, but the names were snapped up quickly, and a small mountain of presents was collected in 1-2 weeks. There had to be something between 40 and 50 bicycles of all types and sizes, and lots more. We spent the entire morning and afternoon delivering the gifts, and I was the logistics person for the delivery operation. There were a few moments of confusion, and we had to get creative tracking down families who moved, parental custody changes, or in one case where a single mom had died since signing up her kids, but I am fairly certain that we got all the gifts to all the kids. Small towns have their advantages. :)

Delivery did present one rather funny episode where the packages were being delivered. The delivery crew went to the door, and explained that they were from Angel Tree and had presents to deliver. The response was “I’m sorry, we don’t have any”, and the door was quickly shut. Sometimes we need to listen better, or we won’t know what we are missing! They called me, wondering what to do, and in the end, we got those gifts delivered as well.

The picture above is from one corner of the gym where we staged the operation. Hopefully it will give you an idea of what we were up to. Next year, if you hear about an Angel Tree program, embrace it, and help make it fly. I know that the people who were involved on both sides were blessed a great deal, and we want to make the opportunity available to as many as possible again next year. Thanks to all who participated, we could not have done it with out you!