January 11, 2011

December was a crazy month!


December was filled with drama, activities, visitors, events, and traveling.

As soon as we got back from Thanksgiving break, we organized a clothing drive. Members of the church organized a ton of clothes to be given away to the community. In addition to the tons of clothes, we had brand new socks, underwear, hats, gloves and scarves donated that we were able to give away to the community. We had great contributions that everyone was extremely thankful for. Clothing drives have traditionally been done once or twice a year and we had the privilege of organizing it this year. Members of the church really stepped up to make this a success. We spent at least 4 nights out of the week organizing these clothes to allow for ease of finding what people are looking for.

The following week we had visitors and more events! A friend and Deacon from our church in Columbus came to visit and get a better feel for what is going on here on the rez. He came at a great time when we had a lot going on. At the same time, we had Dave Goolsby from Healing Hands International visit. Dave is the mind behind the garden project. He was on a fact finding trip to learn more about the people, land and possibilities.

During the same weekend, we had a teen Christmas party. Yes, this was all in the same weekend, but it was a blast! We had 6 teenagers come and even though we have grown a little closer to most of them, we are always worried about how they will react and participate. We had several Christmas-like games planned with prizes for winners. They loved every single aspect! Some who we have never seen come out of their shell, really shined that night.

The last thing I would like to talk about is a family we have been helping for some time. It consists of a single mother with 8 kids ranging from 6 months to 23 years. They were evicted from their home. Nick helped them move an hour away to live with family who has little room to spare in their trailer. This family has a ton of social issues and we were very close to the teenagers in the family. I could go on and on about their issues, but I will spare you the details. The good news is that some of our supporters helped provide a Christmas for them! On our way to Phoenix for Christmas, we dropped off boxes of Christmas presents with this family. One of the teenagers had told us that she hadn't gotten any Christmas presents in years so we really wanted to find a way to help them out. Next year we might do an adopt a child type thing so be looking for that next Holiday season!

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