CHRISTMAS CHILD – SAMARITAN’S PURSE
Oh no, its not that time of year again………..Oh but yes it is!
This year our District Co-ordinator Nena said we are aiming to process some 10,000 shoe boxes! They are destined for Belarus. This is but a small number when you consider that they require approx. 270,000! (from several countries). This fairly new and developing country has a population of some 9.7 million of which 14.7% are under the age of 15. And so there is a real need for us to show God’s love by way of the shoe box enterprise.
This cannot be accomplished without your further support and industrious abilities. We shall again be processing the boxes on the Brundon Industrial Estate, Ballingdon, Sudbury. Our initial meeting is on the 3rd of November at 10.00 a.m. in units 2 & 3. It is intended that you will be brought up todate with changes for this years ‘procedures’ and allowing you to register.
On the following Wednesday, Thursday, Friday we shall be setting out our bulk supply of ‘fillers’ and also covering shoes boxes as stocks for future use. WE DO NEED LOTS OF EMPTY SHOES BOXES.
We shall actually commence to process our shoe boxes Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until 3rd/4th December when we hopefully will see ‘our lorry’ loaded and ‘waved off’ on its long journey. Packing days are from 0930 hrs to 1600 hrs. Please come when you can and for as long as you can.
CALLING ALL MEN……..‘YOUR DISTRICT CO-ORDINATOR NEEDS YOUR EXPERTISE PLEASE’ ……….to assist with the packaging of the shoes boxes into the cardboard cartons and made ready for their eventual dispatch. If you are able to assist with one or two ‘shifts’ per week, could you please contact me in my capacity as CTiS Church Liaison Representative, as indicated below, and again as soon as possible. We really do need your help.
David Ford.
C.T.I.S.& District Churches Liaison Representative.
01787 374346 david@ford1936.freeserve.co.uk.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD 2009
SUDBURY EXPORT WAREHOUSE REPORT
Thank you!
Hello, everyone,
Well, what a campaign it was this year! With one day to spare, we ended up back in “our” lovely warehouse courtesy of Bob Bettis. It felt as if we had come home! The ever growing team spent the first 2 weeks sorting fillers and wrapping empty boxes …. then the floodgates opened and the shoeboxes came in their hundreds … thousands, goodness, it was so amazing. The children came from many schools, adding their smiles, their help and excitement and the pallets of sealed cartons started to amass. You all added something very special to the campaign by joining us at the warehouse – thank you for coming.
I can scarcely believe the sheer hard work of everyone who cleared such a huge shoebox totaI in virtually 2 weeks. We handled a record number, thanks to the generous hearts of so many people. The willing team members turned their hands to many different jobs, and wonderful folk kept arriving with new supplies of filters just when we had virtually run out several times – even our stacks of knitted hats. We had a huge solid wonderful doll’s house donated by Great Waldingfield Primary School, which was furnished and curtained by some doll’s house experts on the team. We also had a special project to make shoeboxes for babushkas and deduskas (elderly ladies and men living in poverty in Belarus).
Finally, with the lorry booked for loading on Friday 4th December, it was a time for faith, when it seemed Ian at HO could not find us a lorry. The e-mail arrived on 2nd confirming our load, yet right till the Friday morning it was not known if the driver would make it in time from Lithuania. With 20 minutes to spare, we had – a shiny new road train! After a brilliant loading session (thank you Kevin, David and Dave) Alius left with a precious cargo of 11,543 boxes and one doll’s house. Thank you so much to everyone who made this amazing result possible. The road train is destined for Minsk, Belarus – which happens to be where Dan & Jill arrive on 16th to help give out the shoeboxes! The 1233 boxes still here will be collected on another lorry. Right now I feel a bit like this bear [picture of sleeping teddy bear] so may your Christmas mean more because of what you have given others.
Love to you all from Nena.