PACKING...but more than that....

So too many amazing things have happened in such a short time period to give them all their own posting. :( But I wanted to share the amazing time I had on Thursday when I was packing with some new friends.

What do you do when someone offers something so generous, it leaves you speechless and stunned? That's the question I had to answer about a month ago when I received an email from an amazing mom from the school where I teach in Houston. Her email confirmed the strong instance from my two advisers who have helped me plan the trip, to ask those around me for support. Now about 100 lbs., 2 hours, 5 sets of hands and many generous families later, I have two extra bags full of donated clothes and shoes for the children of Kenya.

The story does not stop there, and again left me even more speechless with how this mom is instilling in her children the value of giving through her daily life and passion to serve Christ. Prepared to leave with the bags already in my car and feeling full of blessings, her 13 year old daughter turned to the mom and said, "can I go get the card now?" She returned quickly with a folded hand-made card clipped around the edges with paper clips, holding money inside. As she handed it to me she said, "this is for your trip, for a child in Kenya who needs it more than me. I don't really have anything that I need to buy right now anyway." Inside the card, I later discovered was a VERY generous amount of money for a child her age to be giving. I was not only impressed by her desire to be apart of something she had seen her mother so passionately model, but her willingness to sacrifice her savings for someone else, over something she had been saving to purchase, that she now saw as only a material item.

Scripture clearly says in 1 Timothy, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

This young lady, was a model for me that day of what it looks like to live for others, not yourself and will be carried with me as a reminder that nothing is of too great a value to be firmly gripped in my hand. Thank you Dickinson Family!

Also a huge thanks to others (Cooksey family, aunt Pam, Denise) who have generously giving out of their supplies and desire to provide for those in need. I have collected many towels, washcloths, sheets, and pillowcases. Thank you for listening to the need and answering in this way.