BLESS THE CHILDREN

Friday, Paula and Lyneaa spent most of the day preparing the Christmas presents for the children. We packed up the last of the beans and rice, expecting a large crowd in spite of the cold weather forecast. Hundreds of  donated gifts and food bags filled our house and the worship team from a church in Reynosa was also set to come. Roger felt much better and wouldn't miss this day for nothing. We arrived at the colonia at 7am and people were already waiting there. It was really cold, so I asked Ruth and the neighbor Elva to make some coffee and they gladly made as much as they could. The worship team arrived and set up their drums, amps, and microphones. We set up several tables of clothes, shoes and blankets. We had over a hundred coats and jackets given to us and we limited everyone to one each and they all quickly disappeared. The rule is no children present, no gifts will be given, so many parents returned home to get the kids, despite the cold temps. I almost wish we would have had it later in the day because everyone was quite cold. The played some worship songs and the leader gave a message followed by many coming forward for prayer and healing. After that, Pastor Molina gave a short message as well and then the fun began. Paula and Lyneaa handed out the gifts to the kids at the same time I was giving the food to the parents. It was pretty crowded and a little crazy, but by the time the last child came through the line, over 275 gifts and gift bags were given out and 170 bags of food. Boxes of knitted hats and beautiful gift bags donated by the Agape Christian school and Calvary Baptist Church made it a very special Christmas for all of the children. A lot of work goes into these outreaches, so thanks to all that donated time, gifts and money to make it a huge blessing for the people in the colonia. Every man and women also got a bottle of shampoo and a health kit, thanks to our two girls that donated their Christmas money that we would have given them, to the people in Mexico. It truly is better to give than to receive!