Missions in Action

Do you have any shoes you don’t wear any more?  Do you have any shoes you bought, but they don’t fit?  Then consider donating them!  Our Missions Committee is collecting shoes which will be sent to Kenya.  Once shoes reach Kenya, the Well of Hope International organization will donate part of the shoes to the needy, give some of the shoes to widows to sell for their own personal income, and sell part of the shoes at a low cost to raise money to purchase land and build homes for widows who lose their homes once their husband dies (homes revert back to the husband’s family) as well as helping to feed and care for orphans. We are partnering with the Brethren Charity Fund (Dean and Jane Yoder) to collect shoes to send to Africa.  Any type of footwear is welcome.  If you would like to help pay for shipping, you can write a check to Spiceland Friends and mark it “Shoes for Kenya.”  It costs $7.00 to ship one large bag of shoes.  A bag is in the Welcome Center for your shoe donations.

Please remember the food pantry, Heaven’s Bread Basket.  This is fulfilling a very important need in our community now.  Many of the food pantries are running low on stock and have had to turn people away.  We have decided to make this an ongoing project for now.  There is a container in the Welcome Center at the church for your donated items.  These will be delivered to Lewisville each month to be included in the bags they distribute.  They also use cash donations to purchase items needed to fill in as well as fresh and perishable foods.  Other community churches are participating in this as well and together we can make a difference.  Please remember this important mission as you do your grocery shopping.  If we all get one extra item each trip, think of the impact we can have!

Please keep sending cards and letters to our five adopted servicemen.  Remember it is regular postage and nothing special when mailing these cards.  They very much appreciate getting mail and the encouragement that it brings.

Please continue to bring in your Campbell’s labels and Box Tops for Education. 

Our Missions Committee wants your canceled postage stamps!  A Friends church in Massachusetts gathers canceled stamps and then sells them online to collectors.  The money they raise goes to missions.  So far they have raised $54,000!  You can save all U.S. stamps, except the 39¢ Flag and Statue of Liberty stamps, the 37¢ Flag stamps, the 34¢ Statue of Liberty stamps, or the 37¢ Heron stamps.  International stamps are great, too.  A box will be available on the table in the Welcome Center.  Rita Reeves will be forwarding them to the Friends Church in Massachusetts regularly and would be glad to answer any questions.