Letter to Our Friends

Dear Friends,

I was just sitting here trying to think ‘finances’ creatively and thought I might seek out help in the most unusual of places. Allow me to share with you exactly why. My daughter, Erin, and I are so excited. We have just recently committed to our first 10-day mission with some members of our local church, Journey Christian Church of Tracy, to go to Honduras in August. I am so jazzed to be taking this trip~! What an opportunity to not only help others, but to discover our own spiritual growth in the process.

We will be going to a very poverty-stricken area and ministering to folks in a variety of ways. One aspect of our mission will be to bring 1000 pair of shoes with us. Another will be to bring as many “baby layettes” with us as we can stuff in our luggage (layettes include things like baby blankets, baby clothes, bottles, etc.). Another aspect of the mission is to help build much needed structures. I would also like to bring bibles and bible related reading materials written in Spanish. One of the most important part of this mission service for me is the opportunity to teach a craft class to women in the areas where the mission's foundation is.

It is for this reason I am writing this letter. I am blessed with this opportunity to teach the craft classes during this mission. I am really excited, and it is my desire to teach the craft I love the most; rubber stamp art. (For those reading this letter that have never heard of this, it is using artistic rubber stamps in a variety of ways to produce beautiful cards and such.) As the instructor of this craft class, it is my responsibility to provide all of the materials needed for each woman that attend the class. I am to make up kits so that they all have their own supplies; which they will get to keep. I have heard that the numbers for the women wanting to attend these craft classes can be as high as 125~! I must be prepared to provide each woman with a complete craft kit with all of the supplies included in it, no matter how many attend~!

As you can imagine, trying to obtain that many rubber stamps, stamp pads and accompanying craft items, such as decorator cutting scissors, glue, buttons and other odds and ends, not to mention the cost of the trip itself, as well as the shoes, baby layette items, bibles and any other supplies, is definitely going to be high. What a beautiful opportunity to bring the word of God to the women of Honduras during these craft classes~!

This brings us to the crux of this letter. I am seeking your help in assisting both Erin and myself as we plan our trip to work with the women and children of Honduras. May we count on your donations to assist our mission goals? Any contribution, small or large would be most welcome. Items we are looking for are: new baby layette items, new “unisex” shoes, best is tennis style in sizes ranging from infants to adults, and artistic rubber stamps or other stamp art craft items such as decorator scissors, (the stamps may be new or used ~ Christian design most desirable), and lastly, monetary donations of any amount. Thank you so much for any assistance you are able to send to support this mission. Please, also keep us in your prayers as we work toward our own spiritual journey along the way.