a mart of blessing

Imagine a large space, shelves and tables filling the room. Household, personal, food and office items fill those shelves and tables. Now imagine you are told to walk through this large space and fill as many boxes as needed with any amount of the items found in the room. Welcome to the Blessing Mart! 

Mart2

Mart1

Mart3Each missionary, while at the GIC conference, was given the opportunity to *shop* in the Blessing Mart. If you've ever experienced living on extremely limited funds, then you share our excitement over things like shampoo, soap, toilet paper, canned foods, mac and cheese being given to us!! We feel grateful and humbled to receive these goods from those in the church that helped stock up the Blessing Mart!

(Side Note: the pictures above show some of what Whisper Mountain was given through the Blessing Mart. We then bring the goods home and divide among our staff!)

Never doubt the importance of giving a little! We will be clean and fed a while longer(!), thanks to those who gave. If you are one of those givers reading this, we thank you for your generosity. It matters! 

Blessings of the Brown Boxes!

I mentioned that we were given blessings while at the mission conference in Florida! Well, today I bring to you the Blessings of the Brown Boxes!Brown-boxes Each year, the church holding this conference invites missionaries around the globe to come and be a part, and those who accept (there were 29 this time) are asked for a list of some of their practical needs. The church body then receives the needs lists all compiled and they are given the opportunity to help stock the Blessing Mart…the "store" the missionaries walk through to select what they want boxed up and sent home with them. A great idea, both for the giver and the receiver! Being the receivers yesterday, we felt like it was Christmas all over again!Goods
Goods 2

Goods3 Each staff family/member filled a box or two to take home and the camp kept some items for camper needs that arise! As we use the goods we will be reminded that God provides for our practical needs in many ways; we will feel loved by those generous givers; we will be encouraged to keep walking this road of camp ministry!  Who knew Brown Boxes could do so much?!! Blessed indeed!

the blessings don't stop there! more tomorrow!