Three weeks ago a ton of us donated the shoes and coats we walked in with at a Sanctuary service. Jane Spriggs sent me an email to tell us what has happened to our gifts.
Hi Rita, Brad, and Phil;
I talked to Becky yesterday, and thought you might
find it interesting to hear how Sanctuary's gifts of clothes/shoes affected
people:
* Becky and the volunteers at Hope Ave. spread
out all the shoes we donated on their gym floor; there were at least 200 pairs
of shoes - some still with the sales tags on them, that we donated.
* It's the first time in a year Becky has had shoes
available in men's most common sizes - 10 and 10 1/2. Men were delighted (both
at the church, and on the street) to get a pair of shoes that fit
them!
* One man has been angry with Becky - or, really
angry at the church for not doing anything for him. She approched him on Sunday
with gifts of nice shoes and a nice coat; he was delighted and looked like 'he'd
won the lottery'.
* She had so many shoes, Becky gave some of the
nicer ones to a sister ministry upstairs in the church called 'Unlimited' -
which help economically challenged women find good clothes for interviewing and
going back into the work force.
* Becky doesn't normally have children's items, but
the kid's clothes and shoes we donated were put out alongside the adult items,
and many people expressed thankfulness at seeing them because they needed them
for their own children or their grandchildren. (One woman who is expecting her
4th child shortly was able to choose shoes for all her children.)
* Rita blessed the staff when she talked with them
while dropping off our items - it really made an impact on them.
Sometimes when you show compassion to others in the
name of Jesus, you don't get to know the results. This time we were able to
hear stories of how our people's generosity affected 'the least of these' - who
have much to teach us too, I'm sure.
I just wanted you to see this window into the
Kingdom of God!
Shalom;
Jane
