Box 1 Arrived in Zimbabwee

Here is a letter from the orphanage in Zimbabwee:

Dear Tori
We would just like to inform you that the first box of blankets have arrived - Praise the Lord! I took it up to the children today and there was great excitement as the cold weather is starting to set in now. We had to pay customs $59,00 which is a pity as we usually get this all thru for no charge at all - but believe me it is worth every cent.
Thank you so very much for your love and care and we will let you know when the next box arrives.
God bless
Aurrell Olivier
On behalf of Good Shepherd Committee

Successful arrival in Liberia

I received a call this morning from Debera at Mission of Hope Orphanage in Liberia, the blankets and bears have arrived successfully in Liberia. She will be arriving in Liberia this June and pass them out personally and take pictures for us!

http://missionofhopeliberia.net

Donating Locally

When I was in the process of starting Blankets & Bears one response I got was what about people here at home, I really didn't have an answer for them except that my heart has been lead to help the orphans in Africa. Isn't the plan always bigger than we could imagine! Today I got a thank you note from the Downtown Women's Shelter for Blankets & Bears support. We often have items donated to Blankets & Bears that are too large and too heavy for shipment, after going through all the items from our recent drive, my mom had dropped off some of these items to the shelter and I had dropped off some to another charity in Amarillo. Who would have thought that this mission wasn't just about helping those children in third world countries but it was also going to help here at home.

Mission Trip to Nicaragua

Blankets and Bears will go on their first mission trip this June to Nicaragua. We will being staying with a couple originally from the Amarillo area. They have started a school with the help of Trinity Fellowship and work closely with an orphanage there and a children's hospital. It sounds like it is going to be a great opportunity to love some hurting kids and adults. We will be staying in a gated community and have a translator with us at all times...my spanish is un poco. Two highschool girls from Panhandle will be coming as well.

You are a Love Letter

I just heard a preacher the other day speaking about how we are love letters and I just wanted to share it. He put it this way, you read the Bible and then you go out into the world, a world where many people in it don't read the Bible. The people in this world then watch you, what you do and say...to them you are God's love letter. Hopefully everything you do and say, they can read is because of God's love. In a month of love, go out and be God's love letter to the world, letting them know how much God loves them!

Oh my gosh! God is Great! He answers prayers!

Since the day I was given this mission to reach these children, I have had to pray a lot and then wait a lot for what God wanted me to do. Sometimes the waiting is quite frustrating but honestly I have no other options. The goal is to help these children and the only way to do that is with God. My funds, blankets and bears are almost completely depleted so I asked God what was next. He gave the story in the bible of the woman who lost her husband and was poor. She went to one of the prophets (hate to guess the wrong name) and they told her to gather many vessels from neighbors and then go in her home and close the door. Then she would pour the one jar of oil she owned into all the others she had collected and miracously be rich in one night. God was telling me to go get as many places to deliver these blankets and bears to and he would fill the rest. I did I found 4 large organizations whose only goal is to create orphanges in Africa and God gave me the favor of Ester so that these organizations would partner with me. I have had many no's....but these newly partnered with organizations allow for this mission to reach thousands of children. Now here is how God is awesome...this sunday we received a monetary donation of $500! Pray, believe and have faith while you wait.

Shipment

Here are some pictures of one of my shipments. I also tried to get some pictures of the bears but my digitial camera broke during our photos session. The day before I also broke the key off in the door at the place we are keeping our bears. Lots of trouble that week but we got our shipment out. I just found another contact in Zimbabwe and we will shipping to them shortly. They are a christian orphanage that houses about 40 kids. We are in high need of blankets now.

Schools can help too!

Right now highschoolers at Highland Park ISD in Amarillo are making blankets to send to the orphans in Africa. The week before Thanksgiving I gave a presentation to the 2 classes on giving and the blankets and bears mission. I am so excited that kids will be helping other kids. If you are aware of any organizations that do any community service, I would be more than glad to give them a presentation and they could have their own drive at their school collecting bears, make blankets or have a fundraiser for shipping costs. Way to go Highland Park!

Shipments

Our first shipment was mailed out on December 2nd first to Wisconsin to missionaries who are relocating to the orphange in Madagascar. Here is the link to Madagascar, it would be great if you could support some of these children. There are only 10 currently in the home, we sent 20 blankets and 20 bears to this home. http://www.madagascarorphanage.com/
Tommorrow on December 4th a shipment of 50 blankets and 50 bears will be sent to 2 orphanages in Liberia. I have included one of the orphanages websites as well.
http://www.lighthousecommunitycog.com/misson_of_hope_orphanage
Currently I am in communication with possibly sending to an orphanage that is inside a refuge camp, it is estimated about 200 kids are there. If you still have any blankets and bears we collect them throughout the year. You can also donate money for shipping and currently we are in need of 55 gallon bins for shipping. Thanks to everyone for making this possible.