Monday, January 7, 2013

A Simple Brown Bag

Would you prefer someone to buy your lunch or pack your lunch in a  brown paper sack? The answer to that question might have  a lot to do with your background. Author Laura Schroff recently appeared on Mike Hucklebee's  TV show to talk about her recent book entitled "An Invisible Thread". Her story began when she encountered  an 11 year old boy on the streets of New York. He ask her for money because he said he was hungry. She took him to McDonald's and bought him lunch. She learned that his mother was addicted to drugs and his father was a member of a street gang. She went on to say that after she developed a long lasting relationship with this young boy she ask him one day if he wanted her to buy his school lunch or pack his lunch in a brown bag. His answer was profound. He told her he did not want her money. He said, I want you to fix my lunch because when the other kids see my brown bag at school they will know that someone cares enough about me to fix my lunch. According to the interview, the young boy was invited to MS. Schroff's sister's house. He loved the house with all the toys and the  back yard with the green grass but he was most impressed with a big long table where everyone shared their meals together. He had never experienced having a meal as a family. The young boy is grown now and he is married with seven kids of his own. He has a big long table in his house where his family shares their meals.

There are still 11 year old kids in the USA today who are hungry. That is why the Christian Service Center in Hood County TX, where I volunteer takes 70 plain bags of food to two  schools every week. This food is given to children who the schools identify as kids who do not have adequate food on weekends at home. These bags of food are distributed every Friday afternoon by the school on our behalf. It only cost about $4.00 a bag per child. What a small price to pay to make sure that a child does not go without food on the weekend. We wanted  Christmas to be special this year so we helped the teachers and staff at one school purchase some new shoes and we provided 80 new warm coats for the kids who needed them.

These kids all know that someone cares about them. One child sent the Christian Service Center a beautiful hand made Christmas card. It was addressed to "Everyone who serves at the Christian Service Center".
H-E-B a grocery chain in our area has awarded  us with a $2000.00 grant to help keep this ministry going in 2013. We are very thankful for their support.

Even though the food is appreciated, I expect the two most important items in these  bags are love and caring. Love and caring leads to hope and dreams for a brighter future someday.

Gee Man



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