The First Outreach + A Squishmallow Christmas

December 2022

We knew we wanted to love people in our community. We just didn't know where to start. For several years we had been praying for a small apartment complex down the street. We knew it was filled with single moms and their children. We didn't know when the Lord would open the door, but we knew he would. In my Women's Bible Study, we would pray for the hearts of these women. There was one time when we walked around the neighborhood praying and preparing that he would bring the moment.

I had a good friend call me and say she wanted to take photographs of families for Christmas. That quickly turned into asking two more friends if they would be willing to do hair and make-up. Which then turned into an open door with a shelter down the street (that we didn't know existed). A quick connection was made, we had a meeting, and we had the place to do this. Now we needed the people.

I realized that one of the greatest gifts we can have is the gift to go. To GO and say yes. To GO and make. So that's what we did. I called everyone I knew to tell them about the opportunity to host a Christmas even for a local shelter.

• We created an Amazon wish list in which several individual people donated.

• Seek and Find Studies (best studies ever) donated the frames and bags, so we could print the photos for the families.

• The woman who discipled me when I first came to know Christ supplied a generous check.

• A wonderful woman named Tracy did all the decor.
  

And we were off to the races. We had the idea to give a squishmallow to each child. We had a number in mind, but when we received the list of families signed up to get photos, hair, and make-up it was many more than we expected, but when the day arrived, we had more squishmallows then we could have imagined. We had a connection to receive a Santa suit, so a staff member at the shelter put on the suit and handed those squish friends out.

We had crafts for the kids, moments with the moms as we sat and talked and listened. We had hot chocolate and decorated cookies. AND because of the generous donation from a House Church in Texas we were able to buy sandwiches for our volunteers and all the moms who stopped in.

Here is the really special part (if not the entire moment leading up and day of wasn't special enough) The apartments with the moms we were praying for were actually connected to this shelter. So, God opened the door.