Last week was a bit of a blur. We returned from our travels on November 2nd and the very next morning we were at the local elementary school to help friends set up for the packing of Christmas Shoe Boxes. The fact that this ministry was permitted into a public school is amazing! The Principal was well aware of the Christianity Mission of the OCC boxes, but allowed it since it was presented to each classroom in a "generic" way, with the omission of Jesus. But the students, K-5, all understood that the boxes were going to places all over the world to children than have never received a gift.
Dave and I jumped on board with the project when we were told that in addition to the boxes for OCC, there would be 30 students (plus any siblings in the household) that would receive a similar gift. We have long supported the Samaritans Purse ministry but feel that a few of the churches that heavily focus on it seem to forget that there are local residents that are in need.
We spent the weekend trying to catch up on household chores, laundry and the acquisition and plans to move a 10'x10' shed from a friend. Monday and Tuesday were filled with giggles and laughter as 350+ students, teachers and staff carefully and thoughtfully selected items to place in "their" gift box. Each student, in addition to filling the box with school supplies, hygiene products, games and toys, they wrote a letter including their name, grade and age.
Since we were entering a large Petrie dish of germs, each day Dave and I loaded up with a large dose of vitamins and minerals... and went to bed a bit earlier than usual. lol! It was exhausting but so rewarding. Dave was responsible for keeping the students wrangled when they were done with their letters and boxes. His favorite question to ask them was "What color underwear did you choose for your box?" It was so funny! Some girls that chose to pack a box for a boy were embarrassed to even touch a pair of the boy's underwear and asked an adult to help them with it. Some of the boxes were over-stuffed, but in the end the students got to choose what could stay and what had to go back to the tables. When all of the boxes were packed in cartons and ready to be sent to the processing center, we had 366 boxes!
As our regularly scheduled routines resumed, I was able to get the current t-shirt quilt to flimsy status just in time to share in the Friday Finish parties. As I sit and write this story, it is ready to go under the needle! The grey sashing strips with a pop of color from narrow red/black border, followed with a 3-1/2" border of music notes and symbols reflect the recipient's high school colors and years as a part of the flag team and color guard, with the marching band.
A 4" grid, on point will let the shirts speak for themselves, rather than allowing a fancy quilting design to draw the attention away from them.
When this quilt is finished, I hope to turn my attention to my mini-quilt challenge. I was doing really good in keeping up with the weekly minis... and then... well, I don't know what happened. 👀 All I can say it, watch for more mini quilts. :)
Time for this week's randomly selected feature! Brenda at Songbird Designs showed off her ByAnnie Bag.
It has lots of pockets and a place for everything. It is enticing enough to me that I have actually considered giving a zipper another chance... Go check it out by following the link above.
Now, it is time for you to share the progress of your projects. What did you do last week?
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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Franklin Graham's organization is such a fine thing! Kudos to you and Dave and those students for all you did - 366 boxes is quite an accomplishment. Your T-shirt quilt looks so good!
ReplyDeleteWow! You and all have been very busy. What a great Samaritan work. T-shirt quilt looking great. Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteWhat great work on the shoe box project. I think it's great for kids to be able to give to other kids...and to understand that not everyone has what they have. It's great they were able to choose what items to pack into "their" box. It sounds like it would be very rewarding for you as well. The T-shirt quilt turned out great! I'm looking forward to seeing the minis in the weeks to come. :D
ReplyDeleteYou are staying so busy, Melva. Woo Hoo for helping to prepare all of those boxes . Gorgeous tshirt quilt. I hope you enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteYou had a fun week! Love the tshirt quilt. Great layout! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2023/11/15/wednesday-wait-loss-354
Good for you helping out with that most wonderful project. Samaritans Purse does so many great things and do so much good the world over. That T-Shirt quilt is going to be amazing. Thanks for joining Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
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