The Christmas Shoebox Project
The Christmas Shoebox Project was launched in 2005 for the children in the work camps and orphanages in the area. Visit our photo gallery to see some of the kids we were able to touch. Because this project is such a blessing to the children involved, it has become a regular part of our ministry here!
In 2007 we were able to give away over 300 Christmas shoeboxes and more than 250 stuffed animals to poor children around the Guaymas area, up from less than 90 in 2005. These boxes were donated by the generous and wonderful people of New Mexico. They were filled with school supplies (children must buy their own supplies here), personal hygiene and grooming items, toys and candy. Please keep this in your prayers!
2008 saw even more growth. Though we only were able to gather 200 items this year, we were able to reach the village of El Cerrito, some very poor kids in the colonia of Calíche, then we combined our leftover shoeboxes with the leftovers of a local church that participated in the Samaritan's Purse outreach. For the first time in Guaymas, Samaritan's Purse targeted the local churches here. Because we want to reach more than just church kids, we joined with the Christian Church of Miramar to distribute boxes in the very poor farming workcamp of Felipe Angeles and the colonia of Fátima.
In 2009, A team from Childress Texas brought over 200 boxes and another 200 stuffed animals. 2009 also brought hurricane Jimena and, though the Samaritan's Purse ministry was originally planned to be in Hermosillo, the church leaders there opted to redirect the their boxes to the kids in Guaymas whose families had been devestated by the flooding. So, for the second year in a row, we supplemented the leftover Samaritan's Purse boxes that the Christian Church of Miramar had, and were able to touch over 300 kids at the workcamp of Guadalupe de Guaymas. We still have a few leftovers, and we're scheduled to share them with the very poor people in the colonia of Centinela on April 10, 2010.
For information on how you or your church can be a part of this exciting outreach, contact us.