Blessed to be a Blessing

The things I learned in Haiti are endless. It is so difficult for me to explain this trip, but the tangible lessons I learned I hope are evident in my life after Haiti. One thing I learned is that I can do more. This means I have to pick the most important areas in my life and totally focus on those, but in those areas, I can do more. I am having to give up some things to make this happen, and this has been no easy task. Many of these things I'm still praying about, but last night my friend Jillian and I were able to begin a new project together.

Blessings bags. I got the idea here, and we decided this was a way we could help. The idea behind them is to keep them in your car and pass them out when you see someone in need. This allows you to help without giving actual money. Now that we have done it once, we have already seen better ways to go about it. We should have started at the Dollar Tree for instance. You can get big deodorants and normal toothpastes for the same price we got the minis.
Here's what we put in ours...
Toothbrush
Toothpaste

Mouthwash (non-alcoholic please)
Wet-wipes
Tissues
First-aid kit (97 cents at Walmart)
Deodorant
Peanut butter crackers

Granola bar

Encouraging note/Bible verse

Other items you can include...
Comb/brush

Apple sauce

Juice box

Socks

Gloves

Gum/mints

Chapstick

Giftcards for food or Walmart

Soap

Shampoo/Conditioner

Small blanket

We loved doing this. The lady who checked us out at Walmart was shocked we were doing it. It seemed to blow her mind that two people would seek to help in this way. To me, this is such a small task though. In social work, we learn how many people are in total survival mode. This means, they live day-to-day, moment-to-moment. There is no room to think about tomorrow or a year from now or eternity. The purpose of the bags is to eliminate a few of these needs in order for them to just think...and hopefully think about love, hope, and Jesus. Things everyone should have the time to think about, but many or not given the chance.

Speaking of, today is Good Friday. Go make time to think about that.