Best Church Ever!

Ok so Emmaus Road Community Church in Laramie Wyoming may not be the best church in the world...and maybe I shouldn't encourage a competition between churches...and this project is inspired by the church I grew up in.  Anyways, this post is about how much the community and members at Emmaus Road rock.

Three days ago, on Sunday, I announced that there was a family in town that could really use a little help.  I had a wish list consisting of one item per person and asked if the congregation would help out with the gifts.  I gave a little background such as the family just decided to go without Christmas presents this year and that they went several weeks without toilet paper a while back.  The family is currently living in a 5th wheel as well.   I told the congregation that I would love to do more than just the gifts but it would really depend on how many people could help...It was a small service since all the college kids were away, so I was not expecting a lot... However, we will be doing much more than the three suggested gifts. 

Here is a bit of what the church helped the family with in three days. 

 Stockings

 Each family member will get 1 stocking filled with...

  

Personal Hygiene Items 

Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Flossers
Mouthwash
Razors
Deodorant
Hand sanitizer
Lotion
Soap

And a couple small candies.

A Coffee Gift Basket for Mom

Diane from church knows her coffee (and the mom) and offered to get some gourmet coffees.  She found one decent size bag of coffee, 12 single servings in assorted flavors, and 4 flavored dairy creamers.  Go Diane!

I added a scarf for decoration/warmth, a candle, two mugs and a coffee travel cup to the gift basket.
If you haven't noticed yet, I love gift baskets!

$40 for a Medical Alert Bracelet for the Daughter
The daughter in this family has several serious medical conditions and really needs this bracelet.  When I asked the daughter what her and her parents would want this was all she wanted for herself.  She was much more excited about her parents getting gifts.  We still wanted to get her a gift that was for fun and not a necessity.  So we made...


A girly Gift Basket for the Daughter

This basket includes a candle, nail polish, lotion, body spray, shower gel, a loofah and some festive candies. 
Again with the gift baskets :) 

An Amazon Kindle Card for Dad
The dad in this family loves to read.  He has a Kindle, doesn't have room for books, and doesn't have money to buy more.

A $100 Wall-Mart Gift Card for the Family
One church member donated a $100 gift card, which will be perfect.  

&

A Christmas Tree

The tree was donated from a lady that I work with.  

She works at a greenery and was actually looking for a family to give some leftover trees to.
Although this family does not have much living space, the tree will be perfect outside or inside.

$5 from the Dollar tree worth of decorations.
It was simple but really kept decorating the tree from being a family burden.

That was three days worth of love and there is still one more day.  We have around $200 left to spend.  I am looking at purchasing  

A Meal or Two or Three

One gal from our church wanted to buy the family a meal. I am not sure what this will be yet.

I would also like the purchase $50 worth of groceries including

A Christmas Dinner

a small ham

instant mashed potatoes

corn and beans 

3 Movie Tickets

When you work as hard as these guys are, and have their entire lives, you need and deserve to have some fun.

University of Wyoming Gear

The dad is a huge Cowboys fan and I was told by my pastor that he would love anything Cowboys.

I am not sure what this will be yet, but probably a sweatshirt, a hat, or gloves.

An Electric Blanket
Living in a 5th wheel in Laramie Wyoming's weather gets cold.
An electric blanket will keep them from midnight runs to get more propane, keep them warn and save money all at the same time.

2 More Gift Cards

One for the daughter and one for the parents.  

This will be the remainder of the money.

And I gave the daughter (who is a close friend) a small painting

Hey God, I would like to close with a short prayer.  

First of all thank you for placing this family in our lives and town.  Thank you for blessing them this Christmas season.  I pray that you would help these gifts make a significant impact and help this family pay off some of their medical bills.  I pray for the mother and daughter's health and the fathers strength.  Please please please lord help this project expand so that we can make some major changes in the community.  This is for me, but I would love to see our church do this for more than one family in the future.

Thank you for softening the hearts of those you have blessed. 

Amen!

Update: I absolutely believe that the church should be the ones taking care of the poor. It is the churches job, not the governments. I do not, however, believe that adding anything to the gospel is appropriate. If it become "Jesus + serving the poor" then it is not Biblical. Also, sharing the Gospel is a humans most basic need. Sharing the gospel should be the priority.