This past year has been a whirlwind of great opportunities and God-sized changes.  Lives have been changed, both those who received and those who gave.  We have learned a lot and have tried changing strategies a few times so that a balance can be found.  We are pretty sure that we are getting closer to that goal.

One of the major things that we have decided is to not reinvent the wheel.  There are some other ministries and foundations in the Oklahoma City area that provide services similar to ours.  So we are going to concentrate on the areas that are not covered by them.

That said, we are narrowing what we will be providing to families so that we can better serve the families that need our help.  If we find that essential items are falling through the cracks, then we will adjust as needed.  That is the beauty of this whole thing!  We can be flexible to meet the needs of the people!

Hope Chest OKC will now deliver the following items to families in Oklahoma City:

If you have other items that you think we might be able to use, please feel free to email Cissa and she will let you know if we can use it.

In the coming days, we will be posting other places that you can donate your items where they will be put to good use.  Together, we can change the world, one family at a time!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  As you celebrate this season that is all about what God gave to us, I wanted to send a thank you out to you for what you have given to Hope Chest.

This year, with your help, Hope Chest has been able to serve 58 families!  By giving of your time and resources, these families have been able to get a jump start on making their houses homes.  I cannot thank you enough for that!

The biggest project we attempted this year was a team effort with our friends at The Tapestry Project.  The Tapestry Family Toy Store was an amazing opportunity to serve the city in a different way.  We pooled our resources (you) and you pooled your resources and we were able to provide gifts for the families to buy for their children.

Here is what happened in pictures.

first we had several families come and do the initial set up.  The big kids placed the toys on the table…

while the younger kids made Christmas cards for the families that would come through.

Then the kids all helped price the items (with adult input).

Then within a day and a half, we ran out of toys.

We still had 4 more days of the store left of the store, and we had just a few toys left.  We decided to close for the weekend and send out a call for help.  Our plan was to reopen on Thursday, but we weren’t sure what we were going to have to put on the tables.  THEN…you all responded in a BIG way!  All of our friends told all of their friends and we had an explosion of toys!

These two women alone were able to call in their own troops and I was able to pick up somewhere around $2,000 worth of toys!  I felt like santa with my truck loaded up!  A huge thank you to Amy and Crystal and all your friends and family who gave to help us re-open the store!

On top of these toys, another 2-3 thousand dollars worth were brought in from other people and organizations.  Simply amazing what can be done when we all join together!

The tables got to the point of overflowing and we had to store a bunch of toys to restock the tables later!  Then the best part came.

Re-opening the store!  At the last unofficial count, over 100 families were able to shop at the store and provide Christmas gifts for their children this year.  Most of those children would have gone without toys this year.

The Christmas store was an amazing and humbling thing to experience.  It could not have happened without you.  From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Together we can make a difference, one family at a time!

Our last delivery will be on Saturday, December 19th at 9:30 am.  If you would like to help deliver on Saturday, please contact Cissa for details.

Sometimes doing this ministry thing is hard.  Really hard.  And sometimes it would be easy to say, “we have helped over 50 families in one year.  That is more than anyone can ask of us.  It sure would be a lot easier if I just set it aside for a while.  My internal struggles are too overwhelming.  I just can’t do it!”

So here is how God answered all these statements today.

1. Yes, you have helped over 50 families this year.  Stay with me, I can lead you to 50 more if you let me.

2. Sure that is more than anyone can ask, but they aren’t asking, I AM.

3. I never told you that it would be easy if you do it on your own.  But I did tell you that if you take my yolk that your burden will be light.  Let ME do the work, you just follow and be my hands and feet.

4. I know and understand why you struggle.  TRUST me.  Where you are weak, I am strong.

5. You were not meant to do it alone.  I will send others to work along side you.  My timing is not your timing.  Just Trust that I will not leave you or forsake you.

Today we had a work day and had so many workers that we had to split into two teams!  Each team did 3 deliveries.  That is 6 families that know that somebody cares about them tonight because we showed it in a tangible way.  It lifted my spirits when one of the women called me today after the other team delivered just to tell me thank you.  She was overwhelmed by their love for her!  That is what it is all about.  That is why Hope Chest OKC exsists.  So that people know that they are loved.

Today was exactly what I needed.  Do I still have struggles?  Of Course!  But I know that lives were touched today, maybe even changed.  And I am willing to bet that the lives that were the most changed were those who went out and loved the people of our city today.  God won’t allow us to walk away without knowing that something is different.  He gives us all exactly what we need if we ask and are willing to follow where He leads us.