SNL : Giving Back in Thanks

This past Sunday night we spent the focus of our time at SNL doing a food scavenger hunt for Water Street Missions 8th Annual Food Drive. 40 teens were split up into teams of 3-5 and headed out into cold, wet Millersville with an adult driver and a list of items. Teens went door to door asking for donations. After an hour, each team reported back to the church where they counted up their items. They received 2 points for every item on the list, and 1 point for items not on the list. After some hot chocolate and cookies, we watched a short video clip challenging us to remember Jesus' words in Matthew 25: "What you do for the least of these, you do to Me." Teens were challenged to not only be thankful this Thanksgiving and Christmas season, but to give back out of the great abundance they've received. So many people are focused on the economic problems our country is facing currently, but it is in not even close to the troubles impoverished people continue to face in our country and worldwide.

The group of Ande Olson, Josh Carle, Dan Short and Jeremy Vital collected the most points, winning by the slight margin of 4 points. They were given $125 to choose alternative gifts from "Gifts that Give" which will be given in their name this Christmas. (Click here for more information about this great ministry) They chose to give: a Week of water purification at the Hold the Children orphanage in Haiti; A sewing machine to help a young Congolese widow support her family through Hope International; breakfast, lunch, snacks and diapers for one child for a week at Mom's House; 83 meals for a starving child in Haiti or Jamaica through the Cookie Sale to Combat World Hunger; and one week of art and craft supplies for a room at the child care center at the YWCA of Lancaster.

I would HIGHLY recommend and encourage your family to consider alternative gifts this holiday season as a way to give back in celebration of the joy of Christ's birth, rather than buying into all the Christmas materialism that we so often follow along with.

Thank you to all the amazing adults who helped drive! We couldn't have done it without you! Hundreds of food items were collected and dropped off at Water Street Mission the next day.