Welcome Spring!

Alright, it might not seem very springy out there with the foot of snow we just got but spring break is over, one quarter of this school year remains and I know full well that it's going to fly by!

Thanks to our Saint Charles Elks Lodge, we have almost everything we need for this week.  All that we still need is:

14 cans of corn
4 small boxes of raisins

There are just a few opportunities left to pack or deliver bags with your kids, please check the sign up and see if you can fit one of the available dates into your schedule.  It seriously takes less than 30 minutes and is a great way to show your kids that absolutely everyone is able to help someone!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4AAEAA22A64-20122013

Last few things before spring break...

Next week will be a crazy busy week.  Spring break begins one week from today, which means that we will send bags home with our kids three days next week to cover all three weekends.  I plan for my family to pack bags over the weekend and we'll deliver those on Tuesday but I am also needing someone to pack bags on Monday right after school.  If you would like for your family to do this, please let me know right away BY COMMENTING ON THIS BLOG WITH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION so that everyone else can know when it is booked.  

To cover these three weekends, we need the following BY TUESDAY:

27 snack size cheez its bags
27 breakfast cereal bars
24 cans of chili
27 pieces of fruit (please choose something like apples, oranges or pears that won't get smashed in backpacks)

We hadn't been sending home fruit each week but with the huge donation we received last week, I believe that it's something we can implement again and will be great for the kids!

Read to the end for our list :)

Are you ready for a slightly longer than normal post?  I promise not to babble on and on but there's some REALLY good news I want to share with you!

It's been just over two years since the first meeting was held with Mrs. Crigler, the John Weldon Elementary Principal, to share with her how God wanted to feed the kids at her school.  I won't go into everything that has happened since then but it's been nothing short of an adventure!

Week after week there have been needs and God has fulfilled them through the people of this community.  Children who wouldn't normally be able to share classroom treats on their birthday have passed out treats to their friends with huge smiles across their faces.  Goodness, I wish I'd kept count of just how many children have been able to serve their community along side their parents purchasing food, packing bags and delivering bags.  From before that very first meeting, Bear Necessities has been not only about the children receiving food but the entire community serving as God created us to do.

A while back we gained a few new donors who do not have children of their own at John Weldon but do have a family connection there.  These are people I would likely have never met had it not been for the divine connecting of the dots.  I was told  a few months ago that they had put in for a grant to purchase and donate food for Bear Necessities.  Mostly, I hid this away in my heart and just prayed about it happening.

Yesterday they arrived.  Real live angels, messengers from God himself.

Dennis, Myself, Mark and Sherry

Of course, they didn't want their picture taken either and every "thank you" was met with one right back.  These three lovely people are just a few of a group from the St. Charles' Elk's Lodge that have kind of taken us under their wing.

This is not all of it.  This is just what I caught as the assembly line of people (Mark, Dennis, Sherry & my family) carried things down to the basement.

A different angle but still not everything.  I kept in my tears while they were here, promising Sherry that I wouldn't get her crying and ruin her make-up but they fell from my eyes after they were gone and I beheld the goodness of God.

"The poor will eat and be satisfied;

those who seek the Lord will praise him---

may your hearts live forever!"

Psalm 22:26

It might sound odd but one of the things that I prayed about this is that it would NOT cover every need for the remainder of the year.  One of the things that i know about myself is that if I let go of a good habit, I'll find a bad habit filling its empty space before I know what happened.  Seeing God provide week after week is at the core of Bear Necessities and so is the service of those who do the shopping and donating.  That ending in one day would be heartbreaking.  It's the bittersweet side of things.  You, the community members who pray for and donate to Bear Necessities are critically important and that is no different now.  As the kids and I put everything on the shelves and the shelves OVERFLOWED, there were a few tiny holes.  Ok, the shelves don't have holes.  They're as full as they can be--- LITERALLY!  But there is an item or two still needed each week for at least the next month and that brought me great joy!

This week we need 11 tuna.  

yea, that's it.  This morning I was reminded of this bit of scripture, which just so happened to be a big part of the inspiration of Bear Necessities:

"All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had."

Acts 4:32

Christ Jesus is still a God of miracles and He is working each week in this community and it's nothing short of amazing!

Needs for next week

Here's the list for next week.  Volunteers will arrive Wednesday afternoon to pack so we'll need everything by Wednesday. 

27 cans of chili
26 cans beefaroni
27 cans peas
22 applesauce

Thank you to everyone who is able to donate! 

Needs for 2/13

Here's the list for next week.  Volunteers will arrive Wednesday afternoon to pack so we'll need everything by Wednesday. 

22 cans soup
25 ravioli
25 easy mac envelopes
23 cans corn
26 applesauce
2 pudding cups

Thanks everyone for your continued support!

Next Week's Needs

Just a quick post to get the donation needs up before the weekend.

27 individual cereal boxes
12 peanut butter
2 soy nut butter
19 ritz cracker sleeves
12 easy mac envelopes
14 jelly
24 green beans
27 23 fruit cups
9 applesauce

updated 2/4

Thanks to everyone who helps each week.  Mr. Marian and Mrs. Meyer report that each bag is welcomed by a great big smile from each child!  THAT'S why we do it!

Donations and Packing

Goodness!  I know it's ridiculous that I'm just getting this post up and I apologize!  I know that you all have to get to the store to make this all work and I should have done this before the weekend.  I do hope you'll all forgive me.  

Before I get to the list of what we need, if I may, I'd like to share a story. 
After the devastating tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Ct, I heard of many people choosing different avenues to make something good come from the awful.  It seems to be what we do as humans when we feel like we've lost control.

I read about one mom who was taking her child to the movies when a young man walked up to her with an envelope that had prepaid tickets and a note letting her know that the good deed (paying for someone else's tickets) was to honor one of the victims at Sandy Hook elementary. 

Locally, a woman found an envelope on her car at the Chesterfield Mall that had a similar note and $26.  Very touched, and not in need herself, she passed the good deed on to someone else and shared with some friends about what had happened and how it had moved her. Those friends were touched and wanting to keep it going, gave each of their adult children's families $26 to share with someone else in need in honor of the lives lost at Sandy Hook.  I'm so grateful that one of those families thought of Bear Necessities and passed the good deed on to us! 

Have you wanted to do something like this to honor the losses?  I do love to hear about beautiful things like this!

OK.  On to the list for this week.  It's a bit longer as we've gone through most of the reserves from Christmas donations. 

22 19 individual cereal boxes
27 11 breakfast bars
23 cans tuna
23 12 ritz cracker sleeves
18 12 cans soup
14 2 easy mac envelopes
18 fruit cups
12 applesauce
11 1 pudding cups
50 bags cheez its

Please remember, you don't have to get everything to help.  EVERY LITTLE BIT comes together to make enough!

Don't forget to sign up to pack bags with your kids too:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4AAEAA22A64-20122013