Savannah's Bags of Hope

Mom and I decided to do a project together. Mom thought of it and I really wanted to be a part of it! So we decided to gather our thoughts and keep them in a notebook. We always hand out food and water to all the homeless people and beggars at all the stop lights.  But Mom had the idea of putting together some bags that would have a little more, plus gospel booklets and Bibles.

I wrote a little about why I wanted to do this. Then we brainstormed about what we would put in our bags. We even started dreaming about handing out cards that would tell them to meet us at a homeless shelter where we could give out food, clothing and show the Jesus Film!

Mom said we should start small and we could get bigger the next time. So we looked at our brainstorm list and picked a few of the items that we could get. We decided to put in the following items in grocery bags to make 10 "Bags of Hope":

 10 Rand per bag (about $1.50)

Bibles (donated from GAiN)

a note from me

1 apple

2 energy bars

1 biltong (Beef Jerky)

1 water bottle

2 Gospel booklets (Afrikaans and Tswana)

2 How to grow in Christ booklets (Afrikaans and Tswana)

1 hat, because they are always in the hot sun (donated from GAiN)

1 stuffed animal (donated from US)

1 small bag of chips

2 snack bags of peanuts and raisins mix

1 snack bag full of candy (I donated)

This is the note I wrote and put in each bag:

 My name is Savannah. I am 8 years old. I am praying for you.  God loves you! Here is a bag of hope.  I hope you have a good day!

Sincerely, 

Savannah

We kept all the info in my notebook so we could take it when we went to shop for what we didn't have.

I went with my Dad to buy the gospel booklets and how to grow as a Christian booklets.  1 set is in Afrikaans (white language) and the other set is in Tswana (black language). They didn't have Afrikaans in the blue "growing" booklet, so we got English.

Now, it's time to organize!

Chloe and I put the money, my note and the gospel booklets in snack bags to keep them all together in the grocery bag.

Here is what will go in each bag.

We lined everything up around the school room and then . . .

Started loading the bags!

1 bag complete!  It was so fun! I love this project!

Then Mom and I prayed over the bags and asked for God to bring us to the right people and bless those who received them.

Time to load them into the truck!

Both sisters helped me with this part . . .

Almost done!

I was so excited once we were in the truck. I couldn't wait to get to the first stop light.

Perfect! This woman and her child are exactly who I wanted to give the first bag too!  (She is on the right)

I told her "God bless you." And she was so nice and cheerful and thankful.

As we drove away the little girl waved and said, "bye bye."  She was soooooo cute!

I felt so great! I felt like I was the first kid to really care about her and her child. I was surprised how happy I felt! I was so excited and so happy.  Mom said that's what it feels like when you love God, love others and do His will. Mom called it pure joy.  It was AWESOME! 

 

After that we gave out 2 more bags before we headed home to hand out the rest the next day (not as safe to have your windows open when it gets dark). The last person that first day was a woman who we saw from a distance.  When we finally got to her she was leaving the stop light. I called out, "Friend!" She came over and I said, "God bless you." She said, “I feel like God has forgotten about me, but then you guys show up.” We told her we are praying for her and that God hasn't forgotten about her. I get excited thinking about her reading the gospel booklet and the booklet about how to grow in her relationship with Jesus, and the Bible! She and the mother with the baby are right outside our neighborhood.  I want to get to know them and Mom does too.  It felt really great because I just had this sudden happiness and I just loved her and all the others so much.  I kept telling my Mom, “I love this project! I love giving to people and helping them! This is so fun! I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!”

A Note from Mom:

Hi!   We are still basking in the joy it was to hand out these bags of hope to people in need. If you want to be a part of our next project there are several ways you can help! Each bag cost $5 to put together. If you'd like to help make a bag possible you can give to our Cru account and either email us (katielovesrobb@hotmail.com), or make a comment with your donation that your gift was for "Savannah's Bags of Hope."  

Giving online: give.cru.org/0534292

Giving by check:  Cru/PO Box 628222/Orlando, FL 32862

                              Please make checks payable to “Cru” with our

                              account number 0534292 on the memo line

The other way you can help is by sending items we need: 

stuffed animals or small toys

winter hats (child and adult sizes) It is summer here now, spring and winter will be here soon.

ball caps

travel size suntan lotion

blankets

scarves (child and adult sizes)

mittens or gloves (child and adult sizes)

Anything God lays on your heart!

The only thing we ask is that when sending a package, please mark it as having no value: $0.  Otherwise we get taxed up to $20 to $100 per box!  This will help us put money into the bags of hope instead of paying to receive packages.

Send packages to:

Robert Cook

PO Box 26023

Monument Park

Pretoria, South Africa

0105

Thanks so much for keeping up with the girls blog! It means a lot to them and us. We are very thankful for your love and support and friendship!!!   Talk to you soon . . .

Katie