“Reminiscing on her childhood, she said, ‘We were so poor when I was a kid, I never got a brand new backpack…I remember going back to school with only one change of clothes.”
One of the most random parts of our job at City Serve is buying large amounts of toothpaste…for projects like our Back 2 School Backpacks. Like I am talking 1000’s per year!
It is the one product that we haven’t found a good supplier for. Nothing can beat the price of .84 cents at Walmart…but they don’t allow you to order in advance. So we have willing volunteers and staff that load up hundreds of toothpaste at a time from the shelves of many different Walmarts close to us.
On one such trip in July, I was counting out hundreds of tubes when a girl asked if it was a good sale. I told her it was quite a good “role back”, but we buy them every year for our Back to School backpacks that CLA contributes to for students in need. Reminiscing on her childhood, she said, “We were so poor when I was a kid, I never got a brand new backpack, I remember going back to school with only one change of clothes.”
We talked for a while and as she was leaving she thanked me on behalf of the future students that will have gained confidence from having these basic needs met. We exchanged blessings and I sat there on the floor of our local Walmart, teary-eyed. The words of this kind woman reminded me that every encounter we have is an opportunity to share Christ’s love with the people we rub shoulders with, including these kids, whose rubbed shoulders will carry our backpacks. This experience has been a pattern that reminds us that the process is just as important as the result, that rubbing shoulders is as important as the backpack that gets hung on the shoulders.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children Eph 5:1
I invite you to join us in blessing the families and students of our Langley School District that find themselves in need as this school year begins. Below are some ways that we really need people to partner with us:
Donate
As we head into the new school year we could definitely use your financial backing with this and other City Serve projects. We provide lunches once a week to HDS (90 students) and Nicomekl Elementary (30 students) through out the school year…that is over 5100 meals, and we need your help to cover these costs.
clachurch.com/giving designating to City Serve - Langley in the drop down menu
Volunteer
Join us in these fun serving opportunities coming up this month and into the school year. CLA is a trusted partner in our local schools. We have volunteer opportunities at all of the “Langley Secondary Family Schools” - LSS, HD Stafford, Douglas Park Community School, and Nicomekl Elementary.
Aug 16th - Packing backpacks at Gateway of Hope
Aug 20th - backpack delivery, from CLA Langley Campus
Sept-June - Serve at the Langley Secondary School Breakfast Club
Please email mphommaviset@clachurch.com for more details on how you can get involved!
