Christmas Boxes

Each year, Baptist Chapel, our sending church in Owasso, Oklahoma,sends Christmas boxes to the needy children in the impoverished villages near Seis de Mayo, Honduras. Many of these children have never received a Christmas gift and it is the event of the year for them. Each box not only has gifts, but personal hygiene items, school supplies and a child's coloring book presenting the Gospel. This has proved to be a successful evangelistic tool as well as enabling the Kuneys to win the trust of the people. The day the gifts are distributed long lines form and often there is a need for crowd control. Nevertheless, this has been a rewarding experience and it has helped to reach people of not only Seis de Mayo, near the mission center, but in what we call the "jungle area" as well where there is severe poverty. We are indebted to Candy Matheny who heads up the gifts and to Tom Hagen who heads up getting the cargo boxed and shipped.

 Join the Opportunity to Bless the Children

You, your Sunday school class or organization can donate items or financially help to purchase items. Each box contains hygiene items (soap, tooth paste, tooth brush, wash cloth), packaged snack, crayons, notebook, Gospel coloring book, two toys (ball, doll, car, jump rope, etc.)  If you would like to participate in this incredible ministry opportunity, contact gatheringhearts@gmail.com    

Thank you to our present sponsors!

  "And whoso shall receive one such little child in my Name receiveth me."                   Matthew 18:5

Christmas Boxes 2009

The container finally arrived at the mission center Christmas Eve. A full 40 ft container stocked with computers, sewing machines, Children's Christmas gifts and supplies were unpacked by our workers. The only place they could unload was inside the Mission Center. 

Thank you Oral Roberts University students who donated the funds to purchase another container for storage.  This will enable the ministry to provide computers and sewing machines to graduates.

 Christmas Boxes distributed by a Student with an Oklahoma University Scholarship

Jacob Bower, Oklahoma University student, applied for a “humanitarian” scholarship to have financial assistance to come to Honduras to pass out the over 900 Christmas gifts to the children in the poorer villages. 

Jacob (left) and Mary Ann Cary (right) helped to organize the boxes for distribution. 

Distribution was even more of a challenge because the van that we had hoped to send him out to the remote area in, broke down.  Jacob had some set backs but still successfully got the gifts in the hands of these children.  Thank you Jacob and Oklahoma University for helping the children of Honduras. 

  Christmas gift distribution in the mission center front yard.

Just minutes after this picture, there was an earthquake. Not bad enough to quit, though.

Pictures of some of the children who received the Christmas Boxes this year

Christmas Boxes 2008 

UPDATE:  -- CONTAINER EXPECTED TO ARRIVE THIS MONTH!

Thanks to Tom Hagen, Mike and Janice Fellman of Claremore, Oklahoma, the container full of Christmas gifts for the village children and supplies for the Mission Center and the Kuney Family.  The container is sitting on the dock in Gulf Port, Mississippi ready for shipping to Puerto Cortes, just five miles from our center!   Dole had graciously consented to ship again this year.

Thank you Jim Redyke, Dykon Company inTulsa, Oklahoma who offered his warehouse for storing the container until shipment was granted.  His son, Jared, drove the container to Gulf Port.  This year was a special challenge for the container shipment because we no longer had the previous warehouse storage and the trucking company no longer used the larger trucks which accomadated the container.  What an answer to prayer when Jim offered the warehouse, truck and even the driver!   Jim has been here several times on construction teams from First United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a real blessing to the ministry here in his help with this container.

Christmas Boxes 2007 

The container that left Tulsa right after Thanksgiving held the 700 children's gifts, vo-tech tools, supplies, and an air compressor for the dental clinic.  Thanks to our friend, Blanca Membreno, the customs fees had been reduced to around $350, but the agents discovered four sewing machines that they claimed were not on the inventory.  With that they suspected us of smuggling in supplies for profit.  They 'tabled" the container and the customs fees went up to $3,000!  However, a change in personnel and a couple of key contacts gave us a second chance, and when the 40 foot container arrived January 30 the total cost including tariffs, fees and delivery was less than $270.  Thanks for your prayers!!  As you can see in the below pictures, many joyful children received their Christmas boxes which also had the Gospel.

Christmas Box Pictures - (Click on the pictures below for a larger view)