Paying It Forward: Helping "His Hands Bear Ministry"
The senior group at our church (Christ's Church at Mason) has a very neat outreach program called "His Hands Bear Ministry". Once a month they get together and make dozens and dozens of little bears (about a foot tall from toe tip to top of their heads!).
Each bear is truly unique! While the shape may be uniform, the ladies put a lot of creativity into making each bear different, with a variety of fabrics, perhaps a vest or tie, maybe even a hat!
Now you may wonder what happens to these bears? Well, they're donated to cancer patients at local hospitals to help give them comfort! From children to adults, hopefully to let them know that God and strangers DO care about what happens to them as they go through such a challenging time! Pastor Tom has read letters from these patients back to the church thanking them for the bears, that they DO truly make a difference getting through such a tough time in their lives!
And for our part, well that's really pretty minor. The program is self-funding. Periodically the seniors put the bears out "for adoption". The bears are put out on the tables before services and for $5 you get to name the bear of your choice...and there is always a bear or two that "speaks" to us...and the donation continues the cycle of bears :) Many thanks to the seniors who volunteer their time and creativity to this ministry!
A quote from our friend in North Carolina:
"I do not share my stories of paying it forward for recognition. I share them so that others might be inspired to do what they can, when they can, where they can. No more, no less." Tish Lloyd, North Carolina REALTOR®
Paying It Forward,
Liz and Bill aka BLiz
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