Christmas post

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isa 7:14

Blessed Christmas, one and all!

'Twas the night before Christmas . . ..

Time to put Hilarious Givers aside for a few hours. We took delivery of an 18-wheeler with lots of nutritious food for the kids yesterday. Our friends from Gleanings for the Hungry really came through, and Miramar Transportation was there to step in and get the goodies.
We pause to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, surrounded by all the abundance this God-blessed country has to offer. But the greatest gift is that of giving. There are lots of kids who will enjoy the season a lot more because of the generous hearts of those who read this Blog. Nobody wants children to go to bed hungry or cold; you, gentle readers, have done something about it!

Thank you one and all, have a blessed Christmas!

Judd
Judd@HilariousGivers.org

Scurrying around - or 'Tis the season

Things seem to be heading for a climax.
Debra and I are in the final preparation stages for celebrating Christmas with kids and grandkids - going absolutely nuts wrapping, planning, etc. Never seems to be enough time.
In the middle of it all comes a phone call - transportation is available, an empty 18 wheeler is headed south from the Bay Area. Do we have anything that needs transported? A couple of quick phone calls, and 'Praise the Lord!' 10 pallets (or more) will be ready at Dinuba when the truck gets there. And part of it is a donation we had to say 'no thanks' to last week because we couldn't pay for handling.
So, while we enjoy our abundance here in SoCal, God is gently leading us to sharing with needy kids in Mexico by filling our warehouse with nutritious food. I shouldn't be suprised, but I am continually amazed at how it works out following His plan!
Gotta run - phone's ringing.

Here it starts.

O.K. I'm being dragged inexorably into the 21st century.

Starting a Web Log. Or, in the vernacular, a 'Blog'. Sounds like something on the sidewalk you avoid stepping in.

How 'bout we call it a 'celebration' instead?

Imagine that you felt led to reach out and help a hungry child. A child who lives just a short distance from where you live, except this kid sleeps in the dirt at night, or curled up in a doorway. Not too far from the city dump, because that's where she's going in the morning for breakfast. Or perhaps she is a little more fortunate, and has a tortilla in the morning. Corn meal. Lard. Salt. That's it.

But continuing with our imagination, we're touched to help feed this precious child. And the food we're going to feed her is not even food we've paid for, it's given to us for the kids.

Now, if you accepted that invitation, if you took that donated food and filled the empty stomach of a hungry child, you'd feel pretty good about yourself, wouldn't you?

Multiply that good feeling by 4,000 kids, and by 365 days of the year. Now how do you feel?

That's EXACTLY how Debra and I feel while fulfilling our calling to Hilarious Givers. That's what we mean by finding fulfillment in our lives by giving with wholehearted joy. That's what St. Paul meant when he said 'The Lord loves a cheerful (hilarious) giver'.

You're welcome to join the adventure! Follow this Blog celebration during the months to come, check out our website (http://www.hilariousgivers.org/ - shameless plug), get on our mailing list. Pray for us. Volunteer to help. If you can't volunteer, write a check. But share with us the pure joy that comes from selfless giving.

Blessings to you all!
Judd

NINOS DE NATIVIDAD, Maneadero, Baja Mexico December 19th 2009


How lucky are we?

Well, it’s that time of year again, the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season. We, Hilarious Givers, awoke early Saturday morning to travel south across the US Border into Mexico with our church group and other caring people for the event” Ninos De Natividad” which our church holds as an annually. It’s a big event for everyone.

How lucky are we? Funny you should ask.

Spend a day with the Mixteco Indians in Maneadero, MX, at an orphanage, or with the children working in the fields and you’ll soon realize how lucky we are. No, I take that back, you’ll recognize how “Blessed” we are.

Picture your life with no running water, having to use a communal “out house” which consist of a hole in the ground, no toilet paper, sleeping on the ground, in a hut made out of blankets, cardboard and some blue plastic tarps if you’re lucky.

Speaking of luck, if you are lucky enough to have something to cook, let’s see, you would get a fire started…on the ground of course with some sticks or what ever you have to burn.
You bathe in the dirty water you washed your dirty clothes in or your cooking utensils in. Life is not easy for the Mixteco Indians.

So for a few hours a group of Americans pull together, load our vehicles up, crossing the International Border with thousands of toys, some clothing, food. We'll provide live music, give them a hot meal and a message that God loves them.


Then we head back to the United States, wait on line sometimes for many hours to cross the US Border, Ugh! We finally make it home, and the kitchen light is burnt out, or the toilet bowl clogs, or it rains…

So how Lucky or Blessed are we?

Let’s see, we drove in a pretty comfy vehicle to Maneadero, Mexico and the views were spectacular. We have a place to call home, clean running water, electric, cars, phones, televisions, computers, we don’t have to work in fields with our babies tied to our back for hours on end (although it may feel that way at times!), we have child labor laws and the list goes on.

So once again I ask; how Lucky or Blessed are we?

Next time you think you have it so bad, think of those poor Mixteco Indians, the Orphans, the 2 or 3 year olds working in the fields, the homeless, the Seniors which have been cast away in Mexico, better yet, go with us on our next venture into the Land of the Poor and I guarantee you this experience will definitely change your life, hopefully forever! I know my life has been changed.

Just doing his work,
Debra
Debra@HilariousGivers.Org