Last fall, when our pastor visited Haiti, Pastor Gilbert mentioned that the parents were sometimes reluctant to send their children to church because they did not have nice clothes for them to wear. That is hard for us Americans to even conceive of. Not enough clothes? We have so many clothes that for many of us it is a yearly event to go through our closets to take the old clothes to the thrift store so there will be room for the new clothes coming in. Even those of us who shop at thrift stores tend to have too many “nice clothes.”
So we decided to have a clothing drive for the children of Carrefour Poy. A group of men were planning a trip to build a roof on the church in Carrefour Poy, and we wanted to take advantage of this trip to send clothes along for the kids (when you travel internationally, you get one suitcase included for free.) Because of Easter and other special events in our church, we did not even announce the clothing drive until three weeks before the guys were to leave on their construction trip to Haiti! But our church (Grace Fellowship of Amador County) responded with the great generosity that they are know for.
A couple of days before departure, Wendy and I sorted through all the clothes that had been brought. So many pretty new dresses, and lots of cute shirts and shorts–I wish we had counted the outfits that we were able to send with the guys. We do know that we loaded two giant duffel bags full of clothes, and the official weight was 100 pounds of clothing!
Wendy and I are planning to travel to Carrefour Poy at the end of September, and we plan to hold another clothing drive then, with a special emphasis on shoes! So as you get ready for school at the end of summer, remember the kids in Carrefour Poy. Watch for special sales, and if your child has outgrown their shoes before they wore them out, save them for us.
Women in Carrefour Poy helped to sort the clothes!
Happy kids leaving with their new clothes!
The Bridge 