Christmas Comes Alive - Part 2

Joanna Dimon

For the last four years, we’ve enjoyed hosting a large Christmas event for about 100 children from low-income families in our village on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico. This year, our volunteers from The Family International requested sponsorship from the corporate office of HEB grocers to host this ever-growing Christmas party.

HEB collaborated with us last year to sponsor bottled water for the firemen and local evacuees when huge wildfires swept through our area for an entire week. So HEB remembered us as “the missionaries who help others” and were very happy for the new project idea. They said they had been searching for a needy area and event that they could help during the Christmas season. So we immediately began to plan and delegate and it all came together just beautifully.

Our volunteers provided a one-hour show with our lively teen band singing upbeat Christmas songs the children could dance to. Next, we performed a meaningful play of the story of Christmas, using the Christmas “Treasure Attic” DVD story. Every performer was dressed in colorful, professional costumes donated by a local party store, including a tall, bright Christmas tree outfit to dance to the cute song, “I’d Like to Be a Christmas Tree”.

HEB kindly donated all the sandwiches, drinks and two large, beautifully decorated cakes. The event was held in a neighborhood park.

The HEB staff requested the name of each mother and the names, ages and gender of each child attending. They carefully prepared a beautifully wrapped gift for each person, which they presented personally as they called out each name. They requested that we have all attendees present their “ticket” to enter and attend the event, so everything was well organized and planned. We were touched to see these very special gifts presented to each and every person! Obviously many HEB staff people had personally shopped and purchased their gifts for these humble village folks. All who attended said it was the very best Christmas event they had ever seen!

Special thanks to Activated Ministries for donating such beautiful Christmas materials, so that not only did the mothers each receive a Christmas Activated magazine, but all 100 children also received activity books, story books, memory game sets, large cardboard puzzles, Christmas music CDs and beautiful color tracts. Each of these special gifts promotes strong Christian and moral values that we are confident will strengthen and encourage these children during the Christmas season and beyond.