Greetings Dear Friends from The HOPE.

Please enjoy the following Mission of Hope Christmas Delivery Update from our MOH friend Judith Mynatt. A special thank you to all of those at Central Baptist Bearden that helped make our delivery programs so special.

Sincerest Regards;
Emmette Thompson, Executive Director – Mission of Hope
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Our Church Members were involved in many ways at the Mission Of Hope.

They were giving generously of their time and energy working at the Mission of Hope Warehouse packing toys, clothing and food, loading trucks, answering phones, and sorting the donations placed in the Blue Barrels. Our members provided lunch to the volunteers at the warehouse on December 4.

At our church, you filled multiple Blue Barrels to overflowing levels with toys, clothing and food. Members prepared gift bags for each member of our schools’ staffs. Our members purchased 123 pairs of shoes and packages of socks for the students. You provided clothing and coats for three high school students and 12 children too young to attend school or homebound due to illness.

The CBCB Sewing Ministry provided a dozen quilts for toddlers. Then on December 12 and December 19 many of you left Knoxville before daylight to deliver toys, food, hygiene and clothing to the children at Mountain View and Hayes Lewis Elementary Schools in Leslie County, Kentucky. In addition to the indispensable volunteer members, our church staff gave their time and talents to assist with the deliveries. Dr. Paul Magyar, Stephen Aber, and Laura Peper worked with Jeni Lamm, Diana Powers and Martha Barber to present the message of the true meaning of Christmas at Mountain View School. Mark & Doris Moreland gave a used keyboard to make a 7th grade student’s Christmas wish come true.

We felt your prayers with us at all time and were grateful to know that we were in your thoughts during travel. We want to express our appreciation to DeRoyal Industries and their driver Jamie Gibson and to Ferguson Enterprises and their driver Roger for providing delivery trucks to our schools, our church’s Missions Committee for approving $589.80 for volunteers’ travel expenses, and New Balance Store of Knoxville located at 8027 Kingston Pike for donating shipping boxes.

Remembrances from volunteers and students:

• Ray Strobo wrote, “Two happenings made a great impression on me. A little boy (perhaps 7 or 8 years old)–picked out a toy for himself pretty quickly. He then looked over all of the displays for a while. He went to the girls\’ section and picked out a boxed set of toiletries. \”This is for my mom,\” he said. I told him I was sure that she would love it. He put his selection in his bag with a big smile on his face. Another little boy picked out his two toys and as we were moving to the exit line, we passed the toys for the younger children. \”I have a little brother,\” he quietly said. I asked if his brother went to school there and he said that he did not. I asked if he would like to pick out something for his brother. He said that he would, and did. And the smile on his face was bigger for that toy than for anything he had picked out for himself. I am sure that we all experienced the truth that \”it is more blessed to give than it is to receive\”. These two children modeled that truth extremely well. The Spirit of Christmas is alive and well at Mountain View, thanks to the great effort called Mission of Hope.\”

• Jackie Johnson shared, “We had a great trip again this year, wonderful toys, amazing elves at an awesome school (Hayes Lewis). Such a joy to see the children’s faces and smiles.

• Brandon wrote, “Thank you Ray and Mission of Hope for helping me this Christmas for the toys probably cost a lot of money to help us.”

• Jonathan wrote, “Thank you for every toy and gift you give people and do not want anything in return.”

• Josh wrote, “Hey thanks for the presents. It means a lot that you gave us some presents. My parents don’t have a lot of money so it meant a lot to me that you gave us those presents.”

• Alex shared, “Thank you so much for everything you have done. You all are some of the sweetest people I have ever met. Have a good Christmas. Thank you”

• Jordan wrote, “Thank you for the gifts. I like the basketball and the fishing pole.”

• Searra wrote, “Thank you for singing and the play and for the stuff you gave us. Thank you, Love Searra.”

• From Zach, “Thank you Mission of Hope. We hope you come back.”

Thanks For Helping Extend The Hope Central Bearden Friends