The little girl came into church with her two brothers and her two older cousins. I noticed she was shivering, and that her hoodie looked pretty threadbare. The weather has turned for the colder, and it’s only supposed to get worse over the next three months. It struck me suddenly that for all of the work we were doing as a church, that it still felt like we weren’t doing enough. But what could we do when the kids don’t have coats… when suddenly there are dozens of them?

Our little church has changed mightily over the last two years, and even more dramatically over the last three months. You can argue about the reasons but a lot of it has to do with a woman named Kathy.

Kathy has a deal with the kids in her neighborhood: if they meet her at the playground at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, she’ll get them to church. A year ago, five kids were showing up. In the last two months… twenty to thirty of them show up at a time. From dual-working parent homes, from single-parent homes, from grandparent homes, from bunking-with-a-cousin homes. They come hungry, and we feed them. They come searching, and we try to point out the answers. They come without Bibles, and we provide Bibles. They come without hope of Christmas, and we’re applying to Toys for Tots!

But what about coats for dozens of kids, just the ones we know about, forty to fifty kids?

I lay awake last night and I wondered, if someone reading this today would email or message me, and go “I know who you should talk to.”** Or if five people would read it and go “I have some Christmas money I want you to buy a coat for a kid with.” Or if someone in one of the five countries that reads this blog every week would start a mission to raise coats or food or whatever for the kids in their neighborhood. [Even if you can’t do something, please share this…]

So I wrote this down, and I’m praying over it. Praying that God will use it, and that God will make a miracle out of our problem opportunity. This year, I’m praying for Christmas miracles.

I’m praying that we’ll find coats for the kids of the neighborhood.

I’m praying that we’ll raise the resources for turkey dinners for these families.

I’m praying that we’ll qualify for Toys for Tots.

I’m praying that God would introduce his son Jesus to someone’s heart in a whole new way.

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it is vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible.–T.E. Lawrence

Today, I’m day-dreaming.

Update: Thank you to everyone who has written, commented, messaged me, and donated so far. It was pointed out that follow-up info here would be helpful, so here goes [if you have questions, you can leave them here or message me on Facebook.]

Mail a check (or a coat): Blandford UMC c/o Rev. Jacob Sahms, P.O. Box 1686, Petersburg VA 23805 

Electronic Donation: 

Donation of Coats: We have boys and girls, from age one to age 17. You donate it; we’ll put it to use. 

Donations of… : Yes, we’re taking toys, canned goods, and if you’re local, a frozen turkey or chicken you can’t use this Christmas.