THE GOOD NEWS PROJECT (Christmas)
Every mission year ends with the GOOD NEWS PROJECT, our way to make sure as many children as possible know why Jesus was born and what it still means for them today.
Events are held at each of our children's ministry sites, and usually a few additional locations. Each session includes the message of Jesus' birth and how it shows us how much each child is loved.
Of course, while we'd like to think the message is what the children look forward to each year, we also distribute a lot of toys and food to the kids and their families.
During our 2023 Good News events, we distributed about 800 new toys, 136 food baskets, and 400 traditional tamales meals across six locations, as well as to folks in need on the street.
The Good News Project is by far the biggest event of our mission year. In 2021, we added the element of choice by creating toy stores where the children can select what they want from a wide variety of options. Being able to choose what they want is not usually an option for poor folks. In years past, they took whatever toy we handed to them, and every day, they eat whatever we serve, make do with hand-me-down and donated clothes, and make soccer balls out of cartons or soda bottles. The toy stores are a big hit, with the children as well as their parents who are even more thrilled than we are to see the children smile.
