Wow, what a year. Right when you begin to tell God what kind of Weather you need to make this thing fly, he throws a wicked rain storm at ya and says....."Ha, I'm in control remember???". Yes indeed, now I remember. Our day was spent gathering boxes, blankets, food items, books, stuffed animals and all kinds of other goods. All this in the pouring rain. We worried so much that people (So. Cal people) would be afraid to brave the rain and and wind to help us hand out gifts. God is good. He brought lots of people, all bundled up and ready to go! We went out and delivered to over 65 homes! We had food baskets, blankets and gifts for each home as well as stuffed animals. Because of the generosity of a few of our members, we also had 20 razors (the rideable ones) and 10 ripsticks (like skateboards only harder to ride). The kids who earned those were stoked when the received one. Even Santa joined us to bring some extra special cheer to a women's shelter here in Bellflower. The group that brought gifts there came back touched by what they had experienced. The joy on the kids' faces shone through in so many ways. The highlight of the night was when we went to one house and they were "plugged into" another house for electricity. They didn't have much and they were just amazed at the generosity that came their way that night. This night is not about us at all. I often feel guilty because in the midst of it, we receive such a special blessing. This night is about God's love being poured out on others! The rain that night did not spoil our night or diminish the joy one bit! It actually made it a really cool night and gave us a memory we won't soon forget. The art of giving is an exquisite design of many shapes and colors joining together to form one beautiful piece of Christmas! We Celebrate that this season! | 
