Hi Priced: Operation: Christmas Child

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Operation: Christmas Child

Every year for several years I have put together a shoebox for Operation: Christmas Child. It's always felt good to know that I could help make a poor little child who has nothing, smile an extra big smile on Christmas day. Last year has been the greatest so far! I took my 3 year old son shopping for the shoebox gifts and he was SO excited. It was the first year he understood what we were doing. He decided he would fill a box for a boy his age and I would fill a box for a girl. He put everything he liked into the cart and was very disappointed when I explained that we couldn't fit ALL the toys into a shoebox, especially a $200 two foot dinosaur. He sorted out his favorites and we got creative to fit it all in. It was so amazing to see how excited he was. I was a little afraid that he would think he could keep it all when we got home but he knew exactly what we were doing and it warmed my mother's heart to see him share the love of Christ and the spirit of Christmas. If you've never done this before I highly recommend it! Especially if you have children; what a way to teach them how demonstrate compassion. For more stories on what Operation: Christmas Child has meant to others click the button below. For more information on how to participate or to find a drop off location near you click on the title of this post.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Micah Gower Foundation

Micah was born on October 18, 2007 with a very serious congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF),according to Wikipedia, is a congenital heart defect which is classically understood to involve four anatomical abnormalities (although only three of them are always present). It is the most common cyanotic heart defect, representing 55-70%, and the most common cause of blue baby syndrome.

But let me back track a little......okay a lot.

I met Brian Gower on July 5th, 1995. My nickname for Brian quickly became Murphy, because it seemed that everything bad that can happen to a person can and did happen to Brian. Almost every day. We spent a lot of time together and he quickly became the brother I always wanted and needed. He was working at Disneyland, Pizza Hut and delivered a paper route. I never knew him to get more than four hours of sleep at a time. You could never call him lazy and you still can't. He's still a walking Murphy's Law but he stays positive, loves the Lord and lives the life to prove it. He was always taking people in off the street; giving them food and his couch to sleep on. How many times did he hear from me, "Don't do that. You're going to get yourself killed." He is always the first one there if anyone needs help and is one of the most genuine and generous people I know. I remember one time he wasn't going to eat on his lunch break and I asked why. He had given all his money to another co-worker who couldn't pay for lunch.

As it seems to happen with most relationships we drifted apart for awhile. Several years after I was married I decided to do a people search and find my old best friend. He was living in Minnesota and was going to be married. He finally brought his wife to CA and I fell in love with Laila. She always makes me laugh. No one can make laugh like Laila and believe me it takes a lot to make me laugh!! They had an adorable little boy, Aaron, in 2005. And then he became a big brother to Micah. Micah has had several surgeries, is on a respirator, a feeding tube and requires 24 hour nursing care. He will have to have more heart surgeries and his trachea will have to be rebuilt. He has had many other problems and infections. There are, as you can imagine, an overwhelming amount of bills and they have no insurance. Brian and Laila are working very hard to care for their family. Brian sometimes sees his boys for only an hour a day. The Gower family and little Micah need all the help we can give. Please help my very dear friend and brother!!

To make a donation please visit your local Wells Fargo and deposit to the Micah Gower Foundation account#7529071206