HEIKE ODAY

My Not-So Crafty Story

Why would you say ‘not-so crafty’? Well, see, because my story is about other people to be crafty. A few years ago, I took over the promotion for a worldwide charity collection at our small church. We filled shoe boxes, you know the cardboard boxes you get when you buy a pair of shoes. We filled them with toys and clothes and some hygiene items for children in other countries. Then, the non-profit organization Samaritan’s Purse would collect and ship them, seriously all over the world, from anywhere in Africa, Central and South America, through India and Russia. The recipients are children between the ages of 2 and 14, often living in orphanages. Some of the ones who live in small and remote villages are the main caretakers of their families. For many of these children it will be the only gift they will ever receive in their lives, the only not hand-me-down items but brand new and picked out just for them.