Thank you to those from our congregation who donated boxes and items for us to donate at the warehouse.  After training, we sorted boxes by age, collected donations that were given with boxes, and inspected boxes before they were shipped.  It was so good to know that needy children around the world would be getting millions of boxes this year!  We stood next to a girl in an inspection line who was born in Russia.  She lived in an orphanage there where she received an Operation Christmas Child box at the age of 4.  She was so hungry she ate the chapstick!  But she can still remember everything inside that box because it meant so much to her.  She even said the boxes prevented teenagers from committing suicide because they felt like someone cared about them.  Finally, she was adopted into the U.S. where she now helps with OCC at age 17.  God works in amazing ways!

I wasn't there, but I saw these awesome pictures from the young men's camping retreat, and was hoping someone who was actually there could comment on the experience...

The National Outreach Convention in San Diego this last week has left my head spinning.  There's so much to think about!  I feel challenged to consider where God is leading me in ministry.  I feel especially compelled and motivated to move outside of the church and beyond our walls to serve others and share God's love in our community.  I'm not the only one from our young adult group that went, however.  Robby, Robert, and Joel, what did you think?  Any new insights for our group?

The Bible says, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows" (Matthew 11:29-31). 

I saw a sparrow fall today.  Well, not exactly.  I saw a crow die.  He was sitting on a table near Starbucks and many surrounding people kept an eye on him as he struggled to scoot around the table top.  Eventually, a man came by and angrily picked him up by his feet, proceeding to throw the bird into the trashcan.  To the horror of some teenagers near by, the bird was struggling to breathe inside the trashcan, and with bags on their hands, they reached into the trashcan to pull him out.  He seemed pretty loopy from all of the trauma, but they put him into the bushes where he would die with more dignity than having people dump fast food on him in the trashcan.

I know the crow didn't have a soul.  But something about his death was painful.  He was tossed aside by one man without care and rescued by another when it was too late.  I was reminded of our Bible study this morning with the young adult group at church where we discussed the sanctity of life.  This crow is a beautiful part of God's creation, but how much more are WE valued!  So many human lives are also thrown away carelessly, as we discussed this morning.  What does it mean that God has given us life?  Who has the right to take a life?  Search the internet for petitions to sign and send letters to our politicians if you feel as strongly as I do about the sanctity of life.