Birthday bash

I don't know about you, but birthdays can be a touchy subject for me. Especially when it comes to my own birthday. This may stem from the fact that I have a couple of traumatic (?) memories associated with my birthdays, like that one time in college when only 1 of my close friends could make it to my birthday dinner, as the rest had to cancel in the last minute... Then again, at least I had a friend who I got to celebrate with. What if my birthday comes and no one even knows about it, and I simply cannot afford to celebrate on my own?

Unfortunately, I think it is safe to assume that this "what if" scenario is a reality for so many people, even in our own region. According to a recent survey, on January 28, 2016 there were 1,059 people who were homeless in the Fairfax-Falls Church community. Children under the age of 18 account for 32 percent (341 persons) who were homeless.

We shared this statistics with the children and had to inform them that homelessness or food insecurity most likely means no birthday cakes or gifts.

Of course, at KidsServe, it is our mission not to just feel sad and sorry for people in need. Instead, we encourage and inspire the children to prayerfully act upon the sorrows of this world. We want to encourage our children to shine in the midst of sadness around us as the Bible says:

If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

Isaiah 58:10

We introduced them to an organization designed to throw birthday parties for lower income children, as is shown in this video interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYIlia4U56s

A comment of the founder really struck me as she mentioned how they strive to "show each children how special they are." This really summarizes the mission of this month's project!

We also showed another video of a homeless man who feels thrilled when a group of strangers celebrated his birthday!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJifDkyyxZ8

I think the children got the point: no matter what the age, we all want to be cared for and celebrated. I believe that this God-created deepest desire to be loved is interwoven in all of our hearts whether we recognize it or not. Birthday celebration is that perfect opportunity for us to display God's love especially to those who do not necessarily get to be celebrated!

We then introduced an organization called Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) that we have the privilege to partner with this month. WFCM does tremendous work in serving the low income families in our region. Ms. Julie Ward from our church has graciously offered her time to give us an overview of them and explained how we can help. Thank you Julie!

This month's mission: to create birthday cake kits for WFCM's clients.

The students decorated birthday bags.

They also hand wrote birthday cards for the recipients.

They also packed the birthday bags with the following:
-cake mix
-aluminum pan
-oil
-frosting
-sprinkles
-decorative gel
-apple cider or chocolate candies
-birthday candles

Clearly, as the photographer of the group, I need to do a better job at capturing the moments better, as this picture only shows maybe half of what we packed...

I had the privilege to deliver all 22 bags to WFCM after the meeting, and my kiddos are looking very proud upon delivering the goods!

Thank you KidsServe members, both students and parents. Let us all pray that the people who receive the bags will feel truly cared for and see God's finger prints all over the bags!

until next time,
In Him,
R&R