Team Gusy: One More

Georgia was starting AWANA this fall, and I was super excited for her. We picked our church, in part, because they offered this biblical program. Since she was a baby, I've longed for her to become a Cubbie and learn to hide God's Word in her heart.

I decided I would also try to help her club. I volunteered to help with check-in. I went to a training meeting at church, ordered a special colored polo to do my job, and signed up for a conference. I honestly didn't need to attend the conference, but knowing our Wednesday nights are wrapped up in AWANA for, oh, about the next decade or so, I figured somewhere down the road I'd be more involved and a conference would help me. If nothing else, some breakout session offerings would help me with my 3's Sunday School teaching.

So I went. There is a strong job/position/club identity to this organization. Think Boy Scouts + Bible. People are Cubby leaders, or Sparks, or TnT...they have the club color on...they take their work seriously (and I'm glad they do).

Me? My line all day was, "Oh, I'm just the check-in lady." It always got chuckles.

The theme for the conference was One More. One More kid in your car to take with you to church, One More prayer said for the children, One More phone call to the parents of a clubber, One More clubber to come to Christ. One More.

It was very convicting. One More doesn't seem like too much to do, now does it?

But where I really heard One More for me was in packing One More Operation Christmas Child shoebox. If you've been around here, you know how much this organization means to me. I packed my first one when I was a senior in college. It has always brought me great joy, sometimes through tears, to pack shoeboxes full of toys and toiletries for children around the globe.

Yet, this year, I had decided not to do any. Seemed like a lot of work and I had about talked myself out it. Then I heard the One More plea from the OCC rep. at the AWANA conference. She made me remember these are not just shoeboxes, these are children. The shoebox is the first of two gifts offered to impoverished young hearts; the second gift is the opportunity to hear that Jesus loves them, that He came to die for them, and that He is coming back for them.

I told God I would pack our two boxes we usually do, and One More.

I visited the OCC table and the lady gave me this tiny shoebox replica! I wish you could see how small and sweet it is. Inside are 52 weekly prayer cards. Being my type A self, I decided I needed to figure out what week of the year we are in before I could begin utilizing them. Am I the only one who does such ridiculousness?!

Several weeks later, I was getting my hair cut and Mary Beth was telling me about her daughter getting a car. I'll make this long story short(er) by saying the daughter has wanted a baby blue Bug for a long time. It just didn't seem to be working out--price was always too high, or the car just wasn't available.

They encouraged her to broaden her interest and soon found themselves driving out to look at a different type of car. They missed their turn, they found a different dealership, it was closed (on a Saturday afternoon?) but had a car on the lot they were interested in so Mary Beth called. The guy was inside and came out. He told them he had something similar back in the shop and so they followed him in. Beside the car he wanted to show them was a BABY.BLUE.BUG.

What they wanted. But not what they came looking for.

Mary Beth's husband asked the price. It was $500 too much. The guy offered to call his partner who had taken in the car and was really the one they'd have to negotiate with. He came back with the EXACT price point they had budgeted.

I know this family loves God, and I know our God loved showing this almost 16 year old just how much He loves her.

Soon after, I moved the tiny little shoebox and decided just to start praying Week 1.

And all I could pray was, "GOD! You are the God of baby blue Bugs. Of course every single box gets to the right child. I am so sorry for forgetting Your hand in the delivery process!"

For the first time, I'm not just packing boxes for kids. I'm not packing boxes for generic kids. I'm packing boxes for the kids God has in mind to receive them. How He has encouraged me so mightily as He has gone before me and brought me to tremendous and amazing deals (because if I haven't mentioned, I love doing this, but it is a stretch for our budget!). I am talking HUGE sales! I'm talking awesome learning things that are not language based so kids in other countries can fully use them. I am talking standing in the line at Wal-Mart with small buckets of sidewalk chalk thinking, "I wish these were 50 cents instead of a $1" and then looking at the receipt later and seeing that they did, in fact, ring up at 50 cents.

I look at this picture and grin. The Lord seems to have an artist girl, a busy bee girl, and sweet little boy (I've never packed a boy box before!!) in mind.