Just a few weeks ago we had the honor of bringing in a new little girl to our partner home, La Ola. Feeling tired, scared, and alone, she had no idea what to expect out of this new girls’ home that she was being sent to.
Wide-eyed, she walked up to Becky, the home director at La Ola and asked her one simple question: “Do you have Christmas here?”
In our world, Christmas is something that comes consistently every single year. We get excited as the leaves start to change and the weather cools, looking forward to another cozy holiday season. We make travel plans and wish lists and watch all our favorite old Christmas movies.
But for most of the kids that we serve, Christmas isn’t assured. It doesn’t come year after year. Many years they don’t unwrap presents or treasure time with their families close together. So early on we decided that one of our biggest days of the year at Marked would be our Christmas celebration with our kids. We decided that as far as it depends on us, these kids will always have Christmas. They’ll always unwrap a gift. They’ll always feel the warmth of family.
I checked the numbers the other day and almost fell into shock. Last year we gave 1,000 gifts. This year we’re on track to give over 2,000. In just one year we’ve seen so many families transformed, communities built, and partners forged that we’ve been able to literally multiply our efforts and celebrate Christmas times TWO. This year, every child in our community will receive a gift.
From toys to clothes to new underwear to books, we’re going to lavish these kids with gifts because they need to know that they are worthy of it, and they need to know about the gift of Christmas. They need to know that Jesus came as an infant for them. Because they’re special and loved and seen.
This Christmas, we are honored to invite you to join with us and contribute to our Marked Christmas Celebration. We’re going big this year, because that’s the kind of love that Jesus gives. Because no child should have to ask, “Do you have Christmas here?”
