Magi Project 2006

On December 9, 2006, Cindy Herring, Carol Locke and I (Alisa Merritt) boarded a plane on its way to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Seven hours later, we were greeted at the airport by Jarrod Brown of Mission Lazarus. We spent the next five days traveling around the area of Choluteca distributing thousands of gift boxes to children who would not receive anything else for the holidays.


One of the special children we met was Olbin. Olbin has cerebral palsy and was abandoned by his parents at a very young age. The lady who now raises him said that he had asked her many times for a ball this Christmas. She knew that she would not be able to afford one. Through God’s providence and the efforts of Christians here in the States, Olbin did receive a ball and much more from  brother Mike Arriaga in Houston, TX.


Each day when we arrived at a village church building to distribute the boxes, we were followed by entire families dressed in their best clothing. Many of them walked for over an hour on dirt roads to receive their special gift. As I greeted many of the mothers and grandmothers that had brought their children there, I tried to imagine what it must feel like to know that you would not be able to give your children the gifts you so badly wanted them to have. Then I tried to imagine the feeling of gratitude they must have felt to see their children’s smiles when they received their first gift.


As you make your family’s holiday plans this year, please remember these ladies. Think of the joy you feel when you are able to see your children and grandchildren unwrapping the gifts that you gave them. I challenge you to make room in your plans for these families this year. Allow them the opportunity to feel the joy that your family feels every year.


Church groups, families, and schools nationwide spend countless hours each year assembling these gifts for children they will never meet. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to see the faces of the kids who received that blessing. There are still many children who have not yet been touched by the Magi project. Let’s make it our goal to have another record-breaking year in 2007. If you would like to get involved and need more information, please contact us at (615) 832-2000.

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