Thanks to members of Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) missions organizations, Christmas continues to come early for North American missionaries.
Since 1927, WMU has partnered with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) to provide Christmas in August for NAMB missionaries by providing them with supplies needed for their ministries.
NAMB supplies the list of Christmas in August missionaries and their identified needs so that Mission Friends, GAs, Children in Action, Acteens, and others can collect and send the requested items.
One of the Christmas in August missionaries is in North Carolina.
Charles Reed of Greater Cleveland Baptist Association is requesting items be donated to help ministries in that area.
“In the current economic climate we are delighted to get the resources we requested,” Reed said. With 81 churches “working in concert” to meet the needs of the community, Reed said it “is icing on the cake to get Christmas in August.” One church group from Tennessee came on a recent Thursday night and gave the ministry a shower on Friday morning before feeding lunch to street people.
“Mission groups want to know what the needs are and how the resources will be used,” Reed said. A recent block party at the association office in Shelby fed hamburgers and hot dogs to people as well as provided grade-appropriate bookbags with supplies to children whose parents had applied earlier.
Once collected, these items are mailed by church groups to the missionaries who use them to expand their ministries in the communities they serve.
A complete list of Christmas in August NAMB missionaries, including names, addresses and needs lists, can be found at www.namb.net.
Reed’s requested items: children’s socks, children’s underwear, school supplies (for all ages); toothpaste and toothbrushes; combs and hairbrushes; washcloths; socks for men and women; toboggan caps; Bibles (adult and children’s editions); toiletry items; LifeWay gift cards to purchase Bibles. Contact Reed, Greater Cleveland Baptist Association, 1175 Wyke Rd., Shelby, NC 28150; (704) 482-3472; [email protected].
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Gable, a student at the University of Alabama, is a summer intern in the WMU communications office.)