Christmas Box Giving 2013- Our 7th year!!!

Many of you have participated with us before in the Christmas Box Giving.  It is that time of year once again! 

 And we are extra excited to offer USA shipping this year!  

Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood

6775 Alvarado Road Unit 32

San Diego, CA  92120

That greatly reduces the cost of sending the boxes for you all and will hopefully allow more people to participate meaning more boxes to put into the hands of the children here.

For those of you who have never been a part of this opportunity, or those of you who have and would like to once again, I'll have all the details posted below.

In a nut shell, what you do is put together a box (or bag or plastic container or whatever else you would like to use) of goodies to be given to a child here.  American candy, school supplies, small toys, toiletries, etc...the Dollar Tree or store like that are a great place to find things to fill the boxes!  After your box is filled and ready, you send it to us and we will pick all the boxes up shortly before Christmas and give them to the children here.  

With your help and generous giving, we've done this ministry for several years now and I can't begin to tell you what a blessing it has been to so many.  For many children, it is the only Christmas gift they have ever received.  Many of the children will see me throughout the years and either show me or remind me of things that they've received in their boxes that they still use to this day.  Several children still have photos or letters of the family that sent them their box.  It is so very special to them and the ultimate goal is to share the precious gospel of Jesus Christ with them...the One who loves them so very much.

One of the "funnest" parts of this is that as we pass out the boxes, we try to take a photo of each child who receives them.  Then, I post those pictures right here on the blog!  You can see "your" box in the hands of the child who received it.

Feel free to share this opportunity with your family, friends, neighbors, church, school/home school group, co-workers...with anyone who you think would be interested in sharing God's love with a child this Christmas through giving.  
If you have a blog, please feel free to share there too!  

We will be picking up the boxes on December 9th, so please have them sent no later than December 1.

Here's the address again and be sure to read all the details below.

Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood

6775 Alvarado Road Unit 32

San Diego, CA  92120

If you have any questions, feel free to email us and may the Lord bless you richly.

DETAILS!!!!

For the past six Christmas seasons, we have been able to bless a number of children in our town and the surrounding ranches with a special gift from many of you. What a joy it has been to not only give these children a shoe box or bag filled with wonderful treats, but by being a blessing in this way to their families, have an open door to share with them about the One who gave us the greatest gift of all!  

This Christmas, we would again like to reach out to the families of our town by giving their children a Christmas Box. We want to not only show them the love of the Saviour through this tangible way, but go back and tell them the wonderous gospel that so many have still never heard.

Each time we have done this, it has been a tremendous blessing to the people. We've been able to hand out between 50 and 200 boxes each year!  Every box that we receive is placed into the hands of a Mexican boy or girl. For many of them, it will be the only Christmas gift they will receive.

 We will pass out whatever boxes we receive and the more the better! And we would love to have your help! It is truly more blessed to give than receive! If this is something in which you would like to have a part, here are some guidelines:

*Boxes should be shoebox size (you could either send a real shoebox or send a plastic container with a lid that is approximately the same size; the advantage of the plastic container is that the child/family can use it for something later)

*For Shipping Purposes, some people prefer to send a bag. Each year we handed out backpacks, paper gift bags (which were protected by being wrapped in plastic wrap so they wouldn't break open in shipping), and cloth hand bags as well. When we were up north, our girls were given some cloth hand bags for their birthdays that were purchased at the dollar store.

*Some years we had  people send a large quantity of an item(s) to be handed out with or in addition to the boxes (we've received Spanish New Testaments, Spanish Christmas Coloring Books, Stuffed Animals, Blankets/quilts, hats). If you are interested in sending something like that, just email us and let us know! :)

*If you would like to specify "Christmas Box for a Boy" or "Christmas Box for a Girl", please mark that somewhere on the package.  We will be handing them out to children of all ages, so variety is welcome!

Now for the fun part! Ideas of what to include in the boxes!If you are on a tight budget and would like to give, please know that anything will be appreciated.  The children here do not have much at all and even small treats mean so much.  If you have a dollar store or the like in your area, that would be a great place to go!

*Toys: a small stuffed animal, a ball, a yo-yo, whistle, picture book, a puzzle, a game, play dough, coloring book etc...

*School Supplies: pencils, pencil box, crayons, felt markers, stickers, notebook, erasers, pencil sharpener, glue etc...

*Toiletries:  soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb or brush, wash cloth, floss, etc...

*Other: American Candy, scarf, a personal letter* or picture drawn for the child, comb or brush, toothbrush, craft, stickers, etc..

Here are things to NOT include:

*Chocolate or any other food that could melt, make a mess or spoil

*Medicine

*Items that could easily break

*Books or music (other than a note book or coloring book)

*Anything liquid that could spill (bubbles, shampoo, ect...)

*Anything that could be dangerous for a small child (marbles, sharp items ect...)

*Clothing other than maybe a scarf or hat as you don’t know what size the child is that will receive your box

Remember to have your box sent by December 1.

Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood

6775 Alvarado Road Unit 32

San Diego, CA  92120

If you have any further questions, feel free to email us (email address at the very bottom of the right side bar). Of course, we plan on taking lots of pictures of the children opening their boxes and will post some on the blog. Wouldn’t it be fun to see a picture of a child opening the box that YOU sent? :)

*Spanish phrases that you could include in a personal note if you would like:

Dios le bendiga– God Bless you

Jesus te ama– Jesus loves you

Feliz Navidad– Merry Christmas

Dios te ama– God loves you

Estoy orando por ti– I am praying for you

Con amor de - With love from