As I attested in an earlier post it is mostly grandmothers and mothers raising the children of those locked in.

And, so our interaction is mostly with women.

 

A Big Brother & Twin Sisters

About 3 years ago, Wifey and I drove about an hour to go drop off this particular gift.  The lady and I had made arrangements over the phone a couple of days earlier and I felt I needed a feminine persuasion to lighten the mood and draw us closer.

We arrived and were let in.  Met the twin granddaughters and the grandson.  Wifey was able to lubricate the conversation the way women are able to and it was really the best exchange that year.

As I looked at the drop offs this year, I found one that appears likely destined to the same family.

Arranged for a drop off.  Upon arriving was told that gifts were only for the twins as their older brother had aged out at nineteen.

Was sure to leave a gift cert for him.

 

Connection Made through Facebook

There is so much cost to having someone on the inside; the family loses that income. Additionally, they have to set aside tiny amounts and place them in the provision Accounts of those inside.

With sky high rental costs, often our targeted demographics have to move quite a bit.

Addresses and Phone number change midstream.

As I looked at the beautiful gifts purchased by our congregation, I knew I could not leave a particular set of gifts undelivered.

Yes, sometimes we hold gifts for years thereafter.

But, not this one.

They were packaged and paired for two sisters.

I tried reaching their mother through the phone number that we were provided, but “NO GO”.

I thus took to Facebook and tried to find the name.  The last name is common.  But, not the first.

Was able to locate her.

Sent her a Facebook text.  Did not hear back from her till the following Monday.

The next Sunday was a bright and sunny day;  just the right day with a thin winter air that is easy to walk and dress lightly in.

Dropped off the gifts and caught a glimpse of the beautiful toddler girls.

 

 

The lady that Adopted Two Children

Last year I met Ms. R.  The gift was for her grandson.

On the day I attempted to make the delivery she was out of town.

And, so she asked us to just put it in the mail.

Trusted her grandson with gift certs.

This year, our Church, again drew her.

I called her and we quickly deepened conversation into familiar spirits.

I asked if it was OK to pray and she obliged.

She continued that she has a Government Job that pays handsomely and that she does not need help buying gifts for her grandson.

But, he likes to receive something from his Dad.

She insisted that she has to recompenses us.  And, she will do so by adopting two of our kids.

As her son’s Angel was picked by a fellow Government worker as Ms. R, I explained that she is picking a worthy Angel that did not just need a present,  but prayers as well.

A couple of weeks ago, Ms.  R and I resumed our conversation.  I asked if she is is still interested in adopting the Angels and she replied Yes.

In between I lost my phone, but she persisted in calling me.

The first call I received upon getting a replacement phone was hers.

She had moved and we arranged to meet at a close by train station.

Dropped off the gifts and instead of given us two gift certs back, she gave us three.

What an exchange, gave one received three.

 

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett

There was a family with two girls, One girl wanted the book “The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett” and the other “Bow & Arrow“.

We had a church member deliver the gifts with a replacement for the book.

A few minutes later Ms.  Denise came by with the Book.  She was not happy that we had exchanged out her gift.  She had placed so much into it and she even added a “Heart Pendant“.

The next weekend called the lady and made arrangement to drop off the book.  She hesitated fervently that the gifts were already delivered.  I said Yes, but the delivery was missing the one item the daughter explicitly requested.

As I delivered the gift she confessed that her granddaughter was not so happy that we did not oblige her initial gift request.

The grandmother tried to explain things away by saying that her Dad only has an opportunity to give us a gender and an age and we just were not able to get her what she wanted.

The young girl insisted that we asked her for what she wanted and she was affirmative with her request.  Grandmother promised to take her to the bookstore after Christmas.

I was happy that Ms. Denise followed through.

Wrong Address

There was gifts destined for the Central Valley.   One of the gifts needed to be splitted off between grandparents and a mother.

The mother called and said the gifts for the grandparents never arrived.  I replied that we were done for the year and we were unable to make up the difference.

She pleaded with me, but I was unrelenting.

About a week later I finally made it to the mailbox.  And,  God behold, the parcel was in there waiting for me.

I called her back and apologized for my unbelief.  She shared with me that they know the intended street very well and that she and grandmother drove back and forth a few times and know that the address I had did not exist and that she knew that I will receive the package back eventually.