Here is an update from Derek, along with a copy of the email he sent me concerning the care package(s):
Derek in Iraq
Derek on a visit outside the compound
Derek giving to some Iraqi children
Derek being "mobbed" by more children
I wrote to Derek in order to find out what he needed, and if there was anything we could do to help his family. I sent him a copy of the post on FC, and here is his response:
"Thank you so much for having so much interest and concern in helping me. I
am touched and humbled.
"Today I was able to go outside the compound and give some children
powerbars. It was such a thrill to give such needy little ones something
that is so freely given to us. I will attach a picture so you can see the
joy in their hearts.
"In reference to items that I may need, it would be really wonderful to have
some items to give these children: crayons, bouncy balls, stickers, etc.
They would love anything. I looked through the list that you have and every
item would be very useful to me. "Luxury" items are highly valued here,
like: good coffee, interesting/fun foods, etc.
"The address you have will be good for the next several months. As far as
shipping costs are concerned, I think that the APO is in New York. However,
it has to be mailed US mail. This keeps the shipping cost down and assures
that the mail actually makes it to us.
"Again, thank you for what you are doing. I am very encouraged and blessed
that God has put it on your heart to do this. This gives me all the more
motivation and time to focus on sharing the love of Christ with my soldiers.
"God bless you, my friend,
Derek"
I wrote him back again asking if there was anything we could do for his family, but have not heard back as of yet. But you can see that whatever we could send would be a great help to not only him, but also the troops he works with, and some of the Iraqi children as well.
I am very serious about this. I've gotten "verbal" commitments from Jen, Chris and Ruth. Jen is also going to try to drum up some support from work. Anyone else? If we all pitch in, 5 or 10 bucks is all we'd need from everyone, especially if Jen's work helps out. Let me know soon. I plan on sending stuff out NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2005!!! So let me know soon if you can help. Post a quick comment here, or email me when you get a chance. I want to make this great, and have alot of stuff AND LETTERS for Derek, and also others over there. Thanks!
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Our Soldier In Iraq
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6 comments:
Thanks for sharing the pictures! We're all proud of "our soldier".
My sincerest and deepest apologies to Jill. She has also committed to helping out with the packages. I didn't mean to leave you out, J!! I promise!
So, everyone else?! Anything? C'mon - won't anyone else commit something? I was talking to my in-laws after supper, and some good news is that the shipping won't be near as much as I thought. The post office says to ship it as cheap as possible, because the package gets mailed to NY, then the military takes it from there. So I was pleased about that, and that means that we should be able to ship more items. Speak up! Let me know what you can or can't do! Thanks!
Look, I'm not trying to pressure anyone into doing anything that they can't do. If you can't afford anything - that's cool. I can understand that. Really. I just want this to be something that all of us have a part in - something that we can say we did as a group, not just one or a few. A card. A letter. A few pictures. Notes from your kids to some Iraqi kids. Whatever you can do, end of story.
The boxes go out March 18th, and I'll not bug you again or make any more posts about it. I'll not ask you to make a commitment on here, and I apologize if that made anyone feel uneasy. No pressure, no judgments, no nagging - just whatever you can do.
The End
There are several ways you can send something, Sue. You could send it to Jen if you want - she's getting some stuff together; you could send it to me - I'll be packaging the boxes up and shipping them out; or, you could always send it to Derek directly if you wanted. His military address was in the last address list that was sent out. Keep in mind, though, that you'll need to fill out a customs declaration, but after the trip to the Dominican, you probably already knew that. However you'd like to handle it is fine. Thanks for stepping up, Sue! And if you need the addresses again, let me know.
Do you guys take PayPal? Seems a little inefficent for me to ship stuff from Texas to New Hampshire, then reship it to Iraq.
I'm in! Jen and I will send some stuff to you at your house. Thanks for allowing us to help.
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