Thursday, November 20, 2008

Shopping for others


The group
Originally uploaded by sraabs.
The youth weekend in Eindhoven was titled "How to survive with/without "thingy". The last bit was a play on words (which almost works in English) showing how much we need Jesus and don't need "things". This weekend is spent helping us put into practice what we learn about sharing. We head into the city to buy gifts to put in shoeboxes to send to kids who usually don't get any presents.

The interesting thing for us is that this is held on the weekend that Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) arrives in the Netherlands. For some he arrives on a boat from Spain (didn't you know that?) - and so will arrive in the harbor (in Rotterdam for example), but he also arrives on his horse. He is surrounded by his helpers. In this case there was a whole band of "black Petes".

After getting everything in the boxes and making them look special, we spent some time thinking about what was really important to us. Jesus says: Your heart will be where your treasure is. What are we really holding as our treasure. I was extremely encouraged by these young people and their desire to share and learn.

1 comment:

  1. "Your heart will be where your treasure is. What are we really holding as our treasure."
    An inspiring thought, Scott. As we share physical gifts in the spirit of Christmas and brighten other peoples day, may we also share Jesus and brighten their life.

    Thank you for spending time with the youth, encouraging and teaching them.

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