July 3, 2005 “The Packing Party”

For nearly three hours this evening, the mission team organized, packed, pulled, pushed, and recorded about 800 pounds of medicine, supplies, T-shirts, shampoo bottles, toothpaste, hats, ankle braces, soap, coloring books, and stuffed animals into 13 large luggage bags in the Stauffer garage. A lot of sweat was dripping. With a 15-minute pizza break in the middle of the evening, the group was refreshed enough to continue writing the lists of items for each bag, numbering and labeling each one, and then weighing each bag to make sure we stayed below the 70-pound limit. The big CCUMC church bus is to come over on Friday to have these bags loaded, and will then be at the church for the team’s arrival Saturday morning. We plan on being on the road to Miami by noon. If all goes as planned, we should be on our bus in Nicaragua by about 9 PM. Why are we doing this? “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me.”

Pam stuffs t-shirts into one of the 13 big bags. Hundreds of t-shirts and stuffed animals were packed.

Madisen and Mackenzie stand with several of the stuffed luggage bags.