2009-02-12

Gift boxes for soldiers – brownies, socks & prayers

By Stephanie Parker

Bandera United Methodist Church’s “Prayers, Packages & Greetings” (PP&G) ministry began with a Christmas box to their pastor’s son, newly deployed in November 2006. Since then, PP&G has sent 1,200 boxes to more than 500 United States military members and has been commended by the US Army.

The church received the US Army Freedom Team Salute Certificate of Appreciation for its outstanding contributions to the army and to soldiers. One of the first recipients, SGM JP Thagard, submitted the commendation. Organizer Carol Wolf said she was really touched by Thagard’s action. “Still, I will praise God most of all when we don’t have any more boxes to send because all of our boys and girls are back home.”

With troops leaving Iraq, PP&G volunteers are now sending boxes to soldiers in Afghanistan. The three components of the ministry, which has spread into the community and involves people outside the church, are individuals who pray for each recipient, a 30- to 40-member team that bakes brownies and packs boxes and several church members who write letters to each recipient, thanking them for their sacrifice.

Each box contains homemade brownies and cookies. Most of the thank you letters mention the brownies.

Only about 10 percent of the boxes sent are sent either to someone from Bandera County, or to someone with close ties to the county. The ministry expanded after one recipient asked to have his name removed from the list and his buddy’s added because his buddy never received packages from home. PP&G morphed to meet that need. Now a “buddy box” is included in the recipient box for the soldier to share.

Wolf explained that themed packages are sent four to five times a year to share God’s love with soldiers on various holidays.
“We pack fun and prayers into every box. For example, when we did the ‘Fish’ theme, we included sardines and gummy worms.
Because it’s winter in Afghanistan and one soldier wrote that they needed socks, we sent socks, hot sauce, Tabasco and hot chocolate,” she said. “We’ even did a ‘Cowboy Christmas’ theme. Bandera may get an influx of soldiers. We told them that Bandera’s official uniform was blue jeans and boots!”

Wolf added. “We get up to 40 volunteers packing boxes and we tell them to tuck a prayer into every box. We ask them to pray for the military person whose box they have packed. We’ve had soldiers tell us that they know that prayer makes a difference on the battlefield. We’ve never lost a soldier. We had one that was seriously wounded and we continued praying for him until he recovered.”

Valentine Boxes from PP&G have already headed out across the globe. Along with the commendation from the army, Bandera United Methodist Church received a special Christmas present. The 1st Battalion 8th US Cavalry S2 Shop, the first to receive gift boxes from PP&G, sent a framed autographed picture of their unit and an acknowledgement that they could count on receiving a box from Bandera on every holiday.

A Bandera soldier from a different unit responded to PP&G with a wry sense of humor, requesting the inclusion of pictures of Bandera’s cheerleaders and dance team members in his next package. Another soldier asked for nothing for himself, but coveted prayers for the family of a buddy of his who was killed in action.

Bandera United Methodist Church recognizes the military in a display in the lobby that includes a prayer tree for the addition of names or the selection of the name of a soldier for whom to pray, as well as pictures of the soldiers who are supported through the ministry. Thank you letters are also collected and showcased.

Wolf said that while the church received a certificate of appreciation, the entire community earned it. Art classes at Bandera High School design and hand construct Christmas cards for the soldiers. Other citizens and organizations also contribute.

“That generosity,” Wolf said, “has made it possible for PP&G to grow beyond our doors and touch the lives of so many soldiers away from home and loved ones.”

For more information on donating or volunteering, call the church office between 9 am and 1 pm at 830-796-3849.