“What do you do with this?”  Mikey asked.

“You put it on your hand and catch a baseball with it.”  Maria said, as she helped unload another load of Christmas toys and gifts for the children and their moms and dads on the Yakama reservation in White Swan, Washington. 

“You catch a baseball with it?” 

“Yeah, a baseball.  Here’s one in the box.  Let me throw it to you.”  Maria  smiled and backed up.  For the first time, Mikey had a real baseball glove on his hand and a new friend to toss him the ball. 

For little Mikey, a ten year old Native American, living on the reservation, he had been introduced to a whole new and exciting world with the gift of a baseball glove and ball. 

You see, the gifts that we distributed at Christmas were given by people like you who had the compassion and generosity to write a check and send a gift to help Indian people like the Yakama, Tulalip, Nez Perce and Lakota-Sioux.   The gifts ranged from home-made hats, scarves, mittens and quilts; to grocery boxes, winter jackets, box springs, mattresses and Bibles to cars and trucks that have been donated to us.  What a blessing to be able to deliver these gifts on your behalf and see the joy and appreciation in the eyes of these wonderful people. 

Some would dismiss a baseball glove and ball as trivial, but for a ten year old boy who didn’t know what it was, it meant the world.  As the Indian people say, “it’s the evidence!”  Yes, it’s the evidence that someone cares and someone loves and someone gives.  Thank you, dear friend, for helping us make a difference in the lives of Native Americans.  Without your help we could never do this ministry and tell the story of God’s love, acceptance and forgiveness. 

May this New Year be filled with God’s richest blessing and may 2008 be your friend!

Sincerely,

Rick McPherson, Team Leader

“As a child of God, prayer is like calling home, everyday!”