Category: Mission Ideas

Mission Ideas, On Mission

Teacher Appreciation Week: Showing our Teachers extra LOVE!

Kimmy

Typically the first week of May is set aside for Teacher Appreciation Week but this week looks so very different this year! My oldest daughter and I were chatting about how we could show love to our teachers despite these differences and we came up with a few ideas that I’ve shared below. We also began to remember and think back on what a great year she has had in Kindergarten. While we are sad that it ended very differently and abruptly, we are also rejoicing for the time together at home, for new ways of learning, and for the sweet and hard moments. We also are rejoicing and so very thankful for all the of the hard work that our teachers have put in for us! They have sent us messages, put together learning packets, posted assignments, called her through Zoom, paraded through our neighborhood, and even surprised her with a free Happy Meal from McDonald’s (which is a super fun treat for her!) And while I wish that I could put together a fun goody basket of yummy treats or help cater a lunch, or all the hundreds of other ideas that are posted over on Pinterest, we can’t really do that this year.

But we can…

Email them a gift card to Starbucks! You can do this from your Starbucks app and it’s super fun and fast!

Purchase some items off of their Amazon Wishlist. Most teachers have built one at some point!

Share a reward with them from your ChickFilA app!

Have flowers delivered to them either at the school for them to pick up or at their home. You may want to check with the school first to see what can be delivered to there during this time.

Have your child simply make a quick video saying hello and thank you!

Have your child draw a picture or make a card and mail it or take a pic and email it to them.

But most of all, we can pray for them and keep telling them how much we love and support them!

What ideas can you share to show love to your children’s teachers?

Don’t forget the many different teachers they have such as their dance teachers or their piano teachers or their Sunday School teachers. Our children have many people who are serving them from behind a computer screen right now and could use some encouragement and extra love!

Blog, Mission Ideas

Washcloth Bunnies: A Simple Silly Service Idea

Kimmy

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These are kinda silly but that’s okay… hear me out.  My sweet girls and I had  a blast making these (and a few frustrating moments too) and we decided to give them to our homeless friends for Easter to let them know that we love them and are praying for them! 

Here’s why… our homeless friends need a reason to smile and giggle too, especially in these really hard days! Think about it, we at least can quarantine our families in our comfortable safe home during this terrible outbreak. Our friends often times aren’t given that luxury and many are already suffering with terrible health, depression, and other things that will make them more susceptible to this terrible disease. It’s truly heartbreaking.  It’s also taking a simple thing like a washcloth, which they often need, and hopefully meeting a small need and bringing a smile to their face, even if for just a minute. Easter can also be a really hard day for our homeless friends. Holidays are reminders of the broken relationships that all of them struggle with and loneliness is so visible on these days. 

Washcloth bunnies are super simple to make and require just a couple items that you probably have on hand already. There are tons of Pinterest links on how to make them but the one over at Smart School House  was my fave!

As you make them with your little one, take a minute and pray for the homeless in your community!! Pray that they will be wise and take the best precautions that they can. Pray for their health. Pray for wisdom and direction. Pray that they will experience God at work through this time. 

If you’re local and looking for a place that you can give your incredible creations to, Refuge, is a ministry of First Baptist Spartanburg, and they are passing out biscuits and other needed items on Sunday morning (using social distancing and no contact). You can drop them off at FBS security desk or send me a message and I can work with you to figure out a great way to get them to Refuge. 

This is a service project or mission moment that may not seem to be “deep” or meet a huge physical or spiritual need, but sometimes putting a smile on someone’s face and saying “you were prayed for and loved today” in a silly simple way is just as important! And sometimes our little ones will remember way more about creating washcloth bunnies and praying for our friends too… We even named a few of ours! 

Be sure to snap a pic and tag us over on Instagram and let us see your fun little creations!

 

Blog, Mission Ideas

A Neighborhood PrayerWalk

Kimmy

This is a hard and difficult season and now more than ever, we can lead our little ones to love Jesus and love others in the midst of this season.

One of those ways we can do that is to prayerwalk our neighborhoods, if you are able. Prayer walking is simply “walking with purpose”, focusing our prayers and being intentional as we walk and talk to the Father. Many of us still have limited freedom to get out and walk around our neighborhoods, so let’s do that with purpose and with safety in mind. Let’s pray for our neighbors, for their physical and spiritual health. Let’s pray for our cities, for small businesses, for homeless and elderly. Let’s make every use of our time and be intentional with our prayers to a Father who loves us deeply and is ever present. Let’s not miss out on chatting with God and hearing from Him during this season.

I’m so thankful for my friendship with Kayla over at Baby Devotions! She recently created a great toddler friendly printable with us and there is even aSpanish version! To download a complete copy of our Neighborhood Prayer Walk printable, click here.

 

How are you praying for your neighborhood during these days?

Is there a day this week that you can grab the little ones and head out and spend time praying together?

Mission Ideas

A Little Bucket of Sunshine

Kimmy

I think we can all agree that life has just been weird lately. For us, we are all able to be home and I’m so very thankful for that. I know lots of friends who are still having to go into work though. And some of my sweet friends are even having to work full days and come home to lead their little ones in school work after a long day at their office. I know the days have been long and hard for many!

I know you have friends that are in that same boat too. A little basket of sunshine is an easy way to encourage another friend in this different season of being disconnected from one another physically. And my prayer is that they will be reminded that they are loved and that this is just a season (hopefully short!).

It’s really simple – grab a yellow bucket or basket and fill it with all things yellow! Some of the items I found to put in my bucket were a yellow bottle of bubbles, a yellow candle (that smells amazing!), a Little Miss Sunshine book, and yellow bags of some yummy candy and snacks. I added a little personal note too, reminding them that they are loved and prayed for!

Now I can’t wait to surprise a friend with a little bit of “sun” on this hard gray day…
How are you loving and encouraging others during this time?
Hop over to Instagram and tag @onmissionmoms to share your ideas!

Mission Ideas

Service Idea: Blessing Bottles

Kimmy

Several years ago, my hubby and I were so blessed to start and lead a homeless ministry at our local church. Although we no longer lead this amazing ministry, our homeless friends are not far from our minds and our prayers. We pass them on the streets and still see them stopping in at our church and my girls (and I) always love to say hey and hear how they are doing.

There are so many ways to serve and love our homeless friends but a pretty simple way is through Blessing Bags. We’ve gathered with other mamas and friends a couple times to assemble the bags and have encouraged our little ones to see our friends and to love them too.

For how to pack a blessing bag, check out our Pinterest board for ideas or some of our past events here.  

I recently came across another version of a blessing bag, a blessing bottle. And I think it’s pretty brilliant. I also really love all the B’s here… haha 

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A blessing bottle is basically the same thing as the bag except all squeezed into a bottle. Some of the items we put into our bottle included a washcloth, granola bar, chapstick, toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo and razor. We of course always add a little card that gives info about Refuge, our homeless ministry at First Baptist Spartanburg and a little hand written note or picture.

I love the bottle idea for a couple reasons:

1. They can take it with them anywhere and fill it up with water throughout the day. Most places (around here) will let them grab some water either from a drink machine or water fountain. As the weather gets warmer, water is always important.

2. It cuts down on waste (hopefully). Waste from the bag and waste of cups that they may use one time and throw down. Hopefully with a bottle they can reuse for a little while.

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For more ways and thoughts on loving and serving homeless, be sure to check out a past series that I put together on “Doing No Harm”.

Do No Harm: Learning More

Do No Harm: Knowing When

Do No Harm: We’re All Poor

Do No Harm: Be Prepared

Have you used a blessing bottle or bag to encourage a homeless friend? If so, how did it go? Be sure to share your story with us over on the socials!