Young Couples at work with 363 days Service Project

This past Saturday, our Sunday School class came together to assemble sandwiches for 363days.org. It was a weekend I had been looking forward to for quite some time, remembering the fun times and good fellowship that came with assembling and delivering the sandwiches last year.

One of the reasons I love 363days.org is because as a Young Couple on a "young budget," Clay and I still feel as if we can come together and make a difference in the community. A volunteer can sign up to do as many or as few as they would like. If you are located near the Metro area, I would highly encourage you to check this organization out.

An idea for some moms out there...
For one of your playdate get-togethers, assemble 100-200 sandwiches. The kids (ages 2 1/2 and up) can lay out the bread and put cheese slices on the bread. Also, they can help by bringing you the completed sandwiches already placed in ziploc bags for you to place in bread bags. If your kids are anything like mine, they will get so excited over feeling as if they are helping in a big way too! :)

Another idea...gather some families from your neighborhood to help with a 363days project. Get everyone involved...husbands, kids and all!

Nine adults were able to crank out 520 sandwiches in just under 2 hours...and that was with the "help" of two excited little children and a hungry baby!! Though we only had approximately an eighth of our class able to come help with the assembly of sandwiches, everyone was able to share in a part of it by either giving financially or by coming to help with the production part on Saturday, or both! Think about the possibilities with this project...to give 2-3 hours of your time and a minimal amount of money (about fifty cents per sandwich) even once a year WILL make a huge difference for MANY in need. It's making a difference specifically for 520 hungry people in the Twin Cities area this month just from our little group that has young kids, "no time," and a low budget. This is something I get really excited about!! It makes me feel like I have a small part in feeding the 5,000!!

And here were our special helpers who were working so hard throughout the morning.  ;)

"The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

Proverbs 11:25

363 Service Project and our evening

This morning, we left to meet some of our friends from Young Couples at the church for our 363 project. Our goal: to assemble 400 sandwiches to be delivered by 363 to various shelters and food shelves around the Twin Cities. It was a such a fun project to be involved in! This is my second time to participate with 363 ministries and I look forward to continuing to working with them in the future. (What a great idea it would be for a group of families in a neighborhood to get together and participate in with their children!! It is simple enough for older toddlers and young school age children to be able to help with and to realize that in doing so, they are helping others in need.) I can't say enough good things about this organization. I am a fan.

Parker got to help for a few minutes by placing the bread out on the table and layering some of the cheese.

It was such a tremendous feeling to know that our sandwiches were going to feed 400 hungry mouths!!! Yea!!! So exciting! (ahem, it was also nice to have 40 pounds of meat, 40 loaves of bread and a lot of cheese out of my house. Between that and all the boxes, our house was starting to look like a carpeted food distribution warehouse.)

And for now, this little fellow and his dad are at Parker's first Lacrosse game; they joined some of our friends from church. Minnesota Swarm vs Philadelphia Wings (Clay sent me these photos from his iphone.)

Meanwhile, back at the homestead, this little cowboy has been keeping me busy playing cars and ball...until a few minutes ago. He is now sprawled out, arms overhead, snoozing in his little crib dreaming of the sweet little things that baby boys dream about.

I am now blogging and searching pinterest for a few things instead of doing what I should be doing...packing. Oh well. I can spare a few minutes. In addition to playing on the computer, I am enjoying one of our last fire's in this house. No, it is not really that cold here, but it sure does sound and look nice in my living room. ;) Aah, I am going to miss this fireplace and the fire's that dear hubby builds for me.

All right, I am off to pack until the boys get home!