The Numbers Are IN!

The numbers are in and the final tally for the Gifts for Gracias pastor appreciation gifts is… (May I have a drum roll, please? Rat-a-tat-tat…) 349! That’s THREE-HUNDRED & FORTY-NINE! Pardon the screaming, but it’s very exciting news.

This post contains even more exciting numbers:

• Russell said pastors from 18 different denominations received gifts.
• Pastors from as close as “just up the road” and as far away as 8 hours from the Sowerses received the gifts. 
• Last year, the number of gifts handed out was in the high 200s, so this project grew a lot!
• This year’s gift boxes were more school oriented. Each family package contained an average of 5 backpacks for the pastor’s children. 
• Russell has done the math, so you don’t have to: More than 1700 backpacks filled with school supplies were handed out to pastors’ kids.
• The average pastor has a 6th grade education. Those backpacks make it possible for the pastors’ kids to receive more education. Russell said that a lot of the pastors they work with are, themselves, children of pastors. The hope and prayer is that many of these pastors’ children will also go into the ministry as adults. Receiving a better education will help equip them for their futures. As Russell said, “We want to raise up more kids that want to follow in their parents’ footsteps.”

Russell, Allen, & Trish want to give a big shoutout to all of the people who filled those 1700 backpacks. These were backpacks not designated for sponsored children. Thank you for catching the vision! The true impact of these numbers will not be known until we get to Heaven!

 - posted by Christi