This was good from Gary, the FD Director:
Hey Everyone:
One thing I’m finding out is that the Farm Drive Neighborhood Center is a place of non-stop activity!! There is so much going on every day, and now, the holidays are here! I wanted to let you know about a few good things that we have seen happen over the past few weeks. God is so good!!!
We were contacted by Burke Williams, a health spa in Santana Row. They wanted to do something for the families at Farm Drive! Because of our floundering economy, all of the Burke Williams employees had just been informed that they were going to be taking a cut in pay. In spite of this, they wanted to do something for someone else and showed up with Thanksgiving dinners for two families in the neighborhood!!
Then, Christmas came along…………
We asked for donations for our “store” and you responded. Because of you, we had the biggest store ever!! The kids were able to come and “purchase” gifts for their families because of your generosity. We had many people show up to help the kids wrap their gifts. My brother, Tim, his wife, Cheri and their daughter, Tisha spent the afternoon helping the kids. Tim said that he was personally overwhelmed by what he experienced that day!
The UE Group, for whom our own Sarah Garcia works, decided that they wanted to bless some families at Christmas. On Monday, they showed up at the Center with 30 “family bags” and stockings for 65 kids!! Not only were they able to help out families at Farm Drive, but it has opened up avenues for Sarah to share this ministry, as well as her faith, with her coworkers.
Paty Sayre, who is one of our regular volunteers, spearheaded a project for the Campbell Church of Christ to “adopt” some families for Christmas. They were able to bless five families with food and age-appropriate gifts----families who would probably not have had much for Christmas without this help. As they left, Patty and I talked about one other family that could use some help and decided to talk the following day about what we could possibly do.
Well, before Patty and I had a chance to talk, my brother Tim called and said he had been telling two of his neighbors about Farm Drive, and that they wanted to help a family this Christmas!!! Then, on Tuesday, Tim called and said that he and his neighbors, Rebecca Hall and Curtis Campbell, were on their way with gifts for this family, and TEN EXTRA LARGE PIZZAS from Round Table!! How do you get rid of ten pizzas?? You activate the “Farm Drive Notification System,” of course. We told two or three kids, and within minutes, we had about 40 beaming kids ready to eat pizza!!
Our resident caterer, Ruben Escobedo, has been “employing” some of the kids from Farm Drive to help him with his catering jobs. Not only does it teach the kids a skill and let them earn some money, it has allowed Ruben to get to know some of the kids in a fairly short period of time. One of the girls shared with Ruben that her only Christmas wish is to meet her father. Wow…..!! Ruben has had an opportunity to meet this girl’s family and even begin discussions with the mom about the possibilities of making this wish come true.
I know that there are a lot of other little stories that I may have missed, but I just wanted to let you know how God is using everyday situations to bless the people here at Farm Drive. I keep thinking, “ONLY A GOD LIKE YOU.” (Someone really needs to write a song…………)
Thank you for your continued generosity. We couldn’t do it without you. May God continue to bless you during this Christmas season and give you the joy that you have given so many through your involvement with Farm Drive!!
God Bless you much!!
Gary Johnson
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