Video by Sydney Pickett
http://youtu.be/wJtEXPAqUwE
By Summer Crawford
News Editor
@summercrawfordd
Red and green decor, lights and glittering ornaments strung on trees filtering in the soft glow of Christian melodies, the birth of Jesus Christ and the sweet taste of love are just a few of the things that constituent Christmas.
Children are daydreaming of endless gifts, parents are searching for the perfect present and Santa Claus is checking his list twice.
However, in the midst of gingerbread houses and old Christmas movies is the realization that not every child will be presented with a gift on Christmas. Although not every family can afford to give each of their children a present, one local church has worked through their faith in God to become a savior for them.
For 15 years, the Valley Ranch Baptist Church has welcomed impoverished families from across south Dallas into their arms, supplying them with every child’s dream: a store with never-ending, free presents just waiting to be wrapped. According to VRBC, “each child will receive a new small toy, large toy, underwear, shirt, socks and stocking filled with goodies.”
On Dec. 12-13, VRBC’s Christmas Store proved once again to be a huge success for parents struggling to pay for gifts for their family.
“We had some of our staff members who had seen it done elsewhere, they do a Christmas Store at Mission Arlington and at a church in Atlanta,” Minister of Community & Global Missions Amy Wilkins said. “We already partner with [our sister church] in south Dallas, Cornerstone Baptist Church, and we wanted to find more ways that we could serve them and equip them with ministering to their community better. And so we started the Christmas Store as a way to do that. It started small and it has grown a lot in the 15 years since then.”
Serving about 1,200 children and their families from south Dallas, the Christmas Store offers a nice breakfast for arriving parents, numerous rooms filled to the brim with free presents and stations where volunteers wrap all of their presents. In recent years VRBC has added local guests as a part of the store.
“We serve 125 children and their families from Coppell and from Valley Ranch, and we serve another 300 children and their families in Lima, Peru where we do a Christmas Store in partnership with the sister church there,” Wilkins said. “It is really important for the guests that we serve because it meets a need at Christmas time when people have limited finances, [so] they are able to have Christmas gifts provided for them so that they can spend money on things that are essential for their family.
“It also gives us a chance to share God’s love and God’s truth with people at Christmas time so that they can hear about the free gift that God has given us in Jesus.”
With hundreds of volunteers and church members present at the opening of the Christmas Store, it is easy to see the dedication and hard work that goes into the store’s preparation. Wilkins worked with the Christmas Store chairs to plan for it throughout the entire year, gathering presents and communicating with members of the sister church. It is also with the help of church and community volunteers that VRBC is able to give back and connect with the families in a meaningful way.
As a member of VRBC since she was 2, Coppell High School junior Lauren Struffolino was thrilled to be part of the store once again.
“My favorite thing is just seeing the smiles and the joy on all of the parents’ faces when they get to see the gifts and just their appreciation for all of it,” Struffolino said. “They are always so excited to come and are thankful, it is really a God blessing to see. Just seeing how God touches people and he is touching me through it and all the people that come through. It brings people closer to God and it’s a Christmas blessing, it makes you feel good for what you are doing for the little kids who don’t usually get Christmas presents.”
As these families make their way throughout the church and hand-pick their new gifts, a shopping aid known as a GPS facilitates their stay at VRBC. The GPS coordinator for the 2014 Christmas Store is member Jerry Sims. Sims has participated in the event for as long as he can remember, spending this time volunteering with his family.
“It stands for Guide, Praise, Serve, and it is the group of people that will take our guests around the store and will make sure that they are comfortable and will make sure that they get to the right shopping rooms,” Sims said. “And then at the end of our time together, we pray together.
“A lot of times their lives are pretty chaotic. We deal with a lot of single mothers, and we offer babysitting for their kids. They come here, they have a nice meal and they get to hangout with their friends and have a good time.”
The children of these families stay at the Cornerstone Baptist Church while their parents shop for them. While these children will wake up on Christmas morning with at least one present to open, their parents are feeling relieved with the gift of the Christmas Store.
“You get to come over, you get to enjoy fellowshipping with your sister church, fellowshipping with people that you really should know but you didn’t take the chance and time to [do] that,” Irving parent and Christmas Store shopper Ron Morris said. “The Christmas Store is a dynamic place, it changes everything about you. We really do appreciate it, I know I appreciate it, but the biggest thing about it is I know God appreciates it.”
For VRBC, Christmas time is not just about making sure that impoverished families can give their child a gift, but they are also trying to incorporate their love for God into giving back to the community.
“You are attracted to it because of the feeling that you want to give back, but I always leave here feeling like I have received a lot more than I have given,” Sims said. “Just the interaction with our guests, just seeing their resilience and their spirit and their joy, it is contagious.”
