Ministry offers backpacks to the future

Many kids get supplies for school

WILLIAMS - How many new and used backpacks did the Family Harvest Church collect for schoolchildren this year?

Call them legion, for there are many.

"Our goal was 500," Missions Director Anna Torrez said. "The Lord blessed us with 580."

The backpacks are filled with a Bible activity book, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, crayons and other school supplies, Pastor Tim Milner said.

"The Scriptures say to help the poor, so we decided to help the children," Torrez explained.

Eighty of the backpacks will be distributed around Williams, the other 500 the group will bring to Algodones, Mexico to hand out to students there. They will be traveling across the border Labor Day weekend.

For Torrez, it will be her second trip to Algodones, which is seven miles south of Yuma. Last Christmas the church collected 500 toys for the children. They ran out of toys and gave some mothers envelopes with $10 inside, she recalled.

Not only do the students receiving the backpacks, but the Williams kids that help with the project gain something, too, said teacher Cecelia Padilla.

"The look on their faces, they were ever so proud to help," Padilla said. "They formed an assembly line." She teaches second and third-graders, and her class packed up the first 100 backpacks.

On August 14 the Family Harvest Church will be open and any Williams students needing backpacks can stop by and pick one up, Milner said.

The response from the community has been tremendous, Milner said.

"I'm so excited by the generosity of people that I'm motivated to go for 1,000 next year!" Torrez said.

They didn't just solicit donations, the ministry members went out and worked to raise money, too.

Torrez, who plays the keyboard, joined with guitarist Barry Davis to do street corner shows for tourists; and she and Gloria Gonzalez sold tamales.

"We give what needs to be given," Milner said.

The cost of the project is between $7,000 and $8,000, Milner said. Though they're "a few hundred dollars short," some donations continue to trickle in, he said.

"The Lord will provide," he said. "Being the religious type, I guess you could say, I 'm thankful God trusted us with something like this. I believe our God is bigger than our dreams."

It was a big project and Torrez said she went from excited to being scared that she couldn't do it; in the end, she said, she put her faith in God.

A lot of people had a hand in making this project successful, ministry member Brenda Reed said.

More than 65 individuals contributed, church member Joey Chavez said.

Many people donated anonymously, Reed added.

"The miracle was in how people came together to do this," Milner said.

"No matter how bad things are in the U.S., they are worse somewhere else," Torrez said.

Algodones is south of Yuma. Anyone wishing to accompany the ministry group to hand out backpacks can contact Milner at 928-308-3618 or Torrez at 928-699-0339.

They will be in Algodones Sept. 5-7.

Anyone interested will need a passport, money to cover their lodging, meals and gas and make sure to have international service for your cellphone.