Excel in the grace of giving! 2 Corinthians 8:6-7

Every month at John Knox, we are studying a different theme on loving our neighbour as ourselves. In the month of December, we emphasized "giving." Jesus gave of Himself when he left his perfect home and came down to this earth as a baby. We want to be like Jesus in our giving.

This past December we worked with an organization called "Halton Multicultural Organization". We helped six immigrant families who have come from another country and are settling in the Halton region. They arrived into Canada with nothing and are supported by this organization to help them make a good start as they begin to settle down. Our goal was to raise about $1000 in total.  We reached our goal and then some!  Our students raised $1,594.12 which means each family received $265.68 on December 15, 2011.

We enjoyed listening to our guests who spoke to our student body. Thirteen year old Juan is a former resident of the program and has been in Canada for less than three years. Camila who is twelve years old, came to Canada in May of this year and is a new resident in the program. Both are originally from Colombia but fluent in English. They were very happy to share their experiences of what it was like to leave their country, friends and family behind to become residents of a new country. They spoke about their challenges, frustrations, fears and expectations.

It is our hope and prayer that lives of others were touched through our giving in December.