Jubilee Christmas

"...We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness.... We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us."

--Thomas S. Monson

Every December, the Lafayette Urban Ministry (a partnership of 40 different congregations in Lafayette and West Lafayette) puts on Jubilee Christmas. On a Saturday in December, churches invite parents from needy families to their buildings and provide Christmas for them. My church calling included coordinating the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Lafayette 2nd Ward's) Jubilee. We sponsored 10 families this year.

It started with ornaments. I thought mine looked pretty darn cute. Each one had a festive paper cutout (stockings, stars, bells, and trees) all outlined with glitter (had I known the project required 165 of them, I probably would have cut the flow of creativity a little--oh well). Each ornament represented a $15 gift, $5 stocking stuffer, $25 gift card, or other donation.

I put all of the ornaments in neat little organized piles and took them to the church building along with our Christmas tree. Ward members chose ornaments from the tree and returned the specified items to our Toy Box. I emptied it twice a week and hauled the toys back to our little apartment, making a list and checking it twice (or three or four or five times). By the week of Jubilee, an entire room was stacked with toys: Barbies, Tonka Trucks, board games, scooters, and one humongous stuffed gorilla.

On the day of Jubilee the church was transformed into a Toy Shop, complete with a stocking stuffer room and gift wrapping stations. With the help of volunteers, parents chose 3 gifts and 3 stocking stuffers for each of their children and wrapped them. Each family received a plate of donated goodies, a Christmas ham, and gift cards for groceries. I loved watching parents "shop" for their kids, and I know my heart grew at least 3 sizes!!

Initially, I thought we were asking too much from our ward, which is mostly comprised of students and young families struggling to make ends meet themselves. Their generosity warmed my heart. Families gave more than what was asked and though I worried we would come up short, we experienced a surplus! Several large bags of donated toys remained after Jubilee and were donated to additional families.

Giving really is better than receiving! In all, 606 families in our area--including over 1,800 children--were blessed by the efforts of Jubilee. As President Thomas S. Monson said, "Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. To catch the real meaning of the 'spirit of Christmas', we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the 'Spirit of Christ'."