I arrived at the warehouse near Detroit precisely on time after leaving my wife, and our luggage with family members 25 miles to the West, in Ann Arbor. The hatchback of the Toyota Prius was now empty, leaving ample room for hundreds of little dresses. They would go on the next 40-foot trailer leaving Indianapolis for Malawi.
Carol, from Little Dresses for Africa, was there to happily fill the car, one box, then two, three, four, then five, six, seven. Each box meant a couple of hundred more girls would receive a brand new dress, something few village children ever receive. The scripture from the pen of Matthew, with the inspirational guidance of God, kept ringing in my mind.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:35-36)
By the time we finished, the car was nearly full and I was faced with a new problem. As I started the trip back to pick up my wife and luggage in Ann Arbor I wondered how I would get everything in for the return to Indiana.
I wonder if we can send our luggage back UPS, I wondered. Probably not!
Would I ever consider one of us going back on the bus? Definitely not! Don’t even ask!
Perhaps we can take some dresses out of the boxes, pack them around the boxes, down beside the seats, and maybe one of us can sit on a few of them. After all, how can we say we didn’t ship as many dresses as possible? That would leave some of the girls out, wouldn’t it?
Somehow we got it all packed. The trip back was quite pleasant, with little dresses all over the car. It won’t be long until 1,000 more girls in Africa experience that someone, somewhere in the U. S. loves them, and cares enough to send them a brand new dress.
“Little Dresses for Africa” is a Christian charitable organization founded in 2008 in Michigan. Founder Rachel O’Neill, says more than 2.5 million dresses have been distributed. More information at: http://www.littledressesforafrica.org/blog/
