Friends on a Mission need your help

Photo: Picasa

Esther Farrar, Briant Hunt and Vernon Farrar are just a few members of the Peru Baptist Church youth group, Friends on a Mission, who will be stuffing boxes for Operation Christmas Child. When all is said and done, the group will have more than 20 boxes full of goods to be sent to children all over the world. (Times photo by Cherri Crockett)

PERU- This Sunday there will be a shop-a-thon of sorts taking place at the Dollar Tree in Rumford as members of the Peru Baptist Church youth group descend on the store for their annual day of shopping to fill more than 20 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Over the past year Friends on a Mission have raised money through a bake sale at Missions at the Airport and various donations they receive throughout the year to add to the funds they will use to purchase items for OCC.

“It’s such a great project,” stated Cathy Hazelton, group leader. “It makes me tear up each year when we watch the videos of children getting their boxes and the smiles that light up their faces.”

More than a dozen members of Friends on a Mission will be shopping on Sunday for personal hygiene items, toys, books, clothes and other items to send to underprivileged children.

Once the boxes are filled, the group will then collect other boxes from the Andover and Rumford Baptist churches to transport them to Augusta, where they will be added to hundreds, if not thousands of other boxes to be prepared for shipment to South Carolina.

There the boxes will be inspected and biblical items in the specific language where they will be sent will be added. From there, boxes will be shipped all over the world to bring a smile to a child’s face.

Friends on a Mission members Esther Farrar, Briant Hunt and Vernon Farrar have been contributing to OCC for a combined total of 18 years and agree that the experience is humbling. Noting that they have a much better appreciation for what they have and what others don’t.

If you would like to help Friends on a Mission by donating money or items to fill the boxes, please contact Cathy Hazelton by calling 562-8278.