Susan Sahler, club leader in the Central NJ Challenge group shared what the Challenge girls did this Christmas as a service project to help those in need. “On Sunday December 14th, the girls in the Central NJ Challenge Club had a wonderful opportunity to learn about the needs of some people living in an impoverished area of Newark, NJ and be a part of helping to bring the love of Christ to them this Christmas season. We started the evening with a presentation and slideshow on the live nativity the Franciscan Friars of Newark orchestrated in 2013 for the neighbors of their community. It had been a great success with over 200 people attending. The girls learned that part of the friars’ mission is to live in areas known for their poverty. The city of Newark is the 6th most dangerous city in the U.S., and this particular area of Newark is one of (if not the most) dangerous sections. So the people in this area are really in need of love! The girls’ role was to assemble Christmas goodie bags with candy, as well as inspirational ornaments and bookmarks for the children who would be attending the live nativity for this Christmas. After hearing about the residents of this community and seeing the slideshow from last year, the girls really seemed to have a good understanding of just how much of a need there is to reach out to these people. After finishing the goodie bags, the girls then split up into their groups and wrote out Christmas cards to be sent out to hospitalized U.S. soldiers. Again, the goal was to reach out to those who may be very much in need of feeling the love of Christ! As they learned during their Advent Retreat this year, the best gift we can give to Jesus for His birthday is to reach out to others through acts of kindness in His love.”
