Sonja Eberhart, head teacher at Cornerstone Adventist Academy (CAA) in Charlotte, N.C., decided to create an ongoing mission project to reach out to the homeless in their community who were begging on the street corners. The idea for “Salvation Bags” came from Beth Hoosier, another teacher in the Carolina Conference. “Salvation Bags” are zip-lock bags filled with personal care items, pre-packaged food, GLOW tracts, and Pocket Signs of the Times to be handed to the homeless on street corners. When Eberhart shared the idea with her students, she asked them to suggest names for the project. The students originally chose the name, “Salvation Baggies,” which was changed to “Salvation Bags.”
“The Salvation Bags are a very good way to spread God and help the homeless,” student Emma Sorrells comments. “I saw a man wandering through the street with a sign, and I got to stop and give him my Salvation Bag. I was happy when I saw the man’s smiling face and heard how generously he thanked me. Every Friday at CAA, we get to package a Salvation Bag and take it home with us. We have a table in the back of the room specifically for this.”
Students make additional bags to share with the church family so that they can also help reach their community. Sorrells adds, “Now with the help of our church, we can pass out even more. They also have helped with donations to buy the snacks and things.”
Another student, Rosalina Eberhart, says, “Every time we give out a bag to someone, they say ‘God bless you!’ Our goal is to hand out 96 bags. So far, we have made 72 bags to hand out, which means over 400 GLOW tracts.”
Landan Montiel, also a student, states, “My classmates and I are doing a mission project to give the underprivileged something without giving money that they could use on drugs. The bags include GLOW tracts, water or juice, pre-packaged snacks, and toiletries. We also put in a business card for our church so they can come and learn about God and be a part of our family.”
Carolina | March 2022
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