Day 29: Welcome Wagon - 30 Days of Kindness

"Preparation," By Laura Carpenter

Welcome Wagon was day 29 of 30 Days of Kindness. The objective of this act of kindness was to make welcome baskets and deliver them to new residents in Oneonta. Thanks to the cooperation of the city hall and several volunteers, we were able to pull this off.

After making a few phone calls to find the right contact person in city hall, we were given a list of residents whose homes were deeded to them within the past six months. I (Laura) did the shopping. Each resident received one all-purpose gift basket, filled with local treats such as: Brooks BBQ sauce and McCoy’s honey, light bulbs, batteries, a Sweet Home Oneonta publication, a reusable shopping bag, and homemade brownies. 

One of the parents that we connected with at Parent's Night Out, was inspired by our 30 day project and wanted to help. She joined me to help put the gift baskets together, and later that evening, she and two other friends teamed up with Kaler to pass out the baskets.

We made 10 gift baskets for homes that we determined to be lived in by new homeowners. When Kaler and I moved to Oneonta in 2009, nobody formally greeted us to the neighborhood, and we were kind of bummed out about that. We were hoping to cheer up some folks that might be feeling the same way we felt almost 4 years ago, as well as tell them about a great new church they can attend!

"Distribution," By Kaler Carpenter

Half of the residents were not home so we left the basket on their doorstep. Later that evening, we drove by these houses and saw the baskets were gone, that's how we knew they made it into the intended hands. I (Kaler) encountered a few people that were home and had great conversations with all of them.

There was one middle-aged single lady in particular that ended up not being a new resident, but I followed a leading and gave her a basket anyway. She seemed very appreciative and proceeded to tell Britteny and myself her story and how she was battling depression. She also admitted to being hurt by religion in her past, which influenced her depression. 

We got to show this woman love and pray with this her, as well as share with her the hope of the Gospel and invite her to our church. Unfortunately, it seems like you don't have to look too far when performing these AoKs before you run into someone who is hurt and/or bitter about church. As a church planter that has also been hurt by church people, I too know what it's like to go through a negative experience like this, and I love to invite these hurting people to visit our church. 

At The Redemption Movement, we have worked hard to set up a model of ministry that removes all the legalistic elements that hurt people like the woman we gave the gift basket to, and as seen by this act of kindness, we go out of our way to make everybody feel welcome.