Thank Military Families

Five years ago, inspired by our oldest grandson deploying to Iraq, our family decided to do something to bless a few military families who were in financial crisis with a parent deployed overseas and would not have much of a Christmas.  We sought out a few families in need, bought some presents and mailed them off.  And it was great.

Then Amanda got the idea to make a web site, thankmilitaryfamilies.com, and involve a few of our friends so we could bless more families and that was even better.  But last year was amazing!  Two St. Louis TV stations asked Amanda to come and tell the story.

The web site started getting responses from all over the country.  Individuals, families, youth groups, churches and companies heard about Thank Military Families and the results were overwhelming!  We were able to connect grateful sponsors to struggling military families, in some of the most heartbreaking situations, on military bases all over the country.

The letters, emails and pictures that have been coming to us from these deeply grateful, heroic families kept us all in tears for weeks. Here’s just a sample of the many families who were so blessed last Christmas:

Virginia- The mom of this Army family is in congestive heart failure.  When the three teenage children heard that they were nominated for our program they said that they didn’t need anything and asked that the gifts be given to their 9-year-old sister.  A sponsor was moved by their unselfishness and sent toys for the youngest child, gifts for the parents and a $100 gift card to each of the teens so they could go shopping for themselves!

Mississippi- This was our largest family- eight children from 4 to 15.  One daughter is confined to a wheelchair, requiring 24-hour care, so any extra income goes to pay for things that insurance does not cover.  Three of their children are adopted from an abusive home.  A company sponsored this family and amazingly provided multiple gifts and clothing items for each child as well as a $500 gift card for a Christmas dinner and necessary family items.

The mother wrote, “The kids had the best Christmas they’ve ever had!  When the boxes arrived I sat and cried.  We’ve never had anyone help our family the way you guys did.  It was absolutely amazing.  You all are truly a God-send to my family!  I know we could never thank you enough, so I can only hope that one day we can return the favor and help someone the way you have helped us!”

A Father has to choose between calling home or buying Christmas Gifts - Fort Bragg, NC- “My husband is on his second Iraq tour and we couldn’t be more honored to serve.  Still, money is very tight and it is hard to tell him that he can either call home every other day or pay for Christmas gifts for our kids.  But Thank Military Families provided gifts and stockings for each of our kids as well as many other military families in need!”

It doesn’t happen very often when people respond so generously that you end up with much more than enough.  So it was quite a surprise when, after we had secured sponsors for every family picked for our program, we got a call from a local St. Louis lady.  She asked to come to our house and drop off a few gifts.  We don’t normally do this.  Our program matches needy families with sponsors and they send the gifts directly to them.  But being so close to Christmas we had her come to our house and were shocked when a truck pulled up loaded with hundreds of gifts.  When we finally unloaded all the boxes our living room was filled to the brim and we were all just a bucket of tears!

Then it dawned on us, we had far more than enough!  Amanda called the Family Readiness Coordinator at Fort Leonard Wood in central Missouri, we packed the gifts into our van and quickly drove them to the base.  At the very last moment, on Christmas Eve, many more hurting families were blessed by people who wanted to say “Thank You” for the sacrifices these military families make by putting the lives of their loved ones on the line for our safety here at home.

Several of our sponsors are Christians and they stay in touch with these families during the year to provide encouragement, birthday cards, school supplies, etc.  Having believers reach out and demonstrate the unconditional love of God is resulting in powerful testimonies.  Mark’s book and teaching on God’s grace is now bearing fruit in many of these families.  You can learn more about this at www.thankmilitaryfamilies.com and you can see the TV interviews by following the links at Fox 2 Interview and KSDK Interview.