CHILDREN'S HUGS AND PRAYERS RAISE HUNDREDS FOR REFUGEES

Little boxes tied in ribbons and beads strung with care were the creative contribution of children from Peace Mennonite Church to the MCC Festival, which was held September 19 and 20 in Abbotsford.

“Hug bug boxes” – boxes filled with hugs, were sold for whatever the purchaser determined a hug was worth. The hug boxes brought smiles to the faces of anyone who stopped at the booth.

Also for sale were prayer bracelets, made from donated beads and pendants. Each bead on the bracelet was symbolic: 33 beads in total represented Jesus' years on earth. The four large beads lead the person in four areas of prayer following the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

“So, the first bead stands for adoration, then as you touch each of the seven beads after that you think of seven things that you adore about God,” explained Matthew Kuepfer, one of the children who helped make the items and was on hand to sell them at the Festival.

Kuepfer explained each of the four areas of prayer and indicated that when you reached the end, you concluded your prayer with the prayer that Jesus taught us: the Lord's prayer.

The idea for the booth came from Lottie Epp, who works with children at Peace Mennonite. Her granddaughter came home from school with a Hug Bug Box and Lottie felt this would be a wonderful way for children to contribute to the MCC Festival.

“I've had neighbourhood and community kids coming over to help,” she said. “It's been a great learning experience for kids to realize they're putting in the work and others are donating materials and that all the proceeds go to help other people.” 

The children ran their booth on Friday evening only and raised $1500 for MCC's work with refugees – the focus of this year's Festival.

“We like to make the boxes and bracelets,” Kuepfer said,” and we like to know we're making a difference.”

The MCC Festival in Abbotsford raised more than $650,000 for MCC's work with refugees all around the world. To view photos of this year's event, and the kids who made the hug bug boxes, click on the photo gallery at the top right.