Morning Work: Group A

The International Book Project (IBP) is a registered 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization, founded by Harriet Van Meter in 1966, which has sent more than 6 million books abroad. Our mission is to promote education and literacy while broadening Americans’ understanding of their neighbors, which we achieve by annually sending more than 300,000 books to schools, libraries, churches, and Peace Corps volunteers throughout the developing world and in the United States.

This is Sweet Blessings

Sweet Blessings believes all children deserve to feel special, and all children deserve to feel loved – especially on their birthday.

Unfortunately, for many children in our community a birthday is not a time to celebrate but a time to be reminded that there is not enough money for parties or presents and maybe not even dinner on the table. For others, birthdays are another reminder that, given their illness, they may not live another year.

At Sweet Blessings we strive to show children in poverty or with life threatening illness God’s love by creating for them a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable, birthday cake. Each cake is created with a particular child in mind and showcases his/her favorite colors, hobbies, sports team, etc.

These aren’t cakes you would find in a local grocery store. They are reminiscent of the cakes seen on reality television shows like Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss. They are covered in fondant and made of multiple tiers or carved into special shapes. In addition, each child will be prayed for by one of the volunteers and receive a birthday card with a Bible verse.

Our cakes are made, decorated and delivered by volunteers and funded by your generous donations.

My Day

I am Ava and I’m here to talk about my day. This is my second mission trip with Geist Christian Church. Today, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to go to Hope Center to serve breakfast to disadvantaged men. It was incredibly eye opening to see that these people were living in poverty, but still smiling and thanking us for coming out to serve them breakfast. Later in the morning, we went to the Catholic Action Center. The Catholic Action Center is a shelter for homeless people to stay the night if they have no other place to stay. I went out into the park with some of my fellow youth to clean up the area. Many of the people who were staying at the shelter thanked us for helping them. We made the beds in some of the rooms at the shelter, and it was a very eye opening experience for me. Making the beds made me incredibly grateful that I have a home, and my own bed in my own room—and I don’t have to share it with 40 people I don’t know. After we were done at the shelter, we went to a summer camp and played with kids. Hanging out with them was also eye opening for me because we were able to have lunch with the kids, and one child told me this was the only meal he would get today. It made me sad to see these children of GOD living in such a difficult situation, but also grateful that they would at least get a meal thanks to the wonderful people who started the camp. That’s all for today, so thanks for reading! Have a very blessed day!!