01 Jul Schoolchildren Create Connection through Vitamins

Congolese children cradled the vitamin bottles in their arms as if they were trophies. These vitamins had come all the way from America. But what made them even more special was the fact that they were provided by children their ages.

About a month earlier in Des Moines, Iowa, a group of schoolchildren from Valley Church had some money they had earned by hosting a yard sale and selling lemonade and baked goods. The youngest, a seven-year-old, encouraged the others that they should use the money on a cause that would help spread the gospel. They all agreed, and three teenage siblings also contributed.

Not long later, the children and their parents heard about Dave and Becky, a couple from their church who was going to Democratic Republic of Congo. Their plan was to go to schools, a hospital, and a group home to visit children sponsored through Reach Global’s ministry, Global Fingerprints. This sounded like a gospel-spreading cause worth contributing to!

The kids’ parents spoke with Dave. “How can the kids support your trip from their fundraiser?”

The pooled funds were enough to purchase twenty bottles of vitamins, Dave quickly calculated.

“You know what we are wanting to take to the children?” Dave said. “Vitamins.”

The children gladly agreed and covered the cost of 10,000 children’s chewables.

After Dave received his Blessings International order, the church children lined up for a photo, holding all twenty bottles. They were so excited, knowing their contribution would help children their own ages in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Children from Valley Church, Des Moines, Iowa. Used with permission.
Photo courtesy Dave Staab.

Dave snapped the photo and printed a copy for the Congolese children, especially those at the Promise Home.

Many of the children at Promise Home have disabilities like spina bifida, polio, and cerebral palsy. In their culture, they are treated poorly. But at Promise Home, they receive the love of Christ daily.

When Dave and Becky handed the vitamins to the children, they smiled as if the bottles were Christmas presents. Their joy turned to wonder and curiosity when they heard the story and saw the photo of the Iowa children. Suddenly, they wanted to know all about them: what their names were, how old they were, what they did for fun.

Children from Promise Home, Democratic Republic of Congo. Used with permission.
Photo courtesy Dave Staab.

At Dave’s prompting, the Congolese children also lined up for a photo, posing with the vitamins just as the Iowa children had.

Dave took that photo back to the children in Iowa, who will forever remember those faces and how they formed a connection halfway around the world via vitamin bottles.