Outside my office is a bookcase that holds Bibles and reading material. It also holds candy and hygiene items from care packages that get delivered to me that we open to put on the shelf.Â
Most of the smaller care packages, we hand over to individual Soldiers. However, some of the care packages are too big to handout to individuals or the customs content sheet lets me know that the items would be better distributed to a group rather than have one individual stuck with 54 bars of soap. So these items get put on the shelf.
The books come from all over the place, some are ship to me directly. Sometimes, I’ll get a box marked “books”–so that will go out of the shelf. Then there are Bibles and other religious material that are available to make sure everyone has access to these materials. The Gideons provide us New Testaments to put out there.
At first, I had my doubts that this book shelf would work. I feared that it would sit there for a year and collect dust. I have found that it is a busy place. Sometimes for the candy. Sometimes for the Comic Books. And sometimes for te Bibles and other religious material. So, it worked. Like everything, it must be monitored and kept clean, but this shelf has become an asset to my ministry.
Stephanie says
What a great idea! I am sure that everyone appreciates it. The expats here often trade books and goodies from home. We’re not as organized as your bookshelf, though.