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 Sometimes you don’t even have to hear the words “thank you” to know that you’ve brought joy to a child. The unexpected dawning of a smile or the sticky warmth of a hug are thanks that echo louder than words.
For Barbara Murgatroyd , an Angel Tree volunteer who is over 90% hearing-impaired, the joy in a child’s face speaks volumes.
Barbara first got involved in Angel Tree four years ago with her husband Tom. Since then, their ministry has blossomed. Their Angel Tree Craft club—with 15 to 20 children—meets one Saturday a month at their church in Palm Bay, Florida.
The children make crafts—like June’s hand-made Father’s Day cards with a photograph of the child—to send with love to their incarcerated parent. Sometimes the crafts—like the Japanese lanterns made this July to be used at the church’s Japanese-themed Vacation Bible School—teach the children a little something about giving back to their community.
The craft times—along with annual Angel Tree Christmas and summer camp experiences—and the regular activities of the church create just another space in time for building trust between the children and the volunteers, building relationship between the children and their incarcerated parent, and building hope into these young lives.
But most importantly—these outward expressions of care create the context for sharing the inward reality of God’s amazing love for these children. That message—the message of God’s passionate heart for His people expressed in the outpouring of Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the cross—is the message of true hope that the Murgatroyd's and other Prison Fellowship volunteers like them hope to bring to these children.
Erin Kramer, just 12 years old, received with open heart that message of hope—the Gospel message—last year at Angel Tree summer camp. Out of thirteen children who went, three came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ that summer.
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