“In 2001, the Lord called me into the ministry and then to Mobile’s Metro Jail. I have never been in trouble, this was just the calling given to me. I was in the jail on Christmas Eve and the women said they wanted a calm day for Christmas and hoped their kids got gifts. The women knew they were doing the time for committing a crime, they just wanted their kids to know they loved them. That stuck with me. I started A Gift of Love at Christmastime in 2002 and this is our 15th year. We started out giving T-shirts and sweatshirts to every child with a parent in prison. It has evolved since then, and we depend on church and community support. The gift of love is a gift from the parent who is incarcerated, and it is an effort to bridge the gap between the child and their parent. We home deliver these gifts to the children and say, ‘This is a gift from your mom or dad.’ We tape the notes on the gifts that the parents wrote to them on the application.

 Some of the notes say: 

‘Baby Girl, daddy gone for a while. I sent you some gifts from Santa Clause. I am going to see you soon.’

‘I love you. I hope your Christmas will be better than mine. Next year we will be together again.’

‘Never forget who you are, or that Daddy loves you.’

We go by zip codes and get churches in that zip code to deliver the gifts. When that church delivers the gifts, they can build a relationship that maybe continues to show the love of God. Once you knock on the door and give a gift to a child, you are hooked. They light up when we tell them their mama or daddy sent it to them.  Sometimes the parent is back home by the time we deliver the gifts and they can’t believe that we were for real. We go in the trenches from the backwoods to the dirt roads. We also deliver to Baldwin County. Finding gifts for teenagers is the hardest part. Sometimes we get earphone sets and perfume sets to give them, but we often have give them gift cards.  We deliver gifts to 500 kids. 

One lady thought I was scam artist because she couldn’t believe her daughter remembered her kids. She said her daughter had been on crack all of her life and never raised her children. After she understood we were real, she was so happy her daughter thought about her kids. By just delivering a gift, we see so many of the struggles people are going through. We go to homes that have no power or food, so we help as we can with those needs, too.

One thing I had in my life is love. The sacrifice of love saves people. My grandmother was a youth pastor and got our youth group out to see the country and serve. I remember my mama coming home from work on flooded streets, getting off the bus waving to us. We never played a sport without my dad watching us. My parents were always there and I want to share that love. My motto is Proverbs 13:12, ‘A dream deferred maketh the heart sick, but the desire fulfilled is the tree of life.’ 

A Gift of Love at Christmastime comes out of Prayer of Faith Ministries. We have faith that every year God will bless us, and he does. We are so thankful for the churches, businesses, and volunteers who make this happen. They take 25, 50, or 75 kids and buy a gift for each one.  A church lets us use their sanctuary to set up and organize every year. It looks like Santa’s workshop. We start the first of November with the distribution of applications through the Chaplain’s Office at the jail. By the time I get to Christmas Eve, I am exhausted and it it is time to relax with my family and play with my nieces and nephews. Throughout the day, volunteers text with their pictures and stories and I get to see the love being shared. A couple of years, I was so overwhelmed with work and life that I wanted to take a year off. But people encouraged me and God gives me the strength to pull it back together. I thank God for keeping his hand on me and the people who work with me. 

The race is not given to the swift or strong, but to he who endures until the end. Hope helps keep us going. I refuse to live in a world with all of this pain and not make a difference. We are Mobilians, and this is a special place. Drugs have come into our city, but we can combat that with love. I want to start a ministry in my community that gives a place to go for people who don’t have a home. I want to help young people find a direction and prevent them from going to jail. I am a mother figure and believe in the sacrifice of love. Love is so much more than money. Your love and presence matters. Your children won’t remember all of the stuff you gave them, but they will remember your acts of love.”

(Message me if you want to donate gifts or volunteer with A Gift of Love at Christmastime and I will send you the contact information)