valentines

remember valentine's day when you were a kid? well that's what i get to experience every year - valentines with pink and red construction paper hearts, cupcakes, cookies with icing, games...it really is a good time.

yesterday the kids made over 40 valentines to put in our Kits for Kids that we were assembling today for kids in Tanzania. They put lots of work into them and included notes about themselves and the fact that God loves them and they are special. It was great putting together our 70 kits of school supplies today.

I read the kids this story yesterday while they made they're valentine holders called Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. it's about this lonely man who doesn't have any friends and works in a shoelace factory. He's always alone and he never smiles. Then on Valentines day, he gets a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates and note that says, "somebody love you". knowing that someone loves him, his whole persona changes. he wonders who might have sent it. he smiles at people on the street. he shares his chocolates with his coworkers. he helps others. he bakes brownies and gives them to people in his neighbourhood. and then the postman comes by one day and tells him that he'd made a mistake and delivered that heart and note accidently to the wrong house! Mr. Hatch gives the postman back the box (minus the chocolates) and the note. and then...Mr. Hatch says to himself, "no one loves me after all." and he goes back to the lonely, keeping to himself kind of guy he was before. but now, everyone misses the fun Mr. Hatch so they throw him a party with a big sign that says, "everyone loves Mr. Hatch!" so it ends well but it's a little heart breaking when he finds out that the package hadn't been for him. so don't forget to tell someone that they're loved today (and everyday) because we might not realize how much it means.