Gifts Given - Gifts Received

Eleven volunteers helped to hand out gift bags to the Ober-Gatlinburg employees working on Christmas Eve.  In return, the employees gave us a gift as they shared their appreciation...

She was so excited to return to work so that she could wear her new red scarf.  "It is beautiful and it was a great surprise to receive it while working!"


A supervisor looked at me with depth and sincerity when we handed him his gift.  He has worked at Ober-Gatlinburg for many years and has come to expect (...looking forward to...) our annual gift bag delivery.  He expressed how treasured these gifts are to him and his team -beyond what is actually within the bag- it is because we recognize and love them.


An international student sent an email later that evening saying "I've learned a lot about how to help people because of the many things you do for us... Thank you again for teaching that a church is not made by buildings, it is made of the people and how God uses them for blessing."

While delivering the gifts to the international students several of them asked where they could find a church for Christmas day.  Nine students joined us for worship at First Baptist Gatlinburg as we celebrated the Love which came into our world.  On such a blessed day, even the van ride home was a Holy moment as we had conversations about what it means to follow Christ and how to have a relationship with God.  The merriest of Christmases!