Christmas came early for 10-year-old Tora Schneider of Waupaca. On December 14, her Christmas wish to help other children was granted. With the aid of her mother and stepfather, Tora delivered more than 50 wrapped presents to children at Love Life Ministry, located in the basement of a building adjacent to St. Joseph Church in Green Bay. In early December, when Tora wrote her letter to Santa, her request was simple: "All I want for Christmas is for at least 20 kids in need" to receive gifts. So taken aback were her mother, Lora Tankersley, and stepfather, Darick Tankersley, that they did all they could to make Tora's wish come true. "I cried," said Lora. "I was so happy. We have six kids and a foster daughter and for her to be the only one (to make the request), it made my day." It turned out to be a daunting request. It took a few tries to find a place that would accept the gifts Tora wanted to hand out. The family finally learned about Green Bay's Love Life Ministry, which collects and distributes baby items to needy mothers, and contacted Sharon Zambrowicz, one of the ministry's volunteer organizers. "I just thought it was a great idea," said Zambrowicz, a member of St. Joseph Parish. "I'm just glad we were able to accommodate her. I know the families that come here and I picked out the ones that I thought were most needy." This is what Christmas is all about. Put down the credit card today and pray for peace on earth!
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...
