Twinkle, Sparkle, Shine!

Christmas is always an exciting time here at Toybox, and this year is no different. This is the time of year our supporters join in the fun of the Toybox Star Appeal - a great way to engage with street children in Latin America. You and your friends, family, or coworkers can get out your pritt sticks, glitter, ribbons - whatever! - and decorate little stars to send to the street children we work with in Guatemala and Bolivia.

You'd be amazed to see the lengths a child who has no food, no shelter, no anything will go to keep their little stars safe. Knowing that someone (that's you!) thousands of miles away cares about them and is praying for them means the world to a child on the streets.

Do something different...
We all want to buy presents for our friends and family, but sometimes the commercialism of Christmas is overwhelming. Do you ever feel like we've just lost the plot? Toybox Alternative Gifts are a great way to let your loved ones know you're thinking of them, while also giving a street child a chance at a brighter future. Here are just a few of the Alternative Gifts we have on offer:

Star - The chance to shine!
School is a luxury when you're the poorest of the poor and battling to survive. We help children and teenagers gain recognised qualifications to build their future. Just £10!

Grace - A chance to build new life
It's tough to recover from street life and start again. Help us give older children the chance to build a new life. £18

Snuggle - A safe, comfortable place to stay
The pavement for a pillow, a cardboard box for a shelter, or an old mattress in the rubble. But it needn't be like that. We want to offer street children everything they need to be safe and comfortable - a bed, food, clothes, and a new family to care for them. £15 could provide this for a child for a week.

Want to know more? Visit our website to order one of these alternative gifts and see our entire range.

When you order a gift, we'll send you a card and a friendship bracelet(left), so you have something to give your loved ones for Christmas.

It doesn't take much to make a world of difference for a street child. Do it, and make this Christmas SHINE.

The cry of our hearts

"You said, 'Ask and I'll give the nations to you,'
O Lord, that's the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your Light as it rises on us"

-You Said by Rita Springer

I've had this song in my head all day today. Every day we stop at 10:30 and pray together for each other, for our partners in Latin America, and for the street children. Today, we were talking about the recent violence in Guatemala surrounding the upcoming elections. 40 people have been murdered in what are believed to be politically-motivated attacks. I read this, feeling quite separated from it all, to be honest. I hate to think that I am desensitized to such senseless violence.

But what really stunned me, what made me feel as though I'd been punched in the stomach, was when I read that the 14-year-old daughter of one of the candidates had been murdered, her body found in the trunk of a car. A 14-year-old girl killed because someone doesn't like her father, wants him to step down from his campaign.

I was moved this morning to pray for Guatemala - to ask for it. We prayed for revival. What a difference it would make in this country, where reports say anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 people are murdered every year. We asked for Guatemala this morning. We prayed for peace there, and for God to move in a way that cannot be counted as anything but a miracle. Please join us.

Ask, and He'll give the nations to us.

O Lord, that's the cry of my heart.

Run, Nicola, Run!

Today, former Toybox employee Nicola Sanders won a Silver medal for the women's 400m in the World Athletics Championships. We're pretty proud to say that a couple of years ago, this young lady was packing boxes of Latin American crafts in our back room. :o)

Her race time - 49.65 seconds - was her personal best. Congratulations Nicola!

Chocolate is just the icing on the cake...

Amazing ladies
I have to give a big high-five to Lesley Roberts and Gill Peters, two of our volunteers who come into the office every week. These amazing ladies pretty much run the Toybox Child Sponsorship Scheme. They're incredible!

Lesley is a qualified pyschiatrist, so we're always a little worried she's psycho-analysing us! She's specifically in charge of the birthday scheme, which means she makes sure every child gets a birthday card and balloon for their birthday! And she takes it so seriously! It's great to see how dedicated she is to a job she doesn't even get paid to do. She's really inspiring.

We recently received updates and letters from all the children in Guatemala and Bolivia. Lesley has been printing out copies of every single document, getting them organized and ready to send out to their sponsors so these special people can keep up-to-date with the children they help. She's even come in for extra hours to get more done.

All work and no play? No way.
But don't be fooled. It's not all 'work, work, work.' This lady has been known to stop at Marks and Spencer on the way in for a tub of chocolate-y treats. And lucky me: this summer I'm usually the only one in the upstairs office when she comes!

If you'd like to share our mini swiss rolls and help the children, why not become a volunteer?

And, if you don't sponsor a child yet - there's no time like the present!

Singing employees and muddy feet

Singin' in the Rain
I usually work upstairs in the Communications office, but the summer is a funny time. Out of the five people on the Comms team, 2 are on holiday, and 2 work sporadic hours during the summer because they have young children. If you're any good at math(s) - sorry, I'm American - you'll know that that just leaves one: Me.

So, most of the Summer, I've been alone in our little office on the third floor. Today I decided to come down and work on the bottom floor in Supporter Care with the lovely Jenni Dyason and the lovely Di Parry.

Our Amersham offices, for those of you who've never had the privilege to visit, are attached to a storefront where we sell our Latin American handicrafts. So those who work in Supporter Care not only do a million and one things for our supporters, they're also constantly on retail duty.

Di, who usually works upstairs (is this getting confusing?), is in quite a chirpy mood. So after lunch, as she was working diligently, began singing a song that said something about 'living in a land of make-believe' - quite loudly - when she realized there were two ladies browsing in the shop.

Thankfully, they were understanding. In fact, they said they'd just heard the organic veg man in the high street singing as well! It must be that kind of day...

I'm personally thankful Di's having a good enough time at work to be moved to sing!

New Wine B
Last Thursday and Friday, I spent some time at New Wine B in Somerset with the Toybox team. A group of volunteers led by Angela Murray, our Advocacy Coordinator, did an amazing job running the Rendezvous Cafe, the Pamper Corner, and the Toybox gifts and sponsorship stand in the New Wine Marketplace.

On Friday, I spent several hours in the Pamper Corner, the brainchild of Toybox supporter Rosie Seamark. Volunteers in the Corner rubbed feet, massaged shoulders, painted fingernails, and talked to New Wine-goers about Toybox and the children we help in Latin America.

I have to say, the thought of rubbing feet that had been camping out and trudging through dirt in flip-flops for days on end was not appealing. But the reality was better than the idea. I had an amazing time serving the people who came to our stand. It was a really humbling experience - I had to remind myself that Jesus had rubbed the feet of his friends: people who had been roaming in the desert for weeks! And I felt really blessed to have amazing conversations with people about the things they were learning at the festival.

I also got the chance to talk a lot about our children in Latin America. People were so curious about the work we do: they wanted to know how we work, how long the children can stay in the homes, and where child sponsorship money goes. It was great to be able to answer their questions - I've been learning a lot about Toybox myself over the past few months!

Getting out of the office for a couple of days and doing some hands-on(literally!), face-to-face work was encouraging, and helped me come back to the office this week feeling really connected to our supporters.

Let the street children live!

Hi, and welcome to the official Toybox blog. Here you can keep up with Toybox news, hear about goings-on at the office and abroad, and interact with us!

For us, it's a new way to keep in touch with our supporters - we love talking to you. So talk back!

MEET YOUR BLOGGER

My name is Faith Dwight, and I'll most commonly be updating the Toybox Blog. I'm the Information Coordinator here at Toybox, and I have a love/hate relationship with the internet!

I'm American, and I moved to England in April after marrying my Englishman husband, Simon. At Toybox, I'm the resident website editor, newsletter writer, tamer of the filing system, proofreader, mistake finder, prayer news sender, and now blogger!

While I'll be the one maintaining the blog, other Toybox people will occasionally be putting their two cents (pence?) in. Look for updates from Angela Murray, Advocacy Coordinator; Sally McIver, Head of Communications; Andy Stockbridge, Chief Executive; Jenni Dyason, Head of Supporter Care...and who knows who else?!

So, while we're getting started, why not introduce yourself?