Monday morning we had the opportunity to be a part of another container loading party.  As usual, I took photos and in almost every photo there is a smile on everyone’s face.

There is a certain kind of joy that one feels when serving others that you just don’t get in any other way.  It really did feel like a party!  One of the reasons for that sense of joy was that the driver of the truck was a good friend of the driver we had for the last load to the Ukraine, and since this load was also headed for the Ukraine, the driver brought a friend from the Russian Speaking Church in Meridian, Idaho.  They have a youth group that goes to the Ukraine every summer to work and share the love of Jesus.  They were so excited to hear about the ministries of Hands of Hope NW, and how much Hands of Hope NW has donated to the people of the Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.

David Ferdinand showed him the map on the wall indicating the containers that have been sent out from Hands of Hope NW.

The driver was very impressed with the ministry of Hands of Hope NW and even helped us load the container and was so excited to do so! Visiting with us as time allowed.

The Driver helping us load the container for the Ukraine

There was a point when some of us were not sure that everything was going to fit inside that container, as it was filling fast and there seemed to be so much more to fit into it.  But thanks to the new way they weigh and measure the cube of everything, the estimations made based on that were almost exact!

That is in a large part due to the dedication of the loading crew that meticulously fills every open space in keeping with their goal of not packing any air, but rather sending a full load.

After we filled the container, we had a time of prayer before closing the doors and sealing the load.

A word of prayer prior to closing up and sealing the load

Then we had a time of fellowship as the crew watched the videos Todd had made of other container loading parties and volunteers and then we had lunch!

The driver visited with us and even stayed for lunch and fellowship with the crew!

The driver having lunch with the crew before taking the load to the port!