"...a special way of serving others."

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:7, “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.”


Dear Friends,

​​I love Christmas, the carolers, the gatherings, decorating the house and tree.  Although, some do not enjoy gift buying and wrapping, I do! 

Kevin’s family are from South Dakota and I am from a first generation Latino family.  When we were first married, we talked about how we were going to merge our different traditions. The Hams hung stockings, wrote letters to Santa, enjoyed hot cocoa and opened presents on Christmas.  The Alvarez family experienced La Posada (the tradition of recreating Mary and Joseph journey in search of shelter),  went to church on Christmas Eve, enjoyed tamales and hot Pinole (a Mexican hot cocoa) and opened our gifts after the Christmas story was read.

Yes, some commonalities, some differences, but the gift giving is a tradition.  Our faith has the same tradition where Christmas is a time we remember the ultimate gift that was given to each of us in God’s son Jesus.  Did you know we all were given another gift?  I can hear Oprah’s words echo in my mind, “YOU get a gift and YOU get a gift and YOU get a gift!  Yes, we all do get another gift – some call it a skill, others call it a talent, scripture calls it a gift.  They may be different – when I was younger I wanted to be a famous singer.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t given that one gift. 

Yet, I was given the gift to speak and God wants me to use it to uplift and encourage others.  You see, the gift you were given is to be used to serve, love and equip.  This week, my staff sat around the conference table and I heard stories on what children and youth were experiencing this holiday season.  I am so blessed to work beside a group of committed people that used their God given gifts to serve and impact the wounded.

Thank you so very much for blessing City Impact with your love, encouragement and financial gifts.  Please know you all are making a difference in many lives.  May God bless you and your families this Christmas and throughout the New Year.

Because of Him,
Betty Alvarez Ham
President

You shop. Amazon gives!  #StartWithaSmile at smile.amazon.com/ch/77-0388915 for your holiday gifts and more, and Amazon donates to City Impact, I