Items for Shoebox


Tooth Brush
Comb
Shampoo
Bar Soap
Band Aids
Socks
Coloring Book
Notebook
Pencils
Eraser
Tooth Paste
Hair Brush
Hand Lotion
Wash Cloth
Chap Stick
Underwear
Crayons
Pen
Pencil Sharpener
Glue
 

How to Wrap Boxes


Plastic shoeboxes are great.  Just fill and tie with heavy gift wrap yarn, then write Boy or Girl and the age (approximate) on top of the lid with a permanent marker.

 

 

 

 

 


 

Love in a Shoebox

 

Did you ever wonder what love looks like?  We usually think of love as a verb; as an emotion.  But if love was a noun what would it look like?  Could you fit it in a shoebox?  You could, if you were involved in our annual "Love in a Shoebox."


"We've been waiting for you."

Each year, in November, we send our love in the form of practical items placed in a shoebox for a Triqui boy or a girl who would, otherwise, have little or nothing at the holidays.

The "Love in a Shoebox" program was brought to First Baptist Church Galt by a single mom named Tony, who had taken her kids there to live as a missionary with her children.

She met Rance and Brandy Cook who had started a ministry there.  They had been doing "Love in a Shoebox" with a number of churches in California.

First Baptist Church Galt sent six delegates, including our Pastor and his oldest son to personally deliver the shoeboxes in 1997.  Since then we have relied on a SEMI-TRUCK to deliver the shoeboxes each year!

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The Triquis live in Mexico's San Quintin Valley, 130 miles south of Ensenada. 

It is an area of significant seasonal migration, attracting up to 30,000 mostly Oaxacan Indian farm workers (including Triquis) to work in the tomato and strawberry fields that dominate the Valley. The Valley has only recently been developed and agriculture is the main economic activity there.

 

There are two main types of Indian farm workers: those who live in camps on private land owned by their employers (ranchers), and others who settle permanently in settlements, or colonias.

 


 "Do you have a shoebox for a little girl?"
 

The population living in camps is mostly seasonal, with the majority moving on to other sites of migration in a yearly circuit. Settlers tend to stay in San Quintin year-round.

 

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"I don't know if they have enough
shoeboxes for all of us."

 

A study of migration and settlement in San Quintin reveals some of the needs and demands of Indian migrants as they settle outside of their traditional territorial communities, how the state is trying to develop its new relationship with indigenous peoples, and whether Indian settlers are finding new ways to be Indian and modeling new ways to be Mexican.
 


"Yes please, I'd like a shoebox."

 

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Although state presence in this developing region is growing, it remains far behind the needs of the population settling there. There are no paved roads in the Valley except for the peninsular highway passing through, limited public health facilities, no sewage in any communities, poor coverage of water and electricity, and the absence of many public services and institutions (such as a full capacity hospital, public courts, etc.) which can only be found in Ensenada over 100 miles away.
 

Shoebox (Con't)

Settlement in the Valley has been haphazard, resulting in a disperse population removed from whatever services are available in the larger population centers.

The Indian population in the Valley makes up much of the work force in the fields.  The seasonal swell of farm workers from May to August can almost double the permanent population settled there. The harvest season in Sinaloa is during the winter, so the majority of the seasonal workers alternate between San Quintin and Sinaloa.


"I hope you come back next year."

A growing non-Indian population is also settling in the Valley. They tend to work as small merchants and employees of the agricultural enterprises or the different government agencies located in the Valley. This population tends to have a more stable, year-round source of income than field workers do and so form a significant percentage of the permanent population settled in the Valley.

____________

The migration of Oaxacan indigenous peoples to the San Quintin Valley is part of a widespread phenomenon affecting traditional Indian communities throughout Mexico today.


"Whoever gives a (bottle) of water
in My name"


When indigenous peoples leave their homes in Oaxaca and come to San Quintin to work in the fields, their living conditions improve only slightly. Although migrants to San Quintin generally have little trouble finding work, low wages and high costs of living keep them barely able to satisfy their basic needs.

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It's so easy to get busy this time of year and forget what one little shoebox, filled with practical items like tooth brushes, socks, tablets, and pencils can mean to a boy or girl who lives in poverty.


"Thank you so much"

We would like to thank Charlotte Giddens for overseeing our "Love in a Shoebox" program again this year.

The deadline is November 7th.  So, if you haven't already done so, please get a shoebox and fill it with love.  You'll feel so good!

We'll be posting pictures in November of the children receiving this year's "Love in a Shoebox" from Galt, California.
   


"Thank you First Baptist Church Galt."

Our hope and prayer is that every family in the church will prepare at least one shoebox this year (some people have done as many as ten!).

If you are visiting this site and would like to make a donation to help defray the cost of transporting the shoeboxes, you can write a check to:

First Baptist Church
653 "A" Street
Galt, CA 95632
(Designate - "Love in a Shoebox)

Thank you on behalf of the Triqui children.