Left: Denis Casco, surrounded by Bolsa Bags, with a Mexican girl.
Right: Carrying a box of Bolsas into a church in Mexico.

Operation Bolsa

Posted February 2001

In December Rev. Denis Casco delivered 448 Bolsa Bags to the United Brethren children in Mexico. He loaded everything into a U-Haul trailor, and the bags were distributed to children in six different UB churches.

Bolsa Bags are simply packets containing a variety of items--crayons, pencils, writing tablets, assorted school supplies, toys, stuffed animals, coloring books, clothing, snack foods, hair accessories for girls, etc.

This was the Vacation Bible School project last summer, and it was a big success, as evidenced by the smiles on the faces of the children who received these bags at Christmas time.

A large assortment of items was received from across the denomination. As materials arrived at the Mission Office in Huntington, Ind., a team of ladies from the local College Park UB church unpacked the boxes of gifts, sorted and repacked everything up into separate bags, and prepared the final shipping boxes.It was a huge job requiring many hours of volunteer work. The bags were marked as either "Boys" or "Girls", and the appropriate age. group for that particular bag was also marked on the bag. Each bag also included a booklet telling (in Spanish) the Christmas story.

Churches also raised $13,700, which was used to buy shipping materials, cover shipping costs, and pay for customs charges at the Mexican border.

A church filled with people during the Bolsa distribution.

Left: Clowns are a traditional part of celebrations in Mexico.
Right: A young girl clutches her Christmas gift.