October 20, 2003

Dear Steve and Friends at Chapel of the Cross,

Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. It is obvious that many Chapel of the Cross parishioners have been very busy. Once again, we were amazed and delighted with all the wonderful new clothing and bedding items that were collected during the church's recent clothing drive. Unpacking it was great fun and seeing the children's reactions as they came to pick up their new outfits was the best! Ashley's face lit up as she eagerly gathered together her new things. “Wow! Is all of this for ME? I'm going to look great in these jeans and this sweater.” For many of our children this may be the first time they have experienced having new, attractive clothing to wear, something most of us take for granted but which has great meaning to our children. Please know that everyone's effort to help provide for our children does much more than merely clothe them — it lets them know that they are truly valued and cared for — a feeling they have not often experienced.

Life at Thompson is as active as ever. The children have started off their school year with lots of great activities and learning experiences. They recently hosted tours of a tropical rain forest they had constructed at the school. The children did an incredible job of converting one of the classrooms into a rain forest, complete with alligators and crocodiles swimming in the Amazon River, cheetahs perched on tree limbs, vines with monkeys swinging and toucan birds nestled in the treetops. The children were filled with such a sense of accomplishment and pride as they greeted visitors and hosted tours through their fantastic creation.

Thank you again for your on-going partnership in serving some of North Carolina's most fragile children and families. Chapel of the Cross is very fortunate to have such a wonderful group of truly caring and thoughtful members. We wish you all a very blessed fall.

Sincerely,

Toinette Wilkinson

Director of Volunteer Services
Thompson Childrens' Home

Visit the TCH table in the parish dining room to participate in this winter's clothing drive.

October 1, 2003

Dear Mr. Elkins-Williams,

SUBJECT: YOUR BOOK DONATIONS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA'S NORTHERN CAMPUS

I am writing to formally acknowledge receipt of all the 39 boxes of books you donated to our campus library. We are extremely pleased to have good friends like you. The fact that you have been sacrificing your precious time and resources to acquire books for us and not someone else is a clear testimony that you are indeed the best friends we have on earth.

I would therefore like, on behalf of the University of Namibia's Northern Campus, to express our sincere gratitude for your generous donation. Let me also take this opportunity to assure that your donation will be integrated into our library's collections. Undoubtedly, this donation will be of enormous benefit to our academic community and to members of the general public who use our facilities.

I must mention to you that many of our students and staff have told me that this is the best donation they have ever seen in their life. It contains a lot of what is relevant to our needs. More especially, our nursing and history collections have been enriched by your kind donation.

Once more thank you for your support and rest assured that we value your commitment to assisting us in our endeavors to improve our educational facilities.

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Ndinoshiho

Acting Director: University of Namibia's Northern Campus

Additional gifts may still be made to the library at the University of Namibia. Please contact our parish librarian, K.T. Vaughan, ktlvaughan@yahoo.com, to determine if your contributions will meet the needs of their library.