Never Too Late to Give to Missions
Cleveland, TN–North Cleveland Church of God usher Ruth Carrasquillo cannot physically go to the mission field, but she has devised a way to be a part of foreign missions.
Ruth collects material and makes tote bags for people in Hispanic regions. Teams who travel on mission trips from North Cleveland take her handmade bags with them to Honduras and Ecuador.
When the senior groups of the church heard about her project, they started donating material to Ruth. Soon she was overwhelmed with fabric, but excited that she could expand the project from making just tote bags to making backpacks.
Elated at finding a way to help those in dire living conditions, Ruth soon realized her totes and backpacks were prized items among those receiving her unselfish gifts. It is a useful evangelistic tool, and shows that an individual unknown to them cares enough to give them something of value – a means of carrying what little they have with them. Other items she makes are clothespin bags, purses, and bags for storing bread. In Cuba, when the poor receive their weekly allotment of bread, it is given to them unwrapped.
Since the onset of this project, Ruth has sent purses to nine countries, and the list continues to grow. Because she cannot travel to the mission field, she asks those who distribute her items to please take photos and bring them back to her. To see the joy on the faces of those she has blessed is reward enough.
Ruth was born in Puerto Rico and is 71 years old. She has lived in the United States 37 years. Ruth was healed of breast cancer four years ago. Before that, she had nine other surgeries, several of them relating to a damaged rotator cuff from working as a hair stylist for more than 35 years.
Ruth says, “I want everyone to know it is never too late to serve God, and you’re never too old to give Him your talent. Gloria a Dios!”
(Source: Church of God World Missions. Janet Price, Media Team Leader)
