Blossom Garden Orphanage

Our family has been blessed with a wonderful opportunity to take a family trip to Jamaica in June. Last month as we were watching one of our favorite shows, Extreme Home Makeover, we saw a spotlight about a school in Jamaica. We learned from watching the spotlight that many of the children in Jamaica do not even own a pair of shoes. Upon further investigation, we learned that many Jamaicans live in squalor, with poor housing, limited food supply, and inadequate access to clean water, quality health care, or education.
Last month, in church we studied the book of James. James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
That same week we realized that there is an orphanage in Jamaica only a few minutes from where we will be staying. Blossom Garden is an orphanage that houses approximately 70 children from the ages of birth to 7 years old. These are children who have become wards of the state and the orphanage, although it is state funded, still is in need of many basic supplies and support.
Our family has decided to put our faith into action and we will be visiting the orphanage to assist in any way we can by serving meals, playing with the children, blowing bubbles and reading books. It is also our hope that we can assist in supporting them by bringing along some of the items they are in need of. We were put in contact with the director of the orphanage through the Apostolic Christian World Relief organization and they informed us that they are in great need of:
· Clothing for boys and girls ages 5-9
· Bath soap
· Shampoo
· Small toys
But, we cannot do this on our own. It is our goal to fill many suitcases with clothes and supplies to leave at the orphanage. If you would like to join us in our project to be a blessing to Blossom Garden, you can donate any of the above items or make a donation that will go towards the purchase of the above items.
We will also be having a car wash at our house on Sunday, June 13th and a lemonade/cookie stand on the corner of West/Herndon on Friday, June 18th. Please join us at either event!
Thank you,
The Castro Family
Neil, Ann, Nicholas, Cody and Brett