OUR CARE MINISTRIES
The gift bags you put inside the van were so incredibly thoughtful! You delighted our children, and thereby really blessed us parents. 🙂
Thanks so much for your kind hospitality and welcome to America. Not only will your van be a blessing to us during the summer, we’ve already been blessed by your generosity of clothes, snacks, and household supplies. God bless.
We are so glad to have a safe and reliable vehicle to travel in. We also didn’t expect it to come packed with goodies!
Top 10 Goody Bag Needs this month
1. Chewy granola bars
2. Fruit snacks
3. Crackers
4. Travel blankets
5. Crossword books
6. Uno / card games
7. Sudoku books
8. Adult activity books
9. Lip balm
10. Gum
Goody Bag Ministries
History
The goody bag program was not part of the original plan for Righteous Rides. Bret Byus and Mark Reighard were already racing to keep up with the need for missionary transportation. They didn’t think they had time to add anything else to the ministry.
However, the Lord had a plan to bless missionaries through Righteous Rides in an unexpected way.
The Righteous Rides team had been putting bottled waters into vans, so that missionaries would have something cold to drink. During one of the leadership’s monthly meetings, they started discussing how much missionaries appreciated the simple bottled water. Then the ladies began brainstorming how they could do a bit more to bless missionaries.
It started with some personal care items and snacks in a small bag. Then it grew to include cleaning items for the parents, road trip snacks, and individual goody bags for the children. The Lord continued to bring together faithful volunteers who embroidered blankets and packed goody bags for years, and this process has been made even more efficient by the donation of a Bernina sewing machine with embroidering capabilities. Now, each missionary family receives a personalized blanket, and children 18 and younger receive a bag embroidered with their name.
The care aspect of Righteous Rides became such an integral part of what God was doing through the ministry that it was added to the mission statement in early 2016. The mission statement now says our goal is, “providing care and cars to missionaries on furlough…. in a manner worthy of God.”
Prayer Ministry
Prayer During Vehicle Release and Return
Righteous Rides volunteers and staff pray with missionaries as they pick up a van and as they return a van. We always ask to hear about their ministry overseas, and for any concerns in the field or in the states. We also ask them for prayer requests as they travel on furlough and as they return to the field. It is important to us to cover missionaries in prayer.
As Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Blessings Boutique
Free Clothing
Missionaries that come through the St. Louis hub location have access to our Blessings Boutique. The Boutique is full of new clothes with tags still on them, which the missionary family can “shop” through. There is everything from adult XL clothing to infant clothing. We also offer a limited selection of shoes, purses, and other accessories.
Often missionaries are not properly equipped to handle the temperature extremes in the US. If their country of service is warm year round, then they may not have coats for the cold winter months. Our goal for the Boutique is to bless missionaries by saving them a trip to the store, and anticipating their needs.
You can donate new clothing with store tags on them to the Blessings Boutique. If you are interested in donating, you may contact our program coordinator, Renee, at renee@righteousrides.org.