All 400 backpacks were filled within an hour, and then taken to Spirit Lake Ministry where they were distributed.

Over 400 backpacks were delivered to Spirit Lake Ministry Center on August 11^th and were distributed, packed with back-to-school supplies, within 24 hours! Each backpack contained all the school essentials– notebooks, crayons, markers, and hand sanitizer. With the help of many volunteers from Arthur United Methodist Church, Arthur, North Dakota, it took only just over an hour to fill all 400 backpacks. This was a great feat to accomplish– just ordering, preparing, and planning the assembly line operations. The effort was led by Kevin Skunes, a member of the Arthur UMC missions team.

Volunteers, kids, and parents were excited about the backpacks brought to Spirit Lake by volunteers from Arthur UMC, who reached out to their neighbors with love and generosity.

In asking about the purpose and meaning of the backpack mission, Pastor Mike Flowers said, “It’s a blessing to not only the children, but to the parents and grandparents who may have to make difficult choices between school supplies and other necessities”.

A group of nine people traveled to Spirit Lake to deliver the backpacks and were met with great hospitality from Libby Flowers and Pastor Mike! It was an incredibly windy North Dakota day, but each volunteer celebrated with the children and families of Spirit Lake that stopped by to pick up a backpack or two.

Five Arthur UMC volunteers even bought some Spirit Lake merchandise and immediately tried it on.

One ninth-grade student volunteer on the trip, who recognized the importance of this mission, stated, “I feel thankful about the Spirit Lake backpack mission because I got to help other people in need.”

This is the sixth year Arthur UMC has supported this vital ministry and the congregation hopes to continue this support for many more years. If you would like to help, please go to www.arthurumc.org and designate a donation to missions.