Casa Real Apartments
by Colleen Nguyen
Located in a city known as
the “safest city for its size” in 2004, the Casa Real
Apartments sit on the eastern side of San Jose, blending into
the rough suburban environment, and to most San Jose residents,
invisible to the naked eye. Within its simple, gray colored apartment
buildings, are people and families who fight to survive in a world
of vast competition, and a struggling economy.
Thanksgiving is the time of giving and every year, for approximately
ten years, the students of Valley Christian High School have made
it their mission to make a difference for the residents of this
place - not to only provide the residents with food, but to take
up this opportunity to witness.
Prayer Evangelism students worked hard to gather as many donations
as possible the previous week, and in the end had successfully
gathered $1,070 dollars worth of donations from students and teachers.
This amount surpassed the amount gathered last year. “Each
year just keeps getting better,” replied a confident Ms.
Vivian Pipkin.
On November 20, 2004, students were able to finally make a difference.
Led by Ms. Pipkin, students from Valley Christian gathered at
Food Maxx, and bought “pita beans and turkeys” and
other various food products. Bethel Church donated forty turkeys,
and along with the seventy-one turkeys bought with the donation
money, they were able to gather a total of 111 turkeys. Students
went door to door and personally brought each family a bag of
groceries and a turkey. So why does Valley Christian hold this
food drive? Ms. Pipkin replied, “To see the look of appreciation
and gratitude on their faces - it’s worth more than words
can say.”
In conclusion, this year’s food drive was a success! Remember,
when you do what God wants, it not only blesses others, but it
also blesses you. The upcoming Christmas Outreach will be on December
11. Please see Ms. Pipkin if you are interested in joining her!
