Did you see how much fun the sponsors on our Dominican Republic Sponsor Tour had?

And did you notice a common theme among those pictures aside from the huge smiles and sweet hugs?

When the team visited a project, they also put on a Vacation Bible School session. In addition to fun lessons and activity sheets, the children were able to paint small wooden cars and keep them as toys.

These cars were a huge hit and the children loved showing them off.    

So where did all those cars come from?

A volunteer-based organization in Denver donated the cars to Mission of Mercy. Toys for God’s Kids’ volunteers, who refer to themselves as “Smilemakers,” come from all walks of life with various talents, but are generally retired men and women who live across the country.

The cars are made from scraps of wood given to the Smilemakers by local lumber yards. The Smilemakers then trace the pattern of the car onto the block of wood and cut out the car using jig saws. There are many different patterns they use so the children don’t all receive the same model of car.

The sides and edges are then sanded smooth. The wheels are then placed on the cars using small dowel rods. Next, the cars are stamped with USA on the bumper and the Toys for God’s Kids information on the bottom of the car.

Finally, the cars are dipped in Linseed oil to protect them and are set out to dry. They are then shipped to the organization or individual requesting them.

The cars are then packed into suitcases of the team members going to visit the children.

Once the team members reach their destination project, the cars are unloaded and given to the children to paint.

The team was somewhat surprised to see that the girls loved painting the cars, too!

Some children couldn't wait to play with their cars, even if they moved on to other VBS activities. With all of the colorful fun around them, even the staff wanted to paint a car!

Mission of Mercy would like to thank Toys for God's Kids for giving the children of our Dominican Republic projects such a gift. In the children's smiles we see the joy of knowing they are loved!