A Mother’s Day card sent from a soldier to his wife sparked a new military ministry at Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, Grandville, Mich.
Lt. Col. Ken Kamper picked up a homemade card in Iraq over a year ago and mailed it to his wife, Krista Kamper, in Olympia, Wash.
“I was touched—first that he remembered and, second, that ladies would make cards for someone they didn’t know to send to someone else,” Krista said. “We get the occasional phone call or e-mail, but a card is something tangible that you can look at and hold on to.” The Kampers are members of Olympia CRC.
Krista asked her mother, Ellie Postma, a Fellowship member, to start a card-making group at church, which began meeting twice a month.
The cards contain space inside for soldiers to write messages and their names. Postma said manufactured greeting cards are not readily available to service members in Iraq.
Krista recalls the importance of a card stamped “I’m thinking of you,” Ken sent to their son, Nate, 6. “My son put it by his bed to keep with all his other treasures.”
Every two weeks Postma mails hundreds of cards to chaplains in Iraq to distribute. CRC Chaplain InSoon Hoagland wrote from Iraq to thank the card makers, saying that their effort helps soldiers know that prayer and love go into the cards.
Each card bears a sticker that says, “Created in love by Fellowship Church, Grandville, Mich.”
