God in the Mailbox

by Dave Franco | October 3, 2012

The weed-covered yard just outside Danna Rapacilo’s back window was a constant reminder that her husband was far, far away. Except for the weeds, the yard was empty—like her heart as she waited for him to return from his deployment to the other side of the world—but it was still months away.

One day, an envelope arrived from a Rock ministry called Hope Sent. In it was just a card and simple message of care for Danna, but it shook her to the core. “Somebody cares!” she thought, surprised by her own exhilaration. “I think I must have started to believe that I had been forgotten.”

Hope Sent was started by Shannon Wasser who had been asking God to give her a ministry idea. One day she was talking to a woman who was grieving the loss of her husband. That afternoon Shannon wrote her a card, addressed it and set it before her to remind her to mail it. Later, she noticed it sitting there, the neat, pretty corners of the white envelope, the texture of the parchment, the happy look of her own handwriting spelling the woman’s name. Suddenly she had her idea for a ministry.

Hope Sent sends people who are struggling in any way a colorful card, hopeful scripture and a sentiment from someone who cares and is praying for them. “Lest anybody think we are simply a card-sending ministry, we are not,” says Shannon. “We are sending a card that represents lots of prayer and we seek the Holy Spirit as to what to say, which scripture to include and which person in our ministry should write it. They’re simple cards but they have lots behind them.”

As for Danna, a weed-covered yard is no longer the first thing she sees when she looks out the back window. It's the card she received from Hope Sent. “I love it,” says Danna. “I wonder if they know how much it means to me.”

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