Christi Mosby’s dinning room table, foyer and hall closet are full of baby clothes, toys and other items.
The Oxford resident jokes that it may look like she’s running a flea market, but she isn’t.
Mosby has been collecting the gently used and discounted baby items for a Mom to Mom sale, which will take place on Saturday, November 18 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church.
Proceeds from what Mosby sells will help fund her mission trip to Cape Town, South Africa, where she will help provide Christmas for 3,000 children and visit patients at an end-stage AIDS hospice at the Living Hope Community Center.
The center also helps the poor and homeless. Living Hope’s community workers are often the only link between the community and local health and educational services.
Mosby and 18 others from the United States will leave November 28 and stay until December 10.
The group will be bringing 700 hygiene packs, which includes items like soap, washcloths and mirrors, school supply packs and will be supplying money to purchase Bibles, food and games as Christmas gifts for the children.
‘We’ll also do devotionals with the children and teach them about Jesus,? Mosby said.
The biggest need right now is to get 300 donated packs of Polaroid 600 film, so her group can take photos for the children to keep. So far, they have 90.
‘A lot of the children don’t have pictures of themselves or have never seen a picture of themselves,? she said.
Many of the adults dying of AIDS, according to Mosby, are happy to have a photo of themselves to leave behind for family.
After Mosby and her group helps spread the Christmas spirit to the thousands of children at the center, she said they will be meeting with the AIDS patients at the hospice and try to ‘bring them to God and just provide comfort.?
They will also host a luncheon for the staff at the center, for about 100 HIV positive women and will host a dinner party for the homeless.
This mission trip is the first for Mosby, who is a member of the Kensington Community Church based in Troy, and she said it was ‘one of those things that just fell into place.?
But she’ll be the first to admit she felt a little nervous about going on a mission trip.
‘Part of it was that I never felt like I would have anything to contribute,? she said. ‘I had my faith and knew what I believed, but could I talk to others about God??
Then, Mosby decided to just do it.
‘If I can get out of my comfort zone and go down there and talk to others about God, then anybody can do it,? she said.
So far, Mosby said support and donations toward her trip have been tremendous.
She’s been getting van-loads of baby items for the sale from residents, the Problem Pregnancy Center in downtown Oxford and even from the FISH Clothes Closet that is closing.
Just walk into her hallway and you can see the amount of support she’s gained from the local community.
‘It’s amazing how people give,? she said. ‘I’ve been really moved by people’s generosity.?
Mosby hopes one day to bring her two children on a mission trip to see ‘how lucky they are.?
‘I want them to realize that this world outside of their world is very eye opening.?
The Mom to Mom sale will run from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday at Holy Cross Lutheran Church (136 S. Washington St.) with 20 moms participating. Mosby is still taking donations for the sale. You can drop them at her home at 574 Eastlake Trail, Oxford. Call her at (248) 969-4019 for more information.