High school youth in the La Sierra Spanish Church collected and delivered shoes and clothes to destitute children in Mexico last May. Touched by seeing poverty face-to-face, they began to ask, “What next?”

“The group of 50 to 60 young people meets on Friday evenings,” says Nelly Padilla, one of the adult coordinators. “They named themselves GLOW—Guiding Light of the World—because they want to share God’s light and love.”

Nelly’s sister in-law, Nilsa Padilla, mentioned GLOW’s desire to take on another project for impoverished children to some of her fellow workers at KSGN radio station in Riverside. An idea was born. School would begin soon. Why not collect child-sized backpacks and school supplies? GLOW members agreed. In early August, KSGN began airing spot announcements inviting listeners to help.

“We set Aug. 23 for a trip to Tijuana. We wanted 250 backpacks to give away,” Nilsa reported. On Aug. 18 they were a little worried—they had received only 41 backpacks. Then, donations suddenly flooded in. GLOW had have 282 backpacks to deliver.

Some donors brought only school supplies. Others filled backpacks with notebooks, paper, pencils, crayons, colored markers, erasers, rulers, and scissors. “A few people even tucked in a package of cookies, a bottle of juice or a dollar bill,” Nilsa said.

The next challenge was crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. Would customs inspectors suspect the GLOW leaders were planning to sell the backpacks and make money illegally? Prayer and planning smoothed the way. They carried an official letter from KSGN describing the missionary project. But no one stopped or questioned them. The three-vehicle caravan received a green light to enter Mexico.

“My parents had regularly visited impoverished neighborhoods in Tijuana, so we knew where to go,” Nelly explained. First a trickle, then a crowd of children converged on the three vehicles loaded with gifts.

GLOW leaders asked each child who wanted a backpack to sign his or her name. “Some didn’t know how to write, but they gave us their ‘squiggles,’” Nilsa said.

Thanks to one generous donor, GLOW had gifts for pre-school children, too. “The woman had 120 Beanie Babies. When she heard the appeal on KSGN, she decided to give us the entire collection,” Nilsa said. “Every child we encountered got something.”