Coats for children in Korea are loaded onto a truck for shipment to Richmond, Va.

Brunson, director of N.C. Baptist Men which coordinated the project, was referring to about 6,500 coats which were donated by Tar Heel Baptists for children in North Korea.

The North Carolina effort was part of a national project coordinated by the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

North Koreans are suffering in many ways, especially from inadequate food and clothing. "Coats for Christmas" was an effort to provide for the physical needs of the North Korean children while bearing a Christian witness and testimony.

An appeal to meet this urgent need appeared on the cover of the Dec. 6 issue of the Biblical Recorder. Various collection sites were established across North Carolina, many of them at associational offices. Coats collected at these sites were trucked to the Baptist Building in Cary where they were loaded onto two 25-foot trucks and taken to Richmond, Va., on Saturday morning, Dec. 13.

In Richmond, volunteers sorted the coats and repacked them for air shipping to North Korea to be given to the children before Christmas.

Placed the pocket of each coat was a small piece of paper with the words "A gift of love from Baptist churches in the United States." The message was written in Korean and English.

N.C. Baptist leaders predicted 3,000 coats would be donated in the state, but by 4 p.m. on Dec. 12, there were more than 4,200 coats already at the Baptist Building with hundreds more on the way.

By the next day, there were about 6,500 coats. One truck had been rented for the trip to Richmond, but when the large number of coats started coming in, Brunson rented a second truck the size of the first one.

Jerry D. Lethco, director of missions in Wilmington Association, talks with Richard Brunson, director of N.C. Baptist Men. Lethco brought a van load of coats to the Baptist Building in Cary.

"There are many heart-warming stories surrounding the donation of these coats," Brunson said. "For example, the Korean churches in Wilmington and Yates association responded immediately."

A Sunday School class in the Crabtree Valley Church, Raleigh, talked about the need on Sunday morning, Dec. 7, and agreed that the price of admission to the class' Christmas party on Dec. 9 would be a coat for the Korean children.

Executive Director-treasurer Roy J. Smith, a member of the congregation, brought 15 coats to the Baptist Building on Dec. 10. Other coats from the church were brought later.

The request was for used coats, clean and in good condition, but many new coats were donated, some with price tags still attached.

One observer quipped, "People were willing to pay more for a coat for the North Korean children than they paid years ago for their own children's coats."

The numbers were impressive from locations all across the state. For example, the Stallings Memorial Church in Rowan Association was used as a collection site for the surrounding areas. The first load of coats numbered 900, and a second load totaled 700.

From Hendersonville (Carolina Association) 300 coats were sent, and from Transylvania Association (Brevard area) another 300 coats were sent to Cary and then on to Richmond.

In Sylva, the Ashley Corporation, which makes coats and ball caps, delivered 90 new coats for the project. The company makes coats for NASCAR and did several items for the Olympics in Atlanta. John Reid, director of missions in the Tuckaseigee Association, approached the plant manager about donating coats or selling them at a reduced price. The manager offered to provide the materials free and eight ladies donated their time on Saturday to produce 60 coats. Another 30 new coats were located, bringing the total to 90.

A total of 328 coats came out of the Tuckaseigee Association area.

Bob Shrewsbury, Chapel Hill, and George Shore, retired administrative associate to the executive director at the Baptist Building, Cary, volunteered to drive the rented trucks to Richmond on December 13.

Brunson praised the cooperative efforts of many people.

"Thank you for all that you did to make this project happen," he wrote to the directors of missions. "Please pray for the people in North Korea, especially the children who will be receiving these coats." Several observers noted that the success of this project is another example of the mission-mindedness of N.C. Baptists.

"When there is a mission opportunity anywhere in the world, North Carolina Baptists are willing to take on the challenge," one person said.

Cash donations were also received to purchase new coats. On the national level, more than 100,000 coats were expected to be sent to North Korea before Christmas, with about 80,000 sought early next year.