ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, SportsChurch stunned thieves steal collected goods for needy

     Thieves have really hurt the annual Honduras mission at Valley View Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa.

     The church had been collecting mountains of shoes and clothing for a year to take to the suffering country.  "We keep them in a storage unit.  It's really the body of Christ at Valley View giving their stuff away, "said Family Pastor Mark Seagle.

    But, when member went to retrieve the items and sort they found one of their two storage units had been broken into. "We really don't believe they [thieves] knew what they were taking.  The broke at lock off in the middle of the night."

    Steagle estimates about 3000 pairs of shoes, some clothing and toys were taken.

    Now, church members are pulling out collection boxes again to collect more items for Hondurans.  They're setting the boxes up during their weekly 'Awakening' service which also will be a collection time for Tuscaloosa relief efforts.

    The church by no means blames owners of the storage units and holds no grudges against whoever took the items.  "We would just love for them to just drop it back off...no questions asked.  There are a lot of Hondurans who could use it."