Ryland Ward was in the church in Sutherland Springs on that terrible Sunday morning full of blood and death. He is five years old, and he was shot. Five times.
Ryland was shot twice in the stomach, twice in the leg, and once in the arm. His stepmother, JoAnn Ward, and her daughters, Emily, 7, and Brooke, 5, were killed. Murdered. As we all know, 25 people died that morning 20 more were injured
This little boy is still in the hospital.
In an interview with KSAT-ABC (San Antonio), Ryland’s grandmother said she cries all the time. It’s hard to imagine the pain and loss in this family. Impossible to imagine, in fact.
One thing is helping them shoulder on. Cards and well-wishes from fellow Americans who are, for their part, sharing in this family’s grief, this boy’s suffering. Ryland loves the cards, especially with pictures of other children and their pets.
US Weekly, RedState, People Magazine, the Houston Chronicle, Faithwire, The Blaze, and of course, KSAT, along with many, many other media outlets, churches, charities, and companies are participating in a project to mail cards to Ryland for Christmas.
The family asks that cards contain a dollar bill, if possible, to help Ryland get the Christmas gift he wants the most: a go-kart. Because he is a five-year-old kid still, despite this unbelievable suffering his family must endure. I am sending one. I hope you will too.
You can mail them to:
Ryland Ward
P.O. Box 174
Sutherland Springs, Texas, 78161
Don’t forget pictures of your pets.
If you like to do things digitally, you can do that too. Photo printing website Shutterfly has a way for you to send Ryland a card from their site, here.
Just go to their site and create a custom card. Use the code CARD4RYLAND, and select to have it mailed directly to Ryland’s address above.
You can also pray for his family, and on Christmas, think about him, his sister, who also survived the shooting, their grandmother, and all the victims who were in a house of worship on that terrible day. Wish hope for them. Believe in them. And send your love.
Thanks.