Most years, Ken Kramer and his cohorts from the Columbia Lions Club feed those in need at the holidays.

They did that again on Sunday, delivering 410 Christmas food boxes to families in and around their area of western Lancaster County.

But this year they extended their reach all the way across Lancaster County, bringing Christmas toys along with meals for a family in need.

Kramer, the project chairman, made the trip from the left side of the county all the way to the right, bearing gifts.

And three boxes, all filled with a big turkey and other food for a holiday feast.

Rhonda Salapa of Narvon and her family are glad he did.

"You can't imagine how good it makes you feel when something like this happens," the 26-year-old Salapa said last week after Kramer's delivery.

"It uplifted us a whole lot."

Salapa and her husband, Eugene, have two daughters, 3-year-old Samantha and 18-month-old Skye, who both suffer from a rare kidney disease.

The affliction requires expensive treatments and stays at Hershey Medical Center. And since Eugene, 34, recently started his own business setting up modular homes, things have been financially tight.

So when Kramer personally delivered the gifts and food on Thursday, "I was shocked ... it was more than I could have ever imagined," Salapa said.

"It will definitely help us a whole lot."

Kramer heard about the Salapa family's needs through his daughter, Holly. Both Holly and Rhonda Salapa take their children to Helping Hands day-care center on Oregon Pike.

Samantha and Skye have congenital nephrotic syndrome, a rare, inherited disorder characterized by protein in the urine and swelling of the body.

The disorder commonly results in infection, malnutrition and kidney failure, and often is life-threatening.

Samantha had both of her kidneys removed in October and is on dialysis every night for 10 hours. She is on a national waiting list to receive a new kidney, which should help her lead a pretty normal life, Salapa said.

Now, she sometimes has problems bending and then standing. "But other than that, we try to give her as normal a life as possible," Salapa said. "But she's a trooper, and she really tries her best to do everything."

Skye is just now showing signs of the disease.

Both Eugene and Rhonda Salapa have the gene that causes the disorder.

Facing her daughters' difficulties, Rhonda Salapa isn't one to wonder why or complain.

"Even though the two girls are sick, I wouldn't have asked for any other children," she said last week.

"I think I am able to look at the bigger picture ... my children can't take care of themselves, so I have to be strong for them."

For example, Skye, the 18-month-old, is on 13 different medications that have to be spaced evenly.

The rare affliction only strikes one in 10,000 children, and also is called the "Finnish Type," because it is most common among those of Finnish descent. Many Plain residents also seem to have it, Mrs. Salapa added.

Eugene has some Finnish background, while Rhonda's background is Mennonite.

Born and raised in Lancaster County, Mrs. Salapa is the former Rhonda Zeiset, the daughter of Harold and Iris Zeiset of East Earl and a 2000 graduate of Garden Spot High School.

Her husband was "a military brat" who was born in Hawaii and grew up mostly in Florida.

The Salapas were one of about 150 families with children who got toys along with their food boxes from the Columbia Lions Club.

About 200 volunteers organized by the Lions Club assembled Christmas food boxes Sunday morning at Columbia No. 1 Fire Company and delivered them to needy families, mostly in the western part of Lancaster County.

The Lions Club collects the names of potential recipients and then solicits local businesses and civic organizations for food or financial donations.

"It was a great year. We took care of a lot of needy families. We had people crying yesterday when we showed up with boxes and toys," said Kramer.

The Salapas certainly appreciated the unexpected Christmas gift.

The food and gifts were "very, very rewarding. I'm a Christian (they attend Elanco Dove Fellowship), and I believe that God can do miracles, and every day."

And last Thursday was one of those miracles.

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