Soup-erbowl Sunday

In December I shared a need with everyone for the Smyrna/LaVergne Food Bank & it was a huge success. We had individuals, neighborhoods & business collecting goods & it made a huge impacted on their organization.

Many of you may not be aware that LifePoint has a food bank. Not only do they put together food boxes for families in need, they also pray with these families & love on them during this difficult time.

This ministry is currently experiencing increased amounts of families needing assistance due to job loss and reduced wages.

So this Sunday...before heading to the church, go through your cabinets & grab some non-perishable items to donate to this very needed cause. There will be large bins at the church entrances for drop-off.

This is a great way to make an impact on your community without a lot of effort. It's also a neat way to teach young children how to bless others. Give your child a box & let them pick out foods that they want to offer to someone in need.

A New Life For Burmese Refugees

The folks at Community Servants are in need of some handyman work at Wherry Housing this Saturday. They are renovating an apartment for a lady named Karen (pronounced Ka’rin) and her family. They are refugees from Burmese who are starting a new life here.

If you or your small gorup have time & would like to be a huge help for this family, please contact John Key at 615-223-1391 or by email john@communityservants.org

Shoot me an email me if you have any questions.

Overdue relief

Wow...have I got a story for you.

RaeLeigh Smith is a member of God's Girls and has been for almost 4 years. RaeLeigh's story is one that needs to be shared & she has given us permission to do so.

Years ago she worked at a convenience store & it was robbed. She was shot in the face/neck & she ended up in the hospital for months. During the recovery of this tragic even she lost custody of her children to her ex & she had to move in with her mother. When she came to God's Girls she was living with her mother but has since gotten her own place in M'boro, (GGs helped her furnish) She was able to get visitation with her children and she even got her teeth replaced. (She loss them when she got shot) About a year ago she came to class and told the group she had received a call saying authorities caught the guy and they wanted her to come to court to testify. She was really upset that she had to live thru the whole ordeal again. The girls prayed over her and had to convince her to forgive the guy. She came back a few weeks later and said that she had testified & she had also forgiven him.

I'm not sure when or where in all this that she became a believer, I think she already was. Her whole family attends FBC. I know her Mom & step-dad and sister attend. Every weekend Rae has her children, she brings them to Church as well. I'm sure I'm missing a few pieces of the story....but I do know that she has been a faithful daughter of our King and now she is receiving a wonderful opportunity. She is getting a new house built by Habitat For Humanity.

Here is where we need help..........She has to put in 300-400 sweat hours before she can move into her house. This work doesn’t have to be done by her alone. Those hours can be worked by ANYONE and she gets credit for that.

If your small group or anyone you know might want to help out, please let me know. Dates for the work are listed below. A waiver must be signed by each worker prior to volunteering. If you'll email me I can forward that to you. krystal-brown@comcast.net

ADDRESS: 400 South University

DATES:
January: 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st
February: 4th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 25th, 27th, and 28th
March: 4th, 6th, 7th, 13th, and 14th

God bless you for considering this opportunity. Please let me know if you can help.

Get a upgrade this Christmas?

The Exchange Club family Center is the only non-profit organization in all of Rutherford County that offers a child abuse "prevention" program for residents of the community. While there are fabulous organizations that serve children of abuse, prevention is vital. Not only does it protect a child at risk, but in many cases it breaks the cycle of years of family abuse.

The center also provides a safe exchange between parents who are not able to get along. During these exchanges one parent drops the child off and they have a playroom/waiting room to remain in until the other parent arrives to pick them up. This way the parents don't see one another & the child isn't at risk for witnessing a hostile encounter.

I was visiting the center Tuesday and their Director mentioned she'd love to have a TV/DVD player in the waiting for the children. My mind immediately began to imagine how nervous & uncomfortable these children probably are during this process. All the "what if's" that cross their mind as a result of things they might have witnessed in the past. Having something like the TV/DVD to take their mind off that would be fantastic.

So...that being said, if anyone got a nice HD or Plasma upgrade this Christmas and have an older TV/DVD player that you no longer need please let me know. This may even be something you could check with friends & neighbors about or post at your office.

Send me an email or give me a call with any questions.
krystal-brown@comcast.net

A Clear Vision

Happy New Year everyone!

I got a call today from guidance at a local middle school. A young boy was in desperate need of sport goggles but his family was unable to pay for them.

I began typing an email to some of our small group leaders to see if we could find this young man some help. He is a great student, athlete & all around good person and currently plays sports but it is against school policy to wear glasses so he's been playing without them. (Can you imagine?)

Prior to sending an email I wanted to check with Wal-Mart to see if their vision center carried & could equip this child should we be find someone who was willing to help pay for them. I spoke with their store manager Mike. Some of you may know who Mike is. If you went to Wal-Mart during the Christmas season......he was the guy belting-out beautiful Christmas hymns and collecting money for the Salvation Army….always giving a "God bless" when you walked by. What a great person.

Anyway, he informed me about something called Project Insight. A program that provides kids under the age of 18 with a free eye exam & glasses. I told him the story & he said if we'd send him in he'd get him all taken care of. What a blessing!

The family is thrilled. I can't wait to see how amazing this kid is going to play now that he can finally see things clearly.

I keep thinking.....how cool is this.....a need filled before I ever had to communicate it! There are so many great things happening in our community.