Finlayson Newsletter
June 2004
On April 23, six very hard working soldiers came to us to help in a
number of ways. Take a few minutes to see who it was and what they did
while in Guyana.
The team originated from the
Melbourne, FL Church and consisted of one of their elders, Don Nickens,
and his wife, Debby, who works very closely with the children and the
teachers of that congregation. Along with them was their Youth Minister,
Joe Carr and two other of the members, Sandra Neidlinger and Lindsey
Tate. Carolyn Nickens, better known as "Mama C", was with them from
Jacksonville, FL Church. "Mama C" just happens to be Don's mother.
The morning after their arrival they started out early as Carolyn was the
key note speaker to over 400 ladies at our annual Ladies Inspiration Day
held in Enmore. Debby also spoke in the afternoon concerning passing on
God's unfailing love from generation to generation. Lindsey spoke to over
30 young ladies and did an outstanding job. Sandra was our song leader
for the day and she assisted us in lifting our voices up to the Lord in
Praise and Worship to HIM. What a wonderful day it was and we appreciate
so very much the time these ladies took to prepare their hearts and minds
for presenting God's word...thank you ladies. Please forgive me for not
having any photos to share with you about this day. I need a full time
photographer!
I
can't continue without letting you know who took care of all "my boys"
during the ladies day. Of course, it being a ladies day, we took the
girls from HOPE with us...but what to do with those other 25??? Don and
Joe so graciously took the challenge...and it was a challenge...of baby
sitting for the entire day. At the end of the day, I'm not sure who was
"keeper" of who but they all survived it and I know the boys benefited
from the love and attention more than these two guys will ever know.
Thanks guys!
The
main focus of this trip was a 4 day Teacher's Training Workshop that was
to be held at the Enmore building, but offered to all in Guyana who had
an interest in teaching children, especially in a Bible School setting.
This also included a class for the men about Youth Ministry. We did not
know what to expect, as we had never done this before. We were pleased
with the 50-60 persons who attended regularly. There were at least 6
congregations represented. We feel that it was a successful workshop and
have already started planning another one for next year.
Weeks before arriving in Guyana, Debby had arranged with the Manatee
Elementary School in Vierra, FL to do a shoe drive for HOPE. It all began
with the "after school program" directed by Kathy Elliott. It then lead
into the third grade teacher who wanted her children to do a service
project. Eventually, the whole school wanted to be involved! We were just
astonished at the amount of socks and shoes that these children so
graciously gave to our children here at HCH. May each of them know and
one day understand how special it is to us, to see them give so freely
from their hearts. It is such a great blessing for HOPE when donations,
such as these, are made. We take these opportunities to teach the
children about giving and
the blessings that we receive from giving. We also use these
opportunities (donations from other children) to teach them about
stewardship and how God expects us to care the things He blesses us with
weather great or small. To the children at the Manatee Elementary School,
may God bless your lives in many ways.
Another shoe/sock drive was held for the children at HCH and that again
was arranged by Debby Nickens. There are some really special children at
the Melbourne church of Christ who are so involved with the children of
HOPE. They pray for them on a regular basis. They have made Christmas
boxes for them now for 2 years. They give of their money each week to
support a child at HOPE. It did not surprise us when we visited there in
March 2004 that these same children had collected over 50 pairs of shoes
for the children!! They were beaming with love as they presented these
shoes to us for HCH. We would like to say a special thanks to the
precious children, and the adults who helped, of Melbourne who so
lovingly cares for our children.
HCH
was also blessed by the ladies at the Jacksonville, FL Church. They sent
down many new, beautiful jerseys for the children. We appreciate these
ladies for their willingness to help out in this way.
It would be such a wonderful blessing if our children could meet each and
every one who has ever donated anything to HOPE. What a wonderful lesson
we would all gain from that. There have been so many giving hearts in our
short 3 years of operation. The children don't even know the half of it,
but, they love to express their thankfulness through the making of cards.
They never tire of this. May this be a quality that we can build on top
of as they grow. May we always remember that all good things come from
our Father, God.
Among
the various things already mentioned, this group also did other helpful
things through out the day. Included in those task were mounting door
locks...lots of them, sorting Sunday school materials, organizing the
resource room, sorting clothes and shoes as well as spending time with
the children of HOPE. Carolyn spent many hours behind the sewing machine
repairing clothes for the children. That was such a blessing.
Once again, on behalf of the Church in Enmore and the HOPE Children's
Home, we would like for the Melbourne Team to know just how grateful we
are that they chose to spend a week with us in Guyana. May they be
forever blessed by their experience.
To view photos that compliment this newsletter, please open the
attachments. My apologies to those who may not be able to open them.
In Him,
Samantha Finlayson