Friday, April 29, 2011

The Planting Has Begun!

We had a great time this week in the NEW Village Oaks Kids Club Garden!  Mr. Jerry Burns was here to help us plant and teach the kids how to garden.  We planted tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini squash, bell peppers, jalapenos, bush beans, vine okra, cucumbers, and green beans.  Check back often to watch this garden grow!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Behind Every Door Monthly Update

Once each month Behind Every Door publishes an update (like the one below).  These updates provide a snapshot of what has happened over the previous month, and usually include stories not found on the blog.  If you would like to receive a monthly email update from Behind Every Door, please visit our website and click on the "Contact Us" tab.  Leave your information and we will be sure to add you to our email list!  But, be sure to check the blog often.  On the blog, we will keep you updated with new stories as they happen in our communities.



Above photos of the Easter Celebration at Village Oaks!

Friends,

Hundreds of our friends at Village Oaks and Willow Pond Apartments joined us for Easter celebration gatherings last Saturday. It was a wonderful day. Several friends professed faith in Jesus Christ for the first time!

Thank you to Pastor Anthony Brown for preaching at Village Oaks and to Rickey Fanning at Willow Pond for sharing his testimony.  Thank you to the Behind Every Door On-Site Staff: Will Dowell, Suzanne Wallace, Jayda Ekundayo, and Rickey Fanning...and to the Men of Nehemiah, Joe Foster, Max Fincher, Latrisce Mathews, the Turpin family, the Hamilton family and other volunteers for your partnership and hard work.

***

  

Above photos of the new playground at Village Oaks.

It's a joy to see the kids at Village Oaks playing on their brand new playground!  Thank you to the Turpin Family for their generous gift.

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Above photos of the Village Oaks March Madness Basketball Tournament.

Over 60 young men competed in our first annual Village Oaks March Madness Basketball Tournament.  The winning team won a new basketball for each player (photo above on the left).  Thanks to Will Dowell, Jayda Ekundayo, Rickey Fanning, Mike Allen, Luke Allen and emcee Will Allen for helping to make the event a great success.

***


Kids Club Garden is in process!  Planting soon...

***

We are getting excited about the summer!  Here is a partial list of the "stuff" going on...

*End-of-School Party on June 4th.

*W.O.W. (Women of Wisdom discipleship groups). We are excited to have a new volunteer point-person at Village Oaks, Barbara Grant.

*Real Men (discipleship groups). Assistant Community Director Rickey Fanning leads our group at Willow Pond and volunteer Josh Mittag leads at Village Oaks.

*Healthy Cooking Class...with volunteer Debbie Molo.

*Power Lunch: Job Training & Placement...in partnership with H.I.S. Bridgebuilders. Thanks especially to Mike Fechner, Von Minor and Sarah Begin.

*Kids Club Garden...sponsored by DeFord's Lumber Company.  Thank you to volunteer Jerry Burns for his time and investment in the Garden.

*Rap Ministry...with Deacon Law.

*Clothing Closet and Food Pantry at Village Oaks: In partnership with the Greater Ebenezer Missionary Church.

*13 young people from Behind Every Door communities will be heading to Kids Across America Christian Summer Camp for a week!

*4th of July Cookout & Basketball Tournament at Willow Pond.

*Summer Food Program.

*Math Champs Camp and Summer Reading Club.

*2 Finish Strong Basketball Camps.

***

We remember the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus this Easter season..."In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."  Glory to God.

We pray that you and your families had a blessed Easter weekend.

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Monday, April 25, 2011

New Faith - Chapter 2

It seems like God loves to answer “yes” to every prayer a brand new believer prays, even before they ask.  What fun it has been to watch the amazing answered prayers of one of the residents at Willow Pond who has recently been radically transformed by the love of Jesus.

She approached me with some concerns she had for one of the other residents.  I responded that I felt the same way, but wanted to have something to offer that resident if I went to her- like a women’s Bible Study.  She said, “ Well, let’s pray about it.”

At  2:00 we prayed.  At 3:00 a woman walked in the Community Center that I had never seen.  “What can I do for you,” I asked. “No, its what I can do for you,” she responded.  She had just moved in and had a conversation with the apartment owner, who had sent her to me.  “Well,” she continued, “I am leaving to do mission work in Africa in September, but until then I wondered if you would like me to lead a women’s Bible Study.  That’s what I do.”

Awesome!

-- Suzanne Wallace

Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter at Willow Pond


We had a great time during the Easter Celebration at Willow Pond on Saturday.  The kids in the Kids Club and some of the residents were great helpers: they cleaned, they helped set up, and they served food.  Some of the girls from the Kids Club even set up a bake sale to raise money for their class trip.

We ate hot dogs, cotton candy, and popcorn; we heard Rickey Fanning's story; and we enjoyed dancing and singing with the Men of Nehemiah.  Thanks to everyone for coming out, and thank to our volunteers for your help!

Enjoy the pictures below...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Easter at Village Oaks


We want to let everyone know about two neat things that happened at Village Oaks this past weekend.

First, the community came together!  This is a big deal as we have been laboring towards this from day one.  There is plenty of room for growth (as there is in most communities), but we were all part of something special: the makings of a community.  Residents helped set up tables, chairs, food service lines, and more!  The Village Oaks community was serving each other, and the Easter Celebration was truly a community event!

Second, God is bigger than we think.  If you joined us for the Celebration, you might recall our sound system over-heating.  We were without a sound!  This happened as Pastor Brown was beginning to present the gospel.  In the moment, I was disappointed and remember thinking, "Come on!  Not now!  We need to be able to hear this!"  Well, God doesn't need a sound system.  We saw two people trust Jesus and another ask to hear more about Jesus.  We saw people asking about getting involved with a nearby church.  We saw God at work.  We share this with you for your encouragement!

Thank you to all of our volunteers for your help!  We really appreciate you taking the time to serve with us.

Enjoy the pictures below...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries