Baptist Mission Center Update

Well, now that the snow and ice have melted we’re back to regular routines. We missed a number of days, but we’re praying for the snow to stop for the winter.

Despite the weather, our programs continue to see increased participation. Today at Baptist Friendship House we had 12 women come for Bible Study with two new ladies. That’s remarkable as last year at this time we averaged only 5.

New programs

Baptist Friendship House is adding a new program. On the first Monday of each month we will have Coupon/Budget Club at 6:30pm. We will gather to cut and share coupons, share shopping tips, and find ways to stretch our precious dollars. We hope to have a program every Monday evening that helps the ladies help themselves. Ideas that have been offered are:

• Resume Building
• Scrapbooking
• Computer Classes
• Lawnmower maintenance
• Sewing/Quilting
• Flower Arranging
• Health Issues/Nutrition

If you can help with any of those areas, please contact Nathan White (343.5437).

Community Issues

I don’t like wading into politics, but there are two issues in today’s paper that impact our community. The first are proposed budget cuts and the second is that the city received the regions’ unhealthiest ranking.

Budget cuts:

Within the Department of Social Services, for example, McDonnell has suggested eliminating general fund support for nine programs outright, including $1.2 million for homeless assistance programs, $700,000 for domestic violence services, $4.8 million in child support supplements and $3.6 million for the state Healthy Families initiative.

From the Department of Health, McDonnell’s lieutenants have suggested eliminating nearly $1 million from a teen pregnancy prevention program, cutting $1.8 million for the Virginia Association of Free Clinics, trimming $2.2 million from the Virginia Health Care Foundation and eliminating local health department dental care services. (Roanoke Times article)

Obviously nothing is final, but no matter what happens, this abymsal economy continues to affect the least of these – those that we serve. We can’t count on government; how are we, as God’s people, going to help?

Unhealthy rankings

Roanoke ranked 116 out of 132. The results in the  healthiest communities were those that:

…show that people who live in healthier counties tend to have higher education levels, are more likely to be employed, have access to more health care providers, and have more access to healthier foods, parks and recreational facilities. (Roanoke Times article)

Around the neighborhood

Last week there was a shooting just one block away from the Baptist Friendship House. Two of our ladies live on that block. Please pray for them, their families, and for their safety.

Yesterday a body was found in Southeast. Please continue to pray for the families in that neighborhood that Baptist Community Center serves.

January Update & Needs

Hi all! Here is the latest update from your mission centers.

Baptist Community Center

We need the following items ASAP:

• Big Art Tablets
• White paper for kids to draw on and use for art projects (maybe someone has access to a copy place that would donate scrap paper?)
• Hot glue sticks (big and little)
• Paper towels
• Paper products (8 oz. Styrofoam cups & plates, bowls, dessert plates)
• Plastic forks & spoons
• Pearl glitter glue
• Paint by number sets
• Electric knife
• Volunteers
• Prayer
• Bibles for Children
• Box of Copy Paper
• White Construction Paper
• Fabric (at least 36 x36) to make quilts with during the Ladies Program
• Blankets (new or used) all sizes
• # 3 crochet string
• Quilting thread
• White sewing thread
• Curved needles for tacking
• Bible Study Teacher for Ladies Bible Study on Thursdays from 10:30-11:15 a.m.
• Storage tubs (all sizes)
• Large paper grocery bags (always needed)
• 4 White 6 ft fold up tables
• Non perishable food to restock food closet
• Lincoln Logs and Leggos
• Model cars/planes, etc for all ages

Baptist Friendship House

The combination of very cold weather along with a power increase by the electric company has squeezed a lot of our families. Many in our Ladies Bible Study are having to make tough decisions about how to stretch their money to make ends meet. They are not able to obtain essential items as utility bills rise. To help out, we are currently collecting:

• Non-perishable food
• Gently-used and new clothes (all sizes and all ages)
• Jackets
• Shoes (all sizes and all ages)
• Household items (such as laundry detergent, paper towels, dish soap, etc)
• Hygiene and Health products (shampoo, body wash, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, etc)
• Baby items (diapers of all sizes, formula, onesies, baby wipes, etc)
• $25 gift cards to Kroger or WalMart to help with any other purchases such as medicine and prescriptions.

If you can help with any of these items, please bring them any time on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 9am – 5pm. If you need to drop them off at another time, please contact us as we’re at the Friendship House other times of the week.

Volunteer Opportunity: If you can spare 45 minutes on a Tuesday morning to help teach and lead our ladies in quilting, we would greatly appreciate it.

Our After-School Ministry is trucking along. We’re small but we are growing. The following items will be of great help:

• Board games for all ages
• XBOX games (the original XBOX)
• Gaming systems

Here are a couple of pictures from Friendship House:

Christmas basket help

This snow really messed up some of our Christmas plans. We were going to have a big day Saturday, but we were too busy making snowmen.

Windsor Hills Baptist Church is delivering food for 50 Christmas baskets tomorrow morning at 10am. These aren’t quaint “baskets” though – there is a lot of food involved as well as a few household items. A number of the volunteers that were lined up to help cannot make it tomorrow.

If you can make it out of your driveway and help us unload the truck, sort the food into their boxes, and deliver them, we would greatly appreciate it. Even if you can only help for a few minutes, we could use it.

So if you can help us out tomorrow at Baptist Community Center at 10am, we would very grateful.

Hunger in Roanoke – video

How will you respond?

You can help by:

• sponsoring a $30 Angel Food box for a family that will feed them for one week.
• collecting non-perishable food for our upcoming emergency food pantry.
• purchasing food or donating funds for our After-School programs and Ladies programs

If desired, the video can be placed on DVD for viewing for your small group or congregation. Literature can also be sent detailing the ways to connect with our neighbors at the mission centers. Please email Nathan (nathan@rvba.org) or call him at 540.632.2632.

Hunger in Roanoke

Did you know that 39% of children living in the city of Roanoke receive food stamps? Neither did I.

On Sunday I was idly thumbing through my iPhone when I came across an article titled “Food Stamp Use Soars, and Stigma Fades”. Many of the folks connected to the mission centers, if not all, receive food stamps. Most data I’ve seen comes from 2007, before the recession really took root. I’ve been hungry for new data to reflect the realty I see everyday at the mission centers.

The numbers are not pretty.

Nationally, one in four children are on food stamps. 20,000 people enroll everyday.

Read that again.

For the city of Roanoke, one in five people receive food stamps. Even more astonishing, 39% of children are on food stamps. Two out of every five children receive food stamps.

Personally, I knew it was bad, but my guess would have been about 25%, not 39%.

Food stamp applications are up 30% since 2007. Compared to surrounding localities, the number of people receiving food stamps are much higher. However, the percentage change from 2007 is high in all areas.

The need is great. The mission centers are located in some of the hardest hit areas in Roanoke. We’re doing what we can, but we cannot serve these folks in Jesus’ name without the support of our churches.

Thank you to all who have helped, and continue to help. This is a problem that won’t go away anytime soon.

(View the interactive graphic)

December Needs

Happy December, and Happy Advent! We are awaiting the entrance of the Messiah in the humblest of forms: as a baby, born in a barn. Yet, this baby, both human and divine, grew up and changed the world through a radical message: Love God, love each other.

This message seems so simple, yet we who follow Jesus recognize that we must be completely changed in order to do so. Jesus lived out His message in the perfect way, yet it still angered the religious leaders of the day that they still killed Him. Fully experiencing and then sharing the love of God can be tough stuff – 2,000 years later the world still doesn’t understand Him.

There are folks who walk through the Mission Centers that don’t understand the saving power of Jesus Christ and do not understand this love. Many of these folks won’t have anything special this Christmas. What better time to share that saving love with them?

We already have a significant portion of Christmas taken care of, but we still need some help. Here are a few ways you can love your Roanoke neighbors and help share the Good News of Jesus with them:

• Sponsor a child for Christmas. We have a handful that still need some help.
• Help fill Christmas boxes by purchasing a $25 Walmart gift certificate. We already have some, but we need at least 20 more.
• Donate food for our Christmas boxes. Hams, canned goods, potatoes, stuffing, dessert mixes, and pasta are all appreciated and needed.
• Donate household products and paper products, such as: laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, feminine products, paper towels, bathroom tissue, etc.
• Help us put together our Christmas boxes. The date and time will be determined soon.

All items will need to be brought in no later than December 15th. (Wow, Christmas is coming fast!)  Any questions? Email Nathan at nathan@rvba.org or call him at 540.632.2632.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you to everyone that donated items and money for Thanksgiving baskets. We are set to hand out several dozen baskets to our program participants and their families.

Last week I dropped food off for one family that is going through an especially difficult time. They only had three small items in their freezer. After today, their freezer was full and they had to store some items at her church because of the generosity of Association churches. My prayer is that family will be able to enjoy the holidays and not have to worry about food for at least several weeks.

I spent the weekend with several teens from the mission centers along with the youth group of Virginia Heights Baptist Church at a youth conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We had a great weekend worshiping God with several popular Christian bands and speakers.

Again, thank you all for allowing our families to be thankful for many blessings this holiday.

Please pray…

Today we’ve received news that two people very closely connected to the Baptist Friendship House are very sick and have a lot of medical needs. Please pray for comfort, for strength, for healing, and that God’s presence will be felt as these two families journey through these difficult times.

If you feel so led to help beyond prayer, please contact myself, Nathan, at 632.2632. At this time, cards for one family especially would be appreciated. For privacy reasons, please call me for the name and where to send them.

Thank you so much.

BMC Update

Well, no news means busyness at the Mission Centers! We certainly have been busy during October. We extend a big “Thank You” to those who donated their time, goods, and money to help these critical ministry needs in the city.

1. We hired a second Ministry Assistant at Baptist Community Center: Frazier Doran. Frazier will focus on the After School Ministry and help Pat and Janie provide a high-quality program. We’re so excited that she’s onboard!

2. We found a dentist. Thank you all who helped us look.

3. Angel Food box sponsorships keep rolling in. Thank you so much for your continued support. Right now we’re providing 9 boxes each month. At $30 a piece, we need $270 a month. So far that goal has been met. The food is very much appreciated, and most importantly, it’s needed. Your $30 provides tremendous help and blessing.

If you are interested in helping, please send cash or check (made out to RVBA) to 635 Elm Ave., SW, Roanoke, VA 24016. If you have any questions, please call Nathan White at 540 632 2632, or read our original post about this ministry.

4. The Mission Centers and 17th Street Baptist Church have entered into a partnership to collectively strengthen our ministries to the Southeast Roanoke community. We are presently working through the details, but already we have held a Free Clothes Market as part of our Apple Butter Festival.

5. We had a great time at our Baptist Community Center Apple Butter Festival. Over 70 people came and participated. The Roanoke Fire Department came and helped out as well. We’re so thankful for all the donations we received. It was neat to see the community come together and experience something new.

Enjoy the pictures below!

More about our After-School Ministry

Our committee and staff sat down this summer to process the lessons we learned from last year’s program. We discovered we have several challenges: We want to meet the needs of the community as best as we can, but to do so, we need more volunteers.

The age-old “quality versus quantity” conundrum entered our thinking. So, this year we have capped enrollment by both age and size. This allows us to better target our ministry while not being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. We learned that chaos has its own set of limitations.

Initial reviews seem to be positive. So far, we have:

• more volunteers than last year
• more effective ministry
• less behavior problems

However, even with more than last year, we still need volunteers. If you can only give an hour once a month, you can still help! We need help with:

• homework. Do you know how to add and subtract? Do you know your shapes? Yes? Then you are qualified!
• snacks. Can you pour lemonade or put spaghetti in a bowl? Yes? Then you are qualified for that!
• recess. Can you twirl a jump rope or push a swing? Can you blow a whistle? Yes? Wow, then you are qualified for that as well!

If you can help lead an arts & crafts project, tutor spanish, or teach a musical skill, we would like to offer special-enrichment activities for the children. Can you play a guitar? They love that! Just about any gift God gave you can be used to enrich these children’s lives.

Also, we need volunteers to work with our middle-schoolers. Because of limitations on space and resources, we have not been able to provide a program for them. They arrive about 4:00 or so. They need supervision for a snack and then help with homework. If you feel called to help with them, please let us know.

If you feel like you could spare an hour or two every week or month, please call our Director, Nathan, at 540.632.2632 for more information.

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