Snow!

It's Snowing in New Orleans!

This morning, the unthinkable happened...it snowed in New Orleans! We were amazed to see the amount of snow falling (and sticking) here in the city! So funny because yesterday morning we were wearing t-shirts and talking about how warm and humid it was...and today, everything changed!

The videos show our backyard and the front of the building.(Stay updated today on our next video. I'm uploading it...and takes awhile.) You can see how hard it was snowing. The kids in New Orleans didn't get to miss school today but some of them probably experienced their first snow!

Over 19,000 Pounds of Food Given Away!

Feed the Children dropped off 800 boxes of food (that feeds a family of 4 for 10 days)--that is 20 pallets and 19,000 pounds of food! We stored it at Operation NOAH's storage site (Lakeforest Baptist Church in New Orleans) last week. We were grateful to have Ron help us unload each palette and load in the warehouse with their equipment.


** Then yesterday David from Operation NOAH brought a truck loaded with the 800 boxes and we unloaded each box individually at Baptist Friendship House. Whew! We worked fast and got each box off the truck ready to give out.

We had donated treats from Whole Foods (pies, cakes, bread, rolls, etc.) that we bagged up and gave to people when they picked up their boxes of food.



We gave out all 800 boxes in 3 hours! Each box can feed a family of four for 10 days, so at the end of the day, thousands of people we given food in New Orleans. There are a lot of hungry families in our city.

The national statistics say that 1 out of every 5 children go to bed hungry in the United States and in Louisiana [Pre-Katrina] 1 out of 3 children go to bed hungry. That number has risen since the Storm and we are doing all we can to feed the hungry families in our city.

*Please pray that there will be more opportunities for food ministries in New Orleans. It takes a lot of resources in order to feed hungry people, so please pray for the financial assistance in order to continue this ministry.


We want to continue this ministry on a monthly basis.... and not stop there! When we gave out the food yesterday we gathered information about each family so we can further minister to them. At Baptist Friendship House, we seek to minister like Jesus did--to the whole person--physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually...which is the greatest need of all!

"Meeting Needs Through Love, Action & Truth"

Beth Moore

Beth Moore filmed an updated version of Breaking Free in New Orleans last week. On Friday, Lifeway provided a service project day for the women attending the conference. And guess where they came to work?

Baptist Friendship House!

On Friday, several women came to serve with us at the center. They put together snack packs, hygiene kits, made encouraging cards for the kits and prayed for the ministry. It was an amazing opportunity to allow women from all over the country to serve in New Orleans.

Fall Festival

On Halloween night we had our annual Fall festival for the community. It was so much fun! Our theme was the New Orleans Hornets. We had several games: basketball, fishing, ball toss, cake walk, etc. Fun, fun, fun!

We love the fall festival because it provides a safe place on Halloween night for families to come and have fun.... and of course have lots of candy!

We have some great events coming up. Stay updated and remember to pray for us! Check out our website: http://www.bfh.lifewaylink.com .

We Love Christmas in August!

We have had a great response to the Christmas in August ministry this year! We are thankful for people like you that support our ministry through projects like this... We love Christmas in August!

We are always in need of these items, because we use them in our transitional housing program as well as give it out to the community. If you want to check out our current needs list you can check out our website: http://bfh.lifewaylink.com/.

All is Well...

We have started getting back into the swing of things since the two Storms that came our way (or near us). There is no damage and staff and residents are safely home. Its been a stressful time for us, as it always is when you have to deal with hurricanes, evacuation, etc.

Continue to pray for us as we work with new families and participants in our day programs. Also, remember our upcoming events:

10/4 Pet Fair (*We had to reschedule this event and hope to do it in the Spring.)
10/31 Fall Festival
11/27 Thanksgiving Meal for the Community

We will keep you updated on these events as well as other things planned for the next few months. We are working on a newsletter and hope to get that up to you as soon as possible.

If you would like to receive this newsletter by mail, please contact Karina at KAmerica77@aol.com.

Safe!

We just wanted to let you all know that we are all doing well. We all have evacuated and are waiting for the mayor to allow people to come back into the city. Please continue to pray for safety as we travel back home and as we see if there are any damages to our homes and the center.

As always, thank you for all your prayers!

Back-to-School Party

On Saturday we had our annual Back-to-School party. We gave out school supplies, books and of course, we had food! Its always fun to get together with the families in our community. In a two hour period we gave out over 150 bags of school supplies! It is only the beginning of the week and we have given out at least 30 more bags. Schools starting to open here in New Orleans (each school has a different schedule) so families are trying to get everything together for school.

Believe it or not, this summer I have met several families that are just moving back to New Orleans since Katrina. I met a grandmother today that is raising her 7 grandchildren. She was living in the Lower 9th Ward and they just returned from GA after 3 years. Her house is being rebuilt and she should be moving in there before school starts, but she was trying to get everything together for the kids. Pray for this family as they readjust to life in New Orleans.

Please remember to pray for all the kids in New Orleans as they start back to school this month.

Saying Goodbye to the Summer

It may still be the summer season, but we are saying goodbye to our summer here at Baptist Friendship House. We officially celebrated the graduation of our girls in Up2HOPE last week. We had an absolutely AMAZING summer!

Our six summer missionaries are slowly dispersing in different directions--heading back home to get ready for college. We had two students from SC, two from MS and two from GA! God blessed us with a wonderful staff this summer. We hate to see them go but we know that God has some amazing things planned for their lives.

Continue to pray for us. We are continuing to work with the girls (and other girls from the community) in after school programs and events. Pray for the girls that attended Up2HOPE and that what they experienced and learned will stick with them throughout their lives.

Fun, Crazy Summer!

These are only a few pictures of this fun and crazy summer....so far! We have such, busy fun-filled days. Some of the FUN things we are doing are: sewing, crafts, Tae Kwan Do, dancing, cultural experiences, etc. We are having sooooooooooo much fun!

Summer is Here!

Yes, summer is here at Baptist Friendship House. Not just the weather or the season---but Life here at the center!

Our summer missionaries have arrived! We are so thankful for the college students that decided to spend the summer with us ministering to the people of New Orleans.

And one more week until our summer program, UP2HOPE. This is a program for girls ages 9 and up. It meets Mon. - Fri. 9am - 3pm. We have so many activities planned for this program! Check this blog regularly because I will keep you guys updated!! :)

Countdown: 7 more days until UP2HOPE. Please pray for us this summer!! Pray for the girls that are coming to the program and pray for the staff that are working this summer.

Another Graduate

Meet Bernadette. She graduated from high school this month. She came to Friendship House wanting to work toward her GED. She had attended school before Hurricane Katrina and then took the required tests for graduation but somehow got lost in the system. She called the school board requesting her scores but they never would give it to her . She figured she didn't pass and gave up on trying to get her test scores.

Until 2 years later she came to Friendship House and met Michelle. Michelle is our US/C-2 missionary that has her MSW degree and is working toward her license. She started working with Bernadette to prepare for the GED test until she found out the whole story. Michelle called the school board and found out what Bernadette had been waiting for 2 years to know... she had passed the test! She was technically a high school graduate!

All it took was a phone call from our social worker to find out that Bernadette had passed her test. She had to wait two years to find out, but she did not let that stop her. She was so excited and immediately worked toward participating in this year's graduation at her high school.

Bernadette has so many plans for her life. She is working toward attending college in the Fall and has a goal of being a nurse. Please pray for her as she takes these new steps in her life.

We are so lucky here at Friendship House. We have the honor of being a part of the small and big things in people's lives. All it took was a phone call--taking the time to help someone, however small it may seem, can change people's lives.

Dr. Kay Bennett

Congratulations to Kay on her graduation day! She is officially Dr. Kay Bennett!! She received her D.Min. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on May 17th. Her dissertation (Project in Ministry) dealt with training people to help abused women.

We are so proud of her! She has worked so hard and deserves this honor of being called "Dr." She is a brilliant director and we LOVE her very much!!! :)

Congratulations Kay!!

Go Hornets!

Since 2005 we have been given the opportunity to volunteer at New Orleans Hornets NBA games. It has been especially exciting this year since we've been in the playoffs. The Hornets have been good to us--in remodeling part of the building and David West helping our at our health fair, so we want to help them.

They play tonight at the New Orleans Arena.... we are rooting for them.

Go Hornets!

Life at Friendship House

People ask us what happens at Friendship House...

LIFE happens at Friendship House.

Kids get sick. Study for a test. Cook supper. Plan for parties. Help out neighbors. Have bible studies. Clean up. Celebrate birthdays and graduations. Go to New Orleans Hornets basketball games. Play. Pray for each other.

We are a family here at Friendship House. Its the every day life where ministry gets to the heart of the matter. This is where you connect with others and not only share Jesus but BE Jesus to those around you.

While we do ALOT for our neighbors--in different ministries and events--we are blessed to be able to share our lives with each other--our residents, volunteers and staff alike. We are all equals and on this journey of Life together.

What a beautiful picture of God's plan for his children....right here at Baptist Friendship House.

Thank you for your part in this ministry. Without the prayers and support of people like you we wouldn't be able to do this ministry. So consider yourself a part of our family.

So join us on this journey of Life as you continue to pray and support us. We have many new and exciting things coming up, so continue to keep an eye out on our blog and website!

We Love Mavis Beacon!

Here are a few of our ladies in a computer class....with good 'ole Mavis Beacon! Mavis Beacon is a typing program where it teaches them to type. They can work at their own level and play fun games.

Where was Mavis when I was learning to type in school? Actually where was the computer? I learned on an actual typewriter. Yes I said TYPEWRITER. Do those still exist? Remember those white out strips where you had to put on the paper and hit Backspace to correct a mistake?

Kay tells a story of a lady that was taking a computer class here at the center. She was typing on the computer and she made a mistake. She asked how she was going to use the correction strips on the computer screen. She couldn't understand that all she had to do was hit Backspace. It amazed her!

Many of the women that come to the computer class have never touched a computer and when we mention a "mouse" they look at us funny. So we start teaching them how to use the mouse and how to type. Then we teach them different programs, such as Word and Excel.

But we are thankful for good ole Mavis! She makes it easy and FUN to learn to type. And this is a great way for us to teach women new skills for employment or to just to learn something new.

A Little Bit of Mary Kay....

Yesterday we had a group of ladies from California come and lead our Wednesday bible study as well as cook a fabulous meal. They also brought Mary Kay products to give to the ladies. Yet another way God allows us to share with them that they are special and LOVED.

Boxes, boxes and more boxes.....

We also have been giving out more of the Feed the Children boxes this week. Already we have given out over 267 boxes to people in the community! And this is just people coming to the door throughout the day... So needless to say, the need is still great here in New Orleans!

Spa Day

Last Saturday we had a Spa Day...and it was amazing! We had about 50 people here--mostly women and girls. We served them food and just spent the day treating them to a spa. We soaked and massaged their feet, pedicures, manicures, did facials, paraffin wax and a make-over (with our resident Clinique advisor).

Everyone enjoyed it so much and wanted us to do another one soon! We came up with the idea b/c we received hundreds of donations of spa items (nail polish, emery boards, lotion, etc.) from Christmas in August and we knew God had a plan for it all. We wanted a day for them to feel special and loved.

I think they felt that--many said to me that they were so used to taking care of other people that it was nice to be taken care of for once. I shared with them Psalm 139 and told them how they were beautiful, worth living their dreams and LOVED...and told them how much God loves them.

We have such a wonderful atmosphere at Baptist Friendship House--and we know its completely b/c of Him, but I know that many women see that when they come--they see Jesus. Today a lady from Spa Day came back to take a computer class and I said to her,

"Hey, you came back!"

She said, "Yes, it (meaning Friendship House) got to me. I had to come back."

Baptist Friendship House's Blog

Hi, everyone! We have decided to create a Blog for you to keep updated on what is happening here at Baptist Friendship House. We want you to follow along with us on our journey so you can pray for us and be a part of this exciting ministry. God has blessed us!

So share this blog with your family, friends, church, etc. We will still have our website where we will keep updated on our events and Needs List. But this is just a more personal way to keep in touch with us.

Website: http://bfh.lifewaylink.com

Please be patient as I work to get this up and running...it may take me a while. :) I am open to suggestions and some CREATIVE help (Anyone technically gifted that can create a cool banner for this blog??).

We love you all!!