Summer Recap 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYWrbuScibM

Above you will see a brief video summarizing our summer with girls from the community. This year we called the summer HUMAN using Natalie Grant's song, Human. The acronym that we used was Helping U Meet A Need. We used curriculum from Woman's Missionary Union's Project Help. The materials cover all aspects of Human Exploitation. We discussed bullying, trafficking (labor and sex), pornography, exploitation of natural resources, and media exploitation. We discussed God's plan and our role as children of God to combat our culture and its demand on our resources and on each other. Our girls also completed the Act 1:8 challenge. They covered exploitation as it appears in our culture at home and internationally, they made prayer squares for our military that will deployed around the world, and they collected money to support a young girl to go to school in India. They also helped us give out Feed the Children boxes in their neighborhood which included food and personal care items. Please prayerfully consider your role in supporting the above ministries and the families here in our community.

Baptist Friendship House Newsletter

Due to the rising cost of postage, the summer 2011 newsletter will be published here on our blog. To view our newsletter please copy and paste this link into your browser. Let us know if you have any questions or problems accessing the newsletter.

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/57922610?access_key=key-22dharp8q6czo5sdxvy5

The Beginning of Summer

The temperature is definitely letting us know that it is summer time- which means UP2HOPE starts in just a few days- June 6! All five of our summer missionaries have arrived and they are gearing up to work with the girls who attend camp. We are looking forward to sharing issues that fall under WMU's Project HELP which include: bullying, sex trafficking, labor trafficking, pornography, media's exploitation of families and children, and exploitation of natural resources. Other activities at camp will include: devotion, dancing, crafts, games, team building exercises, tae-kwon-do, and nutrition/health education. Please be in prayer for all of the summer missionaries, staff, and campers throughout summer.

We would also like to share information regarding a Christian Women's Job Corps training that will be held at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church June 20-24, 2011. If you would like more information regarding how you can attend this training please visit the National WMU CWJC website at:
http://www.wmu.com/index.php?q=blog/ministries/cwjc/starting-site-training

Due to the expense of sending out newsletters our next one will only be sent electronically to everyone on our email list. If you would like to be added to our email list please send an email to bfhjobs@aol.com with your contact information. The newsletter will be sent out this week!

Please remember Dr. Duane McDaniel's family in their time of loss. Dr. McDaniel meant a lot to our ministry as he was the Executive Director for the New Orleans Baptist Association. We are so thankful for his service and how he helped further ministry in New Orleans. The Kathleen McDaniel Children's Educational Fund has been set up to aid in educational expenses for their four children, Mallory 15, Matthew 14, Keanu 8, and Abby 7. Contributions can be sent to The Kathleen McDaniel Children's Educational Fund c/o Russell Honeycutt, 223 Pebblebrook Lane. Macon, Georgia 31220

Family Time :)

At Friendship House we consider ourselves to be one big family. This comes complete with fun family outtings such as the events of the past two weekends. Oftentimes when people think of the transitional housing part of our ministry, job searching, housing, childcare, resume building, life skills, and other things come to mind. These are all very important priorities in our ministry and it is true that we do all of these and much more. We thought it would be good to also show some of the relaxing and family oriented times outside of the house that we are able to do with our families on some weekends. When a woman is stuck in the cycle of homelessness it is sometimes difficult to find time to spend outside of just surviving, so we find it important to allow the families to have fun just spending time together doing things that most people take for granted. The pictures posted are from a day touring the Swamp last weekend and at the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula this past weekend. Please let us know if you would like to help sponsor one of our family events.

Exciting Events at BFH

Two recent events we have had at Friendship House were an Up2Hope Fun day and our annual Health Fair.

In March we invited girls who had participated in our summer camp to come and enjoy a "spa day." The girls enjoyed getting to feel like the princesses that God has created them to be as they learned about how God cares for each of them, while also enjoying a lunch, manicures, making jewelry, and receiving gift bags. It was such a joy and blessing for us to see their faces light up as they shared laughter and stories with the women that came, other girls at the spa day, and our staff.

The Health Fair was held this past Saturday. We were able to minister to our commnunity throughout the afternoon as they came to our center to receive different medical services. We were blessed with volunteers from churches, LSU School of Nursing, and LSU Ag Center. Men and women who came were able to have their blood pressure and glucose checked, have a hearing and vision screening, receive foot care, among other things that were provided. The individuals and families who came not only received physical care, but also spiritual care as conversations were shared and people were prayed with throughout the day. It was great to see many familiar faces of those we minister to each week, those we haven't seen in a while, and also new faces that we hope to continue to build relationships with in the future. God uses events like the Health Fair to work to bring Himself glory! We are blessed that He allows us to take part in His work. Thank you to all who volunteered, donated items, and prayed. Thank you for choosing to be a part of the minsitry of Baptist Friendship House.

Let Me Tell You a Story

There is a lady, who not too long ago had a house to call a home. Inside, however, was anything but safe. She was abused by her husband. She eventually got up the courage to leave and divorce him. The divorce left her penniless. The emotional toll taken on her from the abuse left her addicted to drugs and alcohol and eventually led her to being homeless. Homeless and desperate, she found herself in New Orleans roaming the streets. She finds a guy whom she thought would provide protection. Only, she needed protecting from him. He beats her, physically and mentally, he rapes her and then allows others to do the same. There is some safety in knowing that he is there, its the only "safety" she has known and can rely on. She eventually finds a center just out side the French Quarter that she can come in, just her, no men. She comes in. She's been beaten, raped, and has lost her shoes. The staff at the center give her shoes, clothing, and more importantly - they listen as she tells her story. She is angry, upset, and broken. The staff do something she has not seen, possibly ever in her life. They show her genuine compassion.

She asks repeatedly, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
The staff responds, "You are worth it. You are valued and loved by God. We too love and care about you."

She eventually starts coming more regularly. Years go by and she knows that the center is a constant refuge. She begins taking showers at the center. She get clean clothes, shoes, hygiene, and food as she needs it. Her demeanor changes. She knows the staff cares for her and she begins to care for the staff. She starts bringing donations from others that she can't use. She begins to laugh. She attends weekly Bible Study. She starts coming almost daily. She is drinking alcohol less. She tells staff at the center that this year she is going to change.

"It's a New Year," she says.
A staff responds with, "And a New You."
She declares that she is going to get her GED, take classes to work with senior adults, get her own housing, and become sober.

Since this declaration, she has been attending GED tutoring sessions and she has worked with another agency and has obtained housing. She cries. This time, it is for joy.

It's a New Year, It's a New Life.

New Year, New Blessings

There is never a dull moment at Friendship House, and Christmas is no exception. We celebrated the Holiday Season with our families. One lady said that she was thankful to have a family to spend the holidays with. Thanks to those who adopted our families, moms were able to have gifts for their kids to open Christmas day and even for themselves too!

We rung in the New Year with a big movie night complete with pillow fight with the kids. We watched the fireworks from the porch and then called it a night...or morning.

Our families are doing well. Most have jobs and are working on saving their money. The kids are doing well in school. One is getting ready to start college!

Please continue to pray for our families as they work to save their money to transition in to a home of their own. Also pray for the staff to continue to be sensitive to God's calling and direction in the ministry.

Pray for our city as we seek to find ways to minister to the need. There have been many changes. Changes in the city and ministries has made us more aware that God is up to something big. We appreciate you choosing to be a partner in the ministry here at BFH and in New Orleans.