Summer's Here!

            “When my child looks at me, who does he see?  What kind of person do I want him to see?”  These are the kinds of questions that the new moms are pondering as we meet on Thursday afternoons for our MOMS group.  These mothers of newborns have one thing in common – they want their children to have a more productive and joyful childhood than they have had, but they are stumped as to how to accomplish it.  On May 19, 2011, we began meeting, babies in tow, to discuss and work through a new tool being used called “My Baby’s Milestones: Goals for Life”.  The first milestone, the baby recognizing his or her parent, is the basis for this first discussion, and it has been fodder for very fruitful and insightful revelations.  Learning to model respect so that the child himself learns through experience, realizing that the teaching the value of education begins with valuing it oneself, and most of all, realizing that the bond between parent and child is the first example of our “Heavenly Father” their child will experience – some of these concepts are new to these moms, so they are thinking more deeply and planning accordingly, one step at a time, to accomplish goals that had before seemed “out there somewhere”.  Would you please pray for these young families?  After all, they are an important part of the future of our community and precious daughters and sons of our Creator.

            Summer is upon us!  As I write this, the Memorial Day holiday is just before us, bringing a promise of sunny days, lots of children in the Forest Park neighborhood, summer missionaries to help with ministry, and construction projects down the pike.  Here are some tangible ways that you can plug into the ministries this summer at Forest Park Ministry Center:

• Pray:
• for Allison and Victoria (summer missionaries), and for Donna and the volunteer missionaries at the center during a wonderfully hectic summer!
• for the children who will attend functions, and for the Reading on Wheels staff as they visit the center every Thursday for the benefit of the Forest Park neighborhood.
• for classes both for Mixtecan families and for the moms of newborns.
• for the mission teams coming to assist with construction and ministry.
• Give:
• fans for families who do not have sufficient air conditioning this hot summer.
• lumber – need 10 ▪ 2x4x8 to construct the closet for audiovisual equipment and storage in the new classroom.
• sheetrock – need 4 – 6 sheets for the closet wall being constructed.
• trim – need shoe moulding and 2 thresholds.
• doors for the closet – double doors or bifold, preferred.  Size of doors donated will determine size of opening when constructing the closet wall!
• a new shredder for the center– the old one has bit the dust, literally!!!!!

In May, we saw a 20% increase in guest traffic over April, and saw many more large families, so the number of pounds of food nearly doubled.  We are so grateful for partnering churches and their members who faithfully donate food for the food pantry, and we are excited about receiving fresh produce from Heritage’s container garden this summer!  Thanks to all; may God bless your walk with Him.

Increased Opportunities for Ministry!

Dear Faithful Friends:
     In Matthew, the 18th chapter, Jesus called a child to His side as an example and told His disciples, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in.  Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom.  What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me.”   Childlike faith seems simple; yet for adults who are busy going about the complexities of life, how do we do it?  Recently, a friend related a true story to me that illustrates this beautifully.
     My friend described to me that she had had a very “down” day.  Ever have one of those?  The checkbook looks bleak.  An unexpected phone call with bad news.  A bill that is unusually high.  Or maybe just no energy – can’t really put your finger on it – but no matter, your “joy meter” is not registering very high on that day.  My friend was having one of those days.  So after dragging herself through another work day, she needed to stop at WalMart for some things that she needed at home.  Not exactly your “pick me up” place to go – especially if there are long lines and little assistance, but go she must; so she battled the parking lot, parked, made her way into the store and exhaustedly plopped into one of the battery operated cars.  She
could not take another step on her own.
     As she found her needed items and made her way to the cash register, she must have looked tired, weary, and worn.  Nearby, a young boy was helping his mom with her shopping.  Without warning, he approached my friend from behind, wrapped his arms around her, gave her a huge hug, and walked away.  She describes the next moments as if the Holy Spirit moved her in a most palpable way.  This child, who she had never seen before, and who could not even see her face at the time, was moved to express such care for her.  Almost immediately, she felt awash with God’s spirit of encouragement, knowing full well that He had brought the touch of a child with a willing spirit to show her His love.
    We talked about her experience a few days later, and we marveled at God’s way of using children.  Reminded of Christ’s words to His disciples in Matthew 18, it seems poignant to note that when a person’s childlike faith is totally dependent on the Lord, he or she does not even see evidence of a need; the Lord’s eyes are more than adequate.  We just need to allow Him to do the leading.
    We have been praying collectively at the center and privately as well for God’s leading to “expand the territory” and show us in what manner He would desire it done.  He has answered our prayers in some unexpected ways.  The recent storm events in our state and needed disaster relief, a young man in the neighborhood who has come to ask for help to overcome his drug addiction, the young mothers in the neighborhood who are eager to begin a “group” to talk about ways to become the family and home that will be healthy for their children, the increased number of guests just in this first week of May, all point to a direct answer from God to the question, “Where, when, and how, Lord?”  Already in May, we have seen a third of
the number of families seen the entire month of April. 
    The territory is indeed expanding.  As of May 1, Forest Park Ministry Center is serving zip codes 36104, 36105, 36106, 36107, 36108, and 36109, and guests are eligible for services if needed every three months instead of four.  We look forward to what God has in store for ministry as we approach the summer months.  Please pray for Victoria Bye, our summer missionary who will be joining us in the coming weeks.  (By the way, a huge congratulations to her – she is the 2011 Jimmy Hitchcock Award recipient – and we are so excited to see what God is doing in her life!)  Children’s activities, reading programs, gardening (a huge thank you to Heritage – their herb and vegetable garden is going to be a fantastic learning tool
for the Child Development Center and a harvest of blessing in fresh produce for the center’s guests!), another Mission Serve project at the center in July, and so much more!  We praise the Lord for His provision, for your faithful prayers and support, and for His leading.  May we put our own agenda
aside and allow Him to lead us in ministering in the neighborhood.  May you experience the Lord’s  leading and blessings as you walk in fellowship with Him.
Joyfully serving,
Donna McCullough, Director
Forest Park Ministry Center
http://www.forestparkministry.blogspot.com/
forestparkministry@yahoo.com
2026 East 4th Street
Montgomery, Alabama 36106
(334)269-5726