Ministry of the Month: Dress a Girl Around the World

Welcome to July's edition of Ministry of the Month! On the first Wednesday of each month, I feature a ministry or charity. I hope God will lead you to pray--or perhaps even get involved--with these ministries!

Lisa Ward rarely clicks on Internet articles, but when a Facebook friend posted a story that mentioned “little dresses,” she felt compelled to read it.

The story told about a service project in which Grace Covenant Church in Cornelius, N.C. makes and distributes pillowcase dresses for impoverished and abused girls in Haiti.

The story resonated with Ward because she enjoys sewing and is passionate about helping at-risk girls.

“I had been searching for a way I could make an eternal difference in the lives of others globally,” the mother of two boys said. “After reading the article, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

Ward challenged herself to sew 200 dresses by June for Dress a Girl Around the World, the international charity that inspired Grace Covenant Church members to start the project. The charity envisions a world where every girl owns at least one dress.

When Ward asked for supplies on her Facebook page, friends she hadn’t seen in years started sending her sewing materials in the mail.

“Seeing God provide the donations and materials needed to sew dresses has been a life-changing experience,” she said. “I was literally brought to tears each time someone responded.”

Through Dress a Girl Around the World, Ward’s dresses traveled to Haiti in June.

But she has no plans to stop sewing.

A few weeks ago, Ward began a new role as the North Carolina representative for Dress a Girl Around the World. 

She will serve as the contact for anyone in her state who wants to get involved with the charity. She also will collect donations and send them to the organization, which will then deliver dresses to girls all over the world.

“Lisa’s enthusiasm and love for Dress a Girl caught my attention,” said the charity’s founder, Rachel Eggum Cinader. “I believe that Lisa’s faith and love will allow her to represent us well. I have a feeling that Lisa Ward is going to cause Dress a Girl to explode in North Carolina!”

Ward has already begun educating others in her community on how to make pillowcase dresses for those in need. She recently held a home-school workshop for teenage girls who wanted to make and donate dresses, and she is available to teach other groups to do the same.

Ward’s husband, Jeff, said he is proud she is making a difference in the lives of girls around the world from their home. Ward will continue her involvement with the ministry until “God says stop,” she said.

“I have prayed over each dress for the little girl who would wear it – that it would protect her, she would feel the love I put into making it and the dress would be a bridge for her to know Jesus,” Ward said. “As I am sewing each dress, I know that I am helping to clothe and protect little girls all around the world."

To learn more about Dress a Girl Around the World, visit their website, here.Check out Dress a Girl Around the World North Carolina on Facebook, here. 

If you liked this post, you may also like my post on Cookies for Kids Cancer. Check out the series introduction here.

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Hosting an Orphan for the Summer

Beth Bleavins stood nervously in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, waiting to lock eyes with a teenage girl whose heart was pounding just as hard. She had seen Vanda’s* picture, and she wanted to recognize the Latvian orphan in the sea of faces coming down the escalator to the baggage claim.

“I hadn’t learned too many Latvian words, so I was depending on God providing,” Bleavins said.

Bleavins, husband Kirk and 5-year-old daughter Alyssa have opened their home to Vanda as part of the New Horizons for Children, Inc. summer hosting program. New Horizons is a Christian-based, non-profit organization which brings school-aged, orphaned children from Eastern Europe to the United States twice a year to share American culture and--most importantly--the love of God and a family. 

The goal of the program is for the children to be exposed to a healthy family. Host families sometimes work with dentists and doctors to provide basic exams for the children while in the U.S., but New Horizons is not medically based.

New Horizons advertises mostly through churches, and host families either raise the money or pay themselves for the children’s traveling expenses, which include airfare, medical exams and visas. 

Hosting a child costs $2,500, which is comparable to the amount spent for one person to go on an overseas mission trip.

Although the program is not affiliated with an adoption agency, about 80 percent of the families that host ultimately adopt the children.

The Bleavins’ have seen their time hosting as well worth the sacrifices.

“It’s a big commitment of your heart, your time and finances, but the rewards are immeasurable and intangible treasures of the heart,” Beth Bleavins said.

During her stay, Vanda’s favorite activities have been swimming and kayaking. The family has also taken her to the beach and mountains during her stay.

“I feel a little tearful and full emotionally,” Bleavins said of her family’s time with Vanda coming to a close. “We’ve seen her connect with us so strongly. She loves us, and we love her, and it’s going to be hard to say good-bye.”

New Horizons will be seeking host families again during the Christmas season. For requirements and more information, visit their website at www.newhorizonsforchildren.org.

*A longer version of this story first appeared in The Herald Weekly Newspaper--one of the newspapers where I contribute.

June's Ministry of the Month: Cookies for Kids' Cancer

Mothers of small children may sometimes feel like there’s not much they can do to make a difference in their communities, but groups all over the country are raising money for childhood cancer research – one cookie at a time.

The Huntersville, North Carolina United Methodist Church Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) adopted Cookies for Kids’ Cancer as its charity of the year for 2010-11. 

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a national non-profit that raises money for childhood cancer research through local bake sales. New Jersey residents Larry and Gretchen Witt started the organization in December 2007, after their then-2-year-old son, Liam, was diagnosed with cancer. Liam died earlier this year.

“It is one of those charities that touches so many people,” said Huntersville resident Amber Jenkins, who coordinates bi-monthly speakers for the MOPS chapter. “It is something sweet and easy for us to do.”

Jenkins discovered Cookies through Davidson, NC residents J.D. and Melissa Gibbs, whose son, Taylor, is in remission from leukemia. The Gibbs inspired Jenkins to get involved with the charity, and she introduced the idea to her Mothers of Preschoolers chapter.

The women raised money for Cookies by selling apple cider at a Christmas parade and hosting bake sales throughout the year.

“We are all mothers, and we all have kids,” group volunteer Mariel Klauer, of Huntersville, said. “Our kids may not be affected, but we all know someone who is.”

Jenkins organized a final bake sale for the year on Saturday, May 28. The fundraiser was one of more than 700 sales that Cookies for Kids’ Cancer had challenged groups to host nationwide during May, in commemoration of what would have been Liam Witt’s seventh birthday.

“The sales are a way to help celebrate his life,” Jenkins said.

Want to help?
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a national, 501(c)3 nonprofit that raises money for childhood cancer research. Anyone, anywhere can organize a bake sale The cookies don't have to be anything fancy. Are you a busy mom who can only provide slice and bake cookies? That's OK! Anything is allowed!

For more information, click here.

Liked this post? See related post: Ministry of the Month.

*A version of this story first appeared in the June 2 issue of the Herald Weekly.

Ministry of the Month

 "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." -Jesus, Matthew 25:40

As a stay-at-home mom, I've often struggled with my "role" in ministry. At 15, I surrendered to Christian work, and that's taken on different forms over the past 15 years. I spent my latter teens through my 20s taking mission trips all over the world (Latin America, Great Britain, Africa, China, United States, Canada) and even spent a year in Costa Rica. 

But I can't do that as a mom of young children. Sure, the opportunity may present itself at some point, but I can't leave a nursing infant at home to fend for herself. I strongly feel that my girls--and any future children--are my little disciples/my little mission field at this point in my life. And my time home with them will go all too fast. 

And, honestly, ministering to my own has been harder--more challenging--than ministering to others around the world. We are  our worst at home. I'm not always patient; my words are not always kind. A good friend told me the other day that she believes the Scripture that says women will be "saved through childbirth" (I Tim. 2:15) indeed extends to the years when our children are youngest and need the most attention. 

No, our literal salvation doesn't come through them, but surely the Lord uses them in our sanctification process! Oh, how He's shown my heart chock full of dross the past few years!

All that said, I still wonder how I can serve Jesus through serving others from home. 

And, in very recent days, I feel God's given me an answer: WRITE. 

I've been writing for Carolina Weekly for about a year and a half now, and, again and again, "God stories" are literally placed in my lap. 

I'd like The Humbled Homemaker to become a place to extend some of those stories. And I'd like to feature one ministry per month. 

The "ministry" may not necessarily be a Christian organization, but it will be a non-profit or charity of some sort that fits into our biblical mandate of serving others like Jesus served. 

I want to invite The Humbled Homemaker readers to pray for each particular ministry for the month that it's featured. And I'll include ways in which those able can get involved if they feel called to take more action. 

The first "ministry of the month" will be Cookies for Kids' Cancer. I wrote about them last week here. 

Be on the lookout for my post on Cookies tomorrow, and I welcome your suggestions for future "ministry of the month" features. 

How do you minister to others?

Serving Orphans and Widows--Simultaneously

Image by atl10trader

It only took two weeks into hosting a Latvian orphan through New Horizons for Children this summer for Kirk and Beth Bleavins to know they wanted to become her forever family.

They fell in love with 14-year-old Vanda’s laugh. And it was heart wrenching to send her back to a place where she had no future, Kirk said.

In Latvia, children can’t receive foster or orphanage care once they turn 16, Kirk explained. Many boys turn to crime, and girls turn to prostitution.

“I could sense the Lord nudging us to adopt,” Beth said.

But international adoptions are not cheap. To make Vanda their daughter, the couple will pay between $30,000 and $40,000. With these expenses before them, the Bleavins began praying about some unique ways to earn the money needed to bring Vanda home.

The couple found Lifesong for Orphans, a nonprofit that helps families raise money to adopt. Through Lifesong, Beth and Kirk discovered Both Hands, a partnering charity that makes home repairs for widows.

Through Both Hands, the Bleavins gathered a group of 39 volunteers to work on Charlotte resident Wanda Plyler’s house. The volunteers solicited funds through sponsorships for their time working. The money will go directly toward Vanda’s adoption expenses.

Plyler’s husband died in 2007, and she lost her job nine months ago. The Bleavins’ team cleaned, did yard work and made repairs to Plyler’s home that she can’t do herself due to medical conditions.

“God sent them to do this for me,” Plyler said.

The fundraiser appealed to the Bleavins because they felt it helped them and their volunteers fulfill the biblical description of “pure and faultless” religion in James 1:27: “to look after orphans and widows in their distress …”

“It’s two worthy causes for the price of one,” Kirk said.

“This has been an amazing journey,” Kirk said. “It’s tiring and harder than I would have expected, but it’s worth it because the life of a young girl is at stake.

“It’s one thing to know there are orphans out there in this world and another to really know that we can do something about it,” he continued. 

*A longer version of this post first appeared in the Mooresville Weekly, one of the newspapers where I contribute.

Ministering to Those at the End of Life's Race

To Cheryl Pletcher, life is a race. And in her line of work, people happen to be at the finish line.

“If people have lived a good life, we want them to have a good end,” said Pletcher, the executive director of the Carolina Comfort Coalition, a non-profit organization which provides round-the-clock care for terminally ill patients.

Pletcher, along with her small staff and volunteers are helping people from across the community finish the race well at the Serenity House. In partnership with Centre Presbyterian Church, Pletcher opened the home in Oct. 2007. The New York native had started a similar home there in 1993 and felt God leading her to continue the ministry when she relocated to Mooresville.

“I had done this before, so when God first touched my heart about it, I said, ‘I’ve been there and done that. It’s too hard,’” she said. “But in God’s mind, this is exactly what he wanted me to do.”

Although all residents of Serenity are served by hospice, the comfort care home model differs from a hospice home in that staff and volunteers are considered as “surrogate family” for the residents and provide 24-hour care, seven days a week, completely free of charge. 

All residents have a prognosis of three months or less left to live.

Volunteers prepare meals for the residents in the kitchen, but families can use the facility to cook for their loved ones. The dining room table has held many family dinners over the years, Pletcher said.

“When you’re here, this is your home,” she said. “This may be their final family dinner with their loved one.”

Home is what Serenity House has recently become for Jessie Sneyd. The 84-year-old lung cancer patient moved there three weeks ago, and his daughter, Ozella Pratt, is convinced he’s receiving the best care available.

“He’s been really happy here,” she said. “He’s talking more, and we can use the house just like home.”

Sneyd has been impressed with the patience of the staff and volunteers as they’ve cared for him. “I’ve never seen anybody seem like they’re aggravated, mad or anything. I feel comfortable here.”

Pratt looked into the home for her father because she was afraid he would fall and hurt himself at her house, where he had been living for 14 months. While Sneyd lived with her, Pratt said she spent many sleepless nights worrying about her father.

“At least I know someone is here 24 hours, and I can sleep better,” she said. “If they hadn’t had this open, I’d have to sit up all night.”

Pletcher sees Serenity as a ministry to the families as much as to the residents themselves. Like them, she was closely involved in her grandparents’ and father’s final days. Her mother is currently on hospice and living in a group home. Families often seem “lost in the journey called the end of life,” she said.

“Some families do well with just hospice support at home. Other families are terrified of what lies ahead because they can't comprehend even the words ‘dying’  when it’s related to ‘my mom or my dad,’” Pletcher continued. “My heart of compassion is for those families that seem so lost and afraid. Peace comes with the love and security that we offer day by day until the family is able to rest in the reality of the situation.”

For Pletcher, expanding quality end-of-life care in the community is “sacred work.”

“This is a spiritual metaphor for me,” she said. 

“Serenity House is like being held in the arms of Jesus, safe and secure through the final storm of life.”

*A longer version of this post appeared in The Mooresville Weekly, one of the newspapers where I contribute.