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Operation Christmas Child June Update

by Debbie Vanaman

First of all, let me thank you once again for the outpouring of support that has been shown so far this year.  So far I have five plastic tubs full of items for our shoeboxes and the year is not quite half over.  So again thanks so much.

We are so blessed here in Beckley and these blessings are being shared with children around the world as Samaritan’s Purse continues to deliver shoeboxes to children in all parts of the world and you are a part of those blessings.  You will never know how your shoebox will impact a child, a family and possibly an entire village by sharing the contents of those boxes as well as the message of Jesus Christ.

For the month of June, you are asked to bring bars of soap, washcloths, combs and hairbrushes.  These items can be left in the collection boxes that are located in the Welcome Center and also in Fellowship Hall.

Please keep this program in your prayers throughout the year as children are receiving these boxes around the world.

ABW Teddy Bear Celebration

The ladies of the church will be gathering in Fellowship Hall on Saturday, June 11th at noon for a Teddy Bear Celebration.  Anything and everything you always wanted to know about teddy bears will be talked about and even sung about during this celebration.  You are asked to bring a salad to share and any teddy bears you might have to help decorate.  The decorations are needed by June 10th.   There will be prizes given out for the oldest and largest teddy bear among other categories.

We will also be finishing stuffing some bears for our Operation Christmas Child teddy bear project.    So come and be prepared to have a great time with your FBC women.

ABW June Update

by Norma Gunter

The American Baptist Women’s Ministry Focus Resource circle program for June is See…Angles Among Us.  The scripture is Ephesians 2:19; Hebrews 12:1-2.  “What is the difference between an immigrant, refugee, and asylum seeker?  Often immigrants come for a better life.  Many ‘illegal immigrants’ are people who overstayed their tourist, work, or study visas.  Refugees come to escape persecution.  Asylum seekers fear for their lives.  How do we treat one another?  What are our moral and biblical obligations toward the stranger?”

Juan Aragon, Strategist with the West Virginia Baptist Convention is from Nicaragua.  He works with Hispanic Ministries and writes articles for “The West Virginia Baptist Newsletter”.  In the December/January 2016 issue he writes about Building Bridges to Share God’s Love.  He says, “The times and culture we live in require our commitment to be bridge builders to share God’s love.  We need followers of Jesus who are intentional about making real and meaningful connections with people from different languages, beliefs, values, behaviors, customs and attitudes.  God is the Master Bridge Builder.  Because of His unfailing love and grace, God sent His Son to die for us, and in doing so He bridged the gap separating us from Him (John 3:16).  As the Father, Jesus was a Master Bridge Builder.  He invested lots of time building relationships.  He overcame ethnic, social, gender, cultural, political and religious barriers separating us from each other and from God. (Galatians 3:28)  He connected to and transformed the lives of the unwanted of His time: lepers, prostitutes and tax collectors”.

Several years ago God led West Virginia Baptists to start a Hispanic Church, Iglesia Bautista Comunidad Nueva Esperanza.  Good Hope and Parkersburg Associations have partnered with the new church.   Many of the people of the new church are from southern Mexico and Guatemala.  Juan wrote in the April/May 2016 “West Virginia Baptist Newsletter”,  “They have come to the United States not only fleeing the dire conditions they face in their improvised communities, but also seeking opportunities that will allow them to give their families a more dignified life.”  He says they are some of the hardest working people, but “they are not seen, not heard and often forgotten.  In spite of their hard work, these families and their children usually live in poverty, making them one of the most disadvantaged and at-risk groups in the United States.”

These local churches work together to provide a meal each Saturday during June, July, and August for the migrant  workers.  They prepare the meal and then go to the fields where they are working long hours, in the hot sun, picking tomatoes on farms along the Ohio River.  They also pray for them and sometimes give them hygiene kits.   The churches are getting ready for the summer and ask for our prayers as they share God’s love with the migrant workers.  They also need churches to partner with them by donating  basic hygiene kits.  How can we help?

Jim Ramsey has been working with Spanish speaking prisoners at the Federal Prison for years.  He taught himself to speak Spanish.  Several of us drove to Lewisburg, to take Conversational Spanish classes, for two years when we were going on mission work tours.  I’ve forgotten most  of it.

Juan and his wife Denise have been endorsed as American Baptist missionaries to Chiapas, Mexico.  They will spend the next year raising money for their support.  Another place to help!

Pretty Flowers All in a Row

by Pastor Doc Adkins

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:29

If you take a look around our area, we see that the signs of spring and summer are all around. Grass is greener, trees have their leaves now, birds are singing, and folks are planting gardens and flowers.

Again, I remember growing up days on my grandparents’ farm and one of the things my grandmother always did was plant her flowers. You name it, she’d plant it. Ladies at church would swap flowers “starts” and at times get into a “budding feud” about who’s were the prettiest. Funny old women!

Flowers are one of the most beautiful things I think God created. Sometimes I think He created them just for to add some kind of beauty in an otherwise dirty world.. They give us  happier, peaceful views of life. . When I see how simple but yet how fantastic flowers are, I can’t help thinking that God is still in control and all is right with the world.

People have loved flowers back from the beginning of time and there are different meanings that have been associated with specific ones over the years. Many flowers have come to have several different meanings. We will take a look at just four of them to see what we can learn.

Aster – Contentment
Asters are those pretty little dainty white flowers that have a yellow center. I think they look like wild daisies. We have them growing along the roads here in WV.

One of the meanings associated with the aster flower is contentment. I kind of like that. They are simple yet pretty flowers and they do give me that sense of contentment. Those words in Philippians come to mind.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11

Contentment sure is a nice place to be in our lives. Isn’t it? No matter what the circumstances, we have that ease of satisfaction. The problem I think that people have with contentment is that they get it confused with being complacent. Complacent means we don’t care about things or are unconcerned, but being content is not that. When we are content, we end up caring more because we don’t allow things around us to get us off track. It’s being able to push forward and have that peace no matter what the circumstances.

Camellia – Graciousness
My grandmother had a lot of favorite flowers and Camellias are right there towards the top of her list.  She had a large Camellia bush beside the front porch.

The meaning associated with the camellia is graciousness. I think that’s a word we don’t hear used much anymore and we certainly don’t see it displayed much.

It means excellence of manners or social conduct. Shouldn’t we as Christian embody that? The world sure doesn’t. I think if we want to be in full bloom as Christian people we really need to concentrate on being gracious. I have known a few very gracious Christian people in my life and to me that makes them quite breathtakingly beautiful.

A gracious woman retaineth honour… Proverbs 11:16

Larkspur – Beautiful Spirit
The Larkspur is a pretty flower. I’ve mostly seen them in purple but they can be other colors as well. One of the meanings associated with the Larkspur is a “beautiful spirit”. Wow. That’s something to strive for. I’ve always loved that verse in 1 Peter where it is talking about a “meek and quiet spirit”.

One thing I read about the Larkspur is that some of them have become endangered and that you don’t find as many anymore except for those grown specifically for flower arranging. Kind of like those “meek and quiet spirit” people. There doesn’t seem to be an abundance of them either.

Black Eyed Susan – Encouragement
I’ve always admired the Black Eyed Susan. They are so bright and striking that I think they normally contrast everything around them. The meaning of the Black Eyed Susan is encouragement.

I sure love to be around encouraging people. Don’t you? People that give you that special word you need just at that moment or are there to cheer you on in whatever you are doing at the time. Those bright people definitely contrast with those around them.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

Conclusion:
I think there are things in our Christian lives that we have to have like pretty flowers all lined up in a row. Things like these four- contentment, graciousness, meek spirits, and encouragement. There are other things too all involved in our Christian living such as love, compassion, and all those other things Christ taught us. When we have these things in order, we have a tendency to live our Christian lives in a more beautiful way.

No one ever said that the Christian life was easy and when it comes to some of these, it requires a little work. We can’t just put up our little place markers with our flower names on them and expect them to flourish if we leave them alone. They require us to put some energy into them by using those tools of Bible study, prayer, and righteous living.

So, are your flowers all in a row?

Finding Lasting Happiness

by Rev Robert A Wendel

As an endorsed ABC chaplain and pastoral counselor, those wanting my help often tell me “I just want to be happy.”  Happiness is a fast moving target, usually beginning with “When or if only….I could find romance, the right job, a better car, a bigger house or have more cash in the bank.”  And there will always be those lingering wishes around body shape, health or family concerns.

Sometimes we think that having just one wish granted will make us happy,   So, the Scarecrow wanted a brain, the Tin Man wished for a heart, the Cowardly Lion longed for an extra dose of courage  Charlie Brown just wanted to kick the football.  In real life, what we want may not be right for us.

The more feel-good stuff we do, or have, the more we need to achieve.  Many times we make choices that we think will insure our happiness in the future like making decisions for our retirement.  When we feel good, we’re more likely to do good.  That’s why a honeymoon is so memorable or the Yuletide Season can seem to put a bounce in our step and a smile on our face.

True happiness is a spiritual quality.  It is a part of our God-given character.  God intends for you and me to share our individual gift of happiness.  No one showed a better example of sharing happiness than when Jesus knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples at a final religious supper.

The Master told those followers, “I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.  Happy are you when you serve one another” (John 13:15-17).  When we make others happy, we find happiness for ourselves.

This season’s series of Lenten Community Luncheons sponsored by the Beckley Clergy collected $1,091.00 which was donated to Hospice House.  Our clergy encourage each Beckley congregation to again volunteer and financially support our Beckley Day of Hope on August 13th.   During January through March of this year, Helping Hands served 2,032 families and 4,087 individuals.

Frank Miller will lead our morning devotional at our final ABC Men’s breakfast until September at 8:00 AM on Saturday, May 14th.  Gentlemen, let’s show the WV Men’s Director that we enjoy being together.

Operation Christmas Child 2016

by Debbie Vanaman

First of all, let me thank each and every one of you for your support of our shoe box ministry so far.  Your response has been overwhelming.   Thanks also to the ladies (and gentlemen) who are helping with our teddy bear project.  Just imagine a child opening up their shoe box and finding a hand-made bear made just for them.  Our ABW ladies will be stuffing the bears which haven’t been completed yet at their meeting in June.  So if you have bears already sewn together, just return it to the church office and the ladies will finish it up for you.

For the month of May, we will be collecting small toys such as dolls, cars, small flashlights with extra batteries, hand-held games, small balls and things of that nature.  Just remember it has to be small enough to fit in a shoe box with lots of other things. Donation boxes are in the Welcome Center and Fellowship Hall.

Please keep this program in your prayers year-round as shoe boxes are being distributed around the world to children who may for the first time hear the name of Jesus.

Remember my favorite saying – you can change the world through the power of a shoe box.

ABW May Update

by Norma Gunter

The American Baptist Women’s Ministry Focus Resource circle program for May is See…Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies.  The Scripture is Luke 2:1-7.  “While it may seem strange to feature a Christmas Scripture around Mother’s Day, the connection is strong.  Mary was, after all, a young mother.  And due to her status as an impoverished woman and migrant, she gave birth in a stall, in very unsanitary conditions.  This month’s theme gives us the opportunity to explore how we can support maternal and infant health.  Sunday  May 8th is Mothers Day.  Our own Edna Nasby is planning to give each family who comes to Helping Hands a Mothers Day gift for as she said, “Every family has a mother and we want to honor them.”  The ladies at Helping Hands made up 332 gift bags containing candy kisses to give out the week before Mothers Day.  They are tied with a ribbon and have a sticker saying, “HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.  GOD LOVES YOU”.

In the February BEAM I reported that our ABW gave $100 to a group of WV Baptist Women going to the Philippines to work with our missionary Debbie Mulneix who works with women caught in prostitution.  In the April SEASONS Magazine two of the women relate their experiences with these young women.  Liz Stewart, a member of the mission team said, “I am truly overwhelmed that God chose me to be His hands and feet to work with this ministry.  It was a true blessing.  Even though there were cultural and language barriers, we were all able to come together for the love of our Heavenly Father.  I have built lifetime relationships, and through the use of modern technology, I continue to have an open dialogue with many of the women.”

Zola Miller, another member of the mission team said,  “There were so many moments in our time with the women I could see God at work.  Our team and the women came together to have a time of worship before breaking out into small groups.”  One woman, “touched my heart and was an inspiration to me and the other women in our small group.”  Ladies I think this was $100 well spent.

In the March BEAM I shared about the new Women’s Camp at Camp Cowen April 1-3.  Younger ABW had asked for ways to learn from the more “experienced” ABW so the first-ever Women’s Camp came about.   There was 189 women ages 18 to 95 who attended.  Had I been able I would have been number 190.  Read more about this camp in the West Virginia American Baptist Women’s Ministries publication, Seasons Magazine.

Ladies our next opportunity to learn more about missions is the Women and Girls’ Conference at Parchment Valley Conference Center June 3-5, 2016.  Registration is open May 1-22, 2016.  Let’s get together and go.

 

Beautiful Green Shades are Appearing

by Joyce Mills

As winter seems to really be gone and beautiful green shades are appearing on trees and shrubs and the early buds and flowers are bursting with bright colors, many are still faced with that awful thing called hunger.  It is reported that more than half of those who visit a food pantry have worked a full time job in the past 6 months.  Yet, increased cost of living and industry-wide layoffs have forced people to face the impossible decision between feeding their families and keeping the lights on.

Our backpack food shoppers buy much of the food supplies from the Mountaineer Food Bank located in Gassaway, WV.  Each month the Food Bank delivers ordered items to Beckley.  This is such a great help because this Food Bank actually has child friendly food for backpacks. It also means that the Backpack Ministry is a 501(c)3 organization that relies on donations from you and the Food Bank.

Often times, pantries target the senior and adult community.  Mountaineer Food Bank has several agencies that sponsor weekend meals for younger students.  They have also launched two high school pantries in the area being served. According to a report released by Feeding America, West Virginia has 89,900 children who suffer from food insecurity. It is still estimated that 1 out of every 5 children does not have enough to eat. When will this number ever change?

Without your generous donations of needed food and the monetary donations, First Baptist could not provide weekend food for 19 children.  Thank you for helping to fight hunger in Beckley and specifically, Beckley Elementary School.

For the month of May, cans of Beanie Weenies are needed.  Just place your donations on the  back counter in the church kitchen.  Thanks!

Plantin’ Season

by Pastor Doc Adkins

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

I like this time of the year.  Grass is green again, the birds welcome us to the mornings, flowers and trees give way to new life.  Growing up on the farm, this time of the year became known as “plantin’time”. The garden was starting to take on shape, my grandfather was busy making ready the fields and such.  Plantin’time was a very busy time.

There was an annual addition in our garden along with all the veggies, and that was the sunflowers.  My grandmother always made sure there were some of these along each end of the garden. I don’t know why, just remember they always were there.

I think sunflowers are pretty cool. I love their yellow and gold tones in their coloring, but they also stand so tall and majestic looking too.

Sunflowers are one of those things you see everywhere such as on dishes, tablecloths, pillows, and other things for the home. They are right up there with roses when it comes to popularity. Did you know that even Picasso and Van Gogh painted sunflowers? Probably because they are such a beautiful and distinctive flower.(Don’t be impressed with this tid-bit of knowledge because I googled it.)

The following lessons were lessons my grandmother taught me.

  • Sunflowers Track The Sun.
    Most plants are attracted to light but the flowering head of the sunflower actually tracks the sun following it’s path and moving toward where it is in the sky all during the day. I read somewhere that sunflowers track the sun when they are in bud stage. Isn’t that how it usually goes for us as Christians? When we first come to know the Lord, we get excited about knowing all about Him and living for Him, but after awhile we sometimes grow a little preoccupied with other things and get our eyes off of the Lord.

    Wouldn’t it be great if as a Christian we’d track the Son of God and follow Him all day long? No matter what was going on in our lives and throughout our day, we wouldn’t take our eyes off of the Son.

  • Sunflowers Need to be Stabilized.
    The second thing I’ve learned about the sunflower is that it needs to be firmly planted in the soil in order to grow. Sunflowers grow so tall and their stems become so heavy that they will topple over if they aren’t stabilized in the ground.

    I know as a Christian it’s very easy to topple over if we are not grounded in the Word of God. We need to know what and why we believe what we do so our feet are firmly planted and we won’t falter in our Christian growth.

  • Sunflowers Produce Seeds.
    Did you know that a single sunflower can have up to 2,000 seeds? When we think about sowing seeds as a Christian, just think of the potential reach that each of us can have to spread the Gospel. It could be limitless if we would just sow those seeds.
  • Sunflowers Produce Oil.
    The oil that the sunflower produces is considered a good oil with healthy benefits. As Christians we should be producing the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith). All of those have some healthy benefits on us as Christians and on others that we meet.
  • Sunflowers Resemble The Sun.
    Sunflowers not only follow the sun but when you look at them, they resemble the sun too. Resembling the Son should be one of those things we do as a Christian. Being Christ-like is an essential part of being a Christian.

Conclusion:
When I think about the lessons from the sunflower, I remember Ephesians 5 where it’s talking about following God and all the ways we are to act as Christians. It starts out in the first couple verses by saying,

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.” Ephesians 5:1,2

The chapter goes on in detail on various topics of Christian living and mentions all those bad things we are to avoid, starting with “fornication” and it goes on from there. In verses 15,16 it says, ” See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

It’s what getting up and following the Son all day and being a SON flower is all about. It boils down to walking in the spirit, following God, and living Christ-like as a Christian should.  So, what’s God ‘plantin’ in your life.

ABW April Update

by Norma Gunter

April’s circle program from the new ABW Ministries Ministry Focus Resource is See…Conversations of Healing.  The scripture is Acts l0. “ We live in a society characterized by division and fear.  Rather than simply addressing different perspectives, media personalities engage in angry shouting matches and name calling.  We are encouraged to fear those from other places and other religions.  Many refuse to talk to people who think or act differently than they do, rather than trying to learn from others.  It seems that people are more inclined to find those things that divide rather than looking for areas of agreement.  This month gives us the opportunity to look at our relationships with those who are different from us, with a goal of building bridges rather than walls.”

Our ABW does this by building bridges to others by supporting American Baptist Women International’s White Cross Handwork around the world. In March we mailed 100 White Cross roller bandages.  You may ask why we tear these old worn out sheets into strips, sew them together and roll them up, pack them in boxes where they are shipped to hospitals in Africa.  Without our donations the 10 hospitals in the Congo would not be able to take care of the patients who come there for treatment.

A medical missionary doctor in the Congo wrote about the roller bandages, “I don’t think there is any place in the world where White Cross bandages are used or appreciated more than in the Congo.  We say this after working here for years, visiting dozens of hospitals and hundreds of health clinics where White Cross material is used for a myriad of needs.  Dressings for burns, slings for broken arms, wrapping a newborn baby—I can think of hundreds of applications for White Cross bandages.”

Some other needs the bandage fill are:  when dipped in plaster they make a handy cast, make a tourniquet when fastened with a stick, a sling to hold a shoulder fast, attached to a nail on the wall to hold up a liter of IV fluids and colored strips hanging from an open door or window, will let cool breeze in and keep flying insects away.

Other items we can make for the hospitals are wrappers for surgical tools that have to be sterilized, cotton 4” x 4” squares, surgical caps and masks, triangular bandages, infant gowns and baby blankets.  We also mailed a triangular bandage, one surgical wrapper, a baby blanket and a baby gown with the roller bandages.  Our Baptist Women from all over the US supply these items year after year.

First Baptist ABW are proud to be a part of White Cross Ministries whose mission is to glorify God in all the earth by crossing cultural boundaries to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for everyone’s prayers.  I’m home from the surgery and doing good.