Partnership: Northwest Children's Outreach

[Wes Smith]

Now kids, let's play nice and share the idea. Actually, I will give Ashby credit for the excited hand gestures to me while the NCO announcement was made.

[phil]

It was the Holy Spirit's idea, who inspired us all to have the same desire. So there!

[ash-a-bee]

YES! I won by a hand gesture!

so, who's coming tomorrow?! don't be shy, Ethnos!

and on that note, I think next month/time we volunteer, I am going to make up a sign up sheet and pass it around. or something. yeah?

[phil]

Wow, there was a lot of people there, eh? Crazy pants. Really, the pants that we folded and put in bags were crazy. Thus the comment about crazy pants... and sparkling beverage, the keyword to last Sunday's sermon.

It was fun as usual. I was ESPECIALLY blessed this time. It was my first time bagging stuff for people. It made me very emotional to realize I was holding items that would eventually make their way into needy hands, to put a smile on a face, warmth in a heart. I felt greatly blessed to be involved in something so profound. I greatly appreciated that the information about each child was there on the bag. It allowed me to know the age and gender of the kid, even their name. I found myself praying a blessing on each bag, mentioning each name. I'd encourage the same when you help bag. It really opens your eyes to the perspective of what you are doing there. It's something anyone can do, and it really makes a difference in individual lives. Makes me wish I could do that sort of work all the time. I wish I could be a missionary or involved in some sort of full time ministry. It's the only time I feel fully alive.

I talked to Janet for a few minutes, asking how her health was doing. I don't remember if someone already gave this sort of update, so I will do it again. She said that the last time she went to the doctor, they could not find any of the cancer that she was previously diagnosed with. I was overjoyed to hear this from her. When I asked if from her perspective it was because of the treatment or because of the miraculous, she gave glory to God. While the treatment was helpful she believes it was God who is healing her, for the cancer she had was of an aggressive nature. Of course, she will have follow up appointments and continued check-ups for a long time, but this is at least good news for today.

P.S. I'm glad Ashby was there, because I didn't have to do any picking out of clothes. She had so many bags stacked up for me to fold and bag that I didn't have to make any selections. Plus, Josiah had a constant stream of toys, books, and games for me to include as well. I'm not sure how well I would be able to determine proper sizes, outfit matches and so on. I'm not very trendy or knowledgeable about what people might like, myself being a fashion nitwit! Even so, if I didn't have a teammate, I'd try my best to come up with good bags full 'o' stuff.

[ash-a-bee]

I really like putting together outfits that I think kids will appreciate. I also pray for the kids when I'm putting bags together...

I'm so glad you asked Janet about her health, Philli. I totally forgot to. Praise Jesus for his faithfulness! That is great news.

CHURCH. NCO is so, so fun. I think the monthly commitment should be something that we try to get as many people as possible involved in.

[BrendaK]

Thanks Phil for sharing your experience! Thanks also for inquiring on Janet's health; I forgot to pass on from last month that she really appreciate the card we sent to her. (Sorry about that.)

I know on the weeks when there happens to be a lot of volunteers, it can feel like we are not needed or appreciated. But, I know it is not always like that and I think it is important that we continue to uphold our commitment on the 3rd Tuesday. (I will talk to Janet or Carolyn this Friday and see if that is still the week with the most need though.)

Thanks for being there church!

[BrendaK]

Reminder: This week is the 3rd Tuesday of the month so it is our week at NCO. Janet called me this week to set up our bi-annual, seasonal bin-swap out (which will be in April) and said how much she appreciates Ethnos.

If you have not gotten a group together to serve at NCO yet, this would be a great opportunity to do so. Grab some family members, invite some neighbors, or get some co-workers to join you and help this Tuesday at the Pearl location. Or, if you have served already in the last couple of months are are ready to serve again, let me know!

Thanks church!

Brenda

[BrendaK]

For the month of April we will be trading our normal 3rd Tuesday of service for Saturday, April 16th to do the seasonal swap-out of bins. We have a great system that can be done quickly if we have a lot of hands. (Two walls of clothing bins have to be swapped from downstairs to the upstairs storage area and vice versa.) So here's the scoop:

Saturday, April 16th at the Pearl location
Time: 10:00am-12:00pm

Directions: http://northwestchildrensoutreach.org/h ... ctions.php

Please feel free to invite others to join us!

[ash-a-bee]

The 16th is a Friday... Did you mean the 17th?

[BrendaK]

Yes, the 17th! Sorry about that!

[phil]

Anyone going from the west side? Want to carpool? I'm planning on going. Give me a call if you want to ride together.

[saribear]

Great time today, guys! I had fun serving and praying with you all!

[BrendaK]

Awesome job team Ethnos! We rocked it! A seasonal bin swap in HALF the time as last go-around!

[Ciara]

Hey All,

We also received the following thank-you message from Janet at the Pearl location NCO for our recent help:

Hello!
THANK YOU for coming to the Pearl and changing "seasons". We appreciate how much you do for the children in the Greater Portland Area. You are getting the change over down to a science!
Janet

[BrendaK]

Thanks for passing that on Ciara! They really do appreciate our service there!

Next week is the 3rd Tuesday.

Who would like to volunteer to take a group down to help at NCO?