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From Our Executive Director
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| Spring's Arrival Brings Hope |
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Spring has arrived! We can feel it in the warmer temperatures, we can see it in the trees, and we can smell it in the roses, especially in Thomasville. For me this time of year fills the air with a sense of renewal and growth. At Vashti, renewal and growth are integral to our work. The children and families that we serve are dealing with hardships, adversities, and suffering on some level. Our mission speaks directly to creating an atmosphere of healing, hope, and transformation for the children we serve.
At Vashti we are committed to growing and being constantly renewed to better serve our community. There are several exciting things happening on campus this spring, and here are just a few:
- We are upgrading our pool and basketball areas to provide better facilities for our children to exercise and be outside.
- We are installing a ropes course on our campus! We see this as an exciting new tool that will help the children we serve with building trust and relationships with their peers.
- Throughout the month of May, we will be celebrating National Children's Mental Health Awareness Month with several activities on campus. We feel it is our duty as a leading mental health organization to raise awareness of the services available in our community.
Spring is also special because it is when we celebrate Easter. Easter is so important as it symbolizes hope, renewal, and new life. I feel so blessed to be a part of a ministry that offers hope to children who have been hopeless, renewal to those who need healing, and new life to those who have been transformed at Vashti. I would like to personally invite you to come visit us on our campus. We would love to share more about the work we are doing and how you can partner with us through our mentoring and volunteer program. You too can share in the hope, healing, and transformation of the children and families that we serve.
Blessings,
Elijah
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| Second Annual Pastor's Breakfast |
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| Pastor Jason Bennett of Cornerstone Church speaks to the group. |
Our Second
Annual Pastor's Breakfast was held on February 21, to great success!
It was an opportunity for pastors to network with each other, fellowship, and learn more about Vashti's role in the community.
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| Chris Goff of Thomasville First United Methodist. |
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Instead of Vashti staff speaking about the effect that church groups have on
our youth, we asked two pastors to speak about their time visiting our campus. Jason Bennett, pastor of
Cornerstone Church, spoke about how his congregation had taken on the call of "who is my neighbor?" This provided the outlook for all of their ministry outside of their church walls, which came to include Vashti . By doing simple acts like a cookout and games, they were able to connect and share with our youth on easy and simple terms.
Chris Goff, Director of Outreach and Discipleship at Thomasville First United Methodist, echoed many of the sentiments from Jason. By taking the time to be involved with our youth, his congregation has had the opportunity to experience God with our youth.
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| What's a Pastor's Breakfast without a great breakfast?! |
If your church would like to visit with our youth, contact our chaplain, Shane Lovvorn, at [email protected] or (229)226-4634.
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As we enter springtime, it is a time for us to spend time with our loved ones and reflect on our life and the impact we will leave on the world. Remember us in your will and help us continue to keep God as our cornerstone as we serve children and families in need.
For information on how to make a legacy gift to Vashti, call Susan O'Neal at 226-4634.
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| Summer Fun Full Speed Ahead! |
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Summer is right around the corner, which means our youth will be out and about enjoying all that summer in Thomasville has to offer. Summer is the time for new, blockbuster movies, swimming in late afternoons, playing basketball for hours on end, and making sure you eat your ice cream fast enough before it melts on your cone.
Just like every other kid in Thomasville, ours will want to have all of those experiences, and we want to make sure that their childhood is marked by those formative experiences. If you want to sponsor a child for the summer, like helping fill our their summer wardrobe, paying for their snacks at the movies, or making sure we have more than enough basketballs on hand for afternoon games,
click here. Your donation will ensure that our youth have the classic summer of kids everywhere.
For additional questions about donations, please contact Liz Williams at [email protected] or (229)226-4634.
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| National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day 2018 |
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We believe that the health and wellness of children, youth, and families pertains to not just the physical body, but also to one's emotional and mental well-being.
During the month of May, we'll be having different events on campus that will cover different areas. On May 9, we'll host a School Counselor's Breakfast on campus and speak to them about the resources we're able to provide, as well as how we may be able to assist them and their students.
On Ma
y 12, we'll host a day full of free food, fun, and family friendly activities on our front lawn. We'll have representatives
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rom Ventures on Broad, the Health Department, Marguerite Neel Williams Boys & Girls Club of Thomasville, and many more. Families will be able to speak with professionals across the spectrum, and access resources that they may need. We'll end the afternoon with a concert on the lawn with music from local choirs.
To round our our month of activities, on May 23 we'll host the Thomasville-Thomas County Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn series on our campus. We'll talk about how children's wellness includes mental and emotional wellness, how different factors in the world affect their everyday lives, and the resources available to children and families in our community.
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| Springfield United Methodist Church's Mission Team was on site for a week assisting with various projects. |
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| Fellowship at the Pastor's Breakfast. |
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Recently while shopping with my wife I found a flower that I could not forget.
I took a picture of this flower because of it's beauty and the representation of the promise of spring.
Spring is the time of year we celebrate the blooming forth of life, as the temperature outside warms, so new life springs forth. It
is also the time we, as Christians, celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection. What was dead is now alive and brings new life to all of us who believe. A promise that God made through Jeremiah.
"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more."
Jeremiah 31:33-34
God has kept his promise of a new covenant with us. One of the greatest parts of this ministry is seeing God work His promises in the lives of the children entrusted in our care. Seeing hope, love, grace and peace bloom in the
lives of children that have been forgotten is a far greater experience than seeing the finest of flowers bloom in the spring.
When you see the flowers this spring, may you also be aware of the work of Jesus alive and blooming forth in you. May you know hope, love, grace and peace, experiencing the promise of a new covenant God has written on your heart.
What is spring teaching you about life in Christ?
Yours in Christ,
Shane <><
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With God as our cornerstone, we foster healing, hope, and transformation to empower and promote resiliency in children, families, and communities in Georgia.
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Vashti is in a covenant relationship with the United Methodist Women national office.
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