Girl Scouts Raise Money AGAIN!!!

Girl Scouts came through again with money and cookies raised! They do such a great job! Thanks so much girls for all your hard work!!!! You are such a blessing to those we serve with Manna Meals!

Thanks again girls!!

Diane

As we enter Holy Week...

Last month I received a magazine from Focus on the Family. It has some awesome ideas to do with your kids through Holy Week.

Sunday: Read John 12:12-13. Have your kids make palm branches out of green construction paper and decorate your table with them. Place extra branches on the path from the entryway to the table to mark a path of honor. When you sit down to eat, first discuss the meaning of Hosanna, a way to praise Jesus. Ask your children what they might shout if they saw Jesus coming down the road today.

Monday: Bake bread as a family and discuss why Jesus called himself the Bread of Life. Explain how bread sustains us physically and Jesus sustains us spiritually and gives us eternal life. Put the bread into a basket and add some Easter goodies and at least one item that shares the aster message, such as a bookmark or tract. Deliver the basket to someone who may need an extra dose of kindness this week.

Tuesday: Make an Easter picture tree. Anchor a small branch in a pot. Have your kids look for pictures that remind them of Jesus. (Ex: a lamp b/c He is the Light of the world or a road b/c He is the one way to heaven). Glue pics to card stock and attach them to string. Hang these pics to the branches.

Wednesday: Send your children on an Easter egg scavenger hunt. Instruct them to find items that symbolize different parts of the Easter story. (Ex: a rock could be the tomb, 2 sticks could be the cross, something black could be sin, something red could be Jesus' blood shed for us, something white could be a clean heart, something green could be us growing in Christ). Older kids could use a digital camera to find items.

Thursday: Have your own Maundy Thursday foot washing ceremony. Fill a bucket with water, get some towels, gather your family and share the story found in John 13:1-17. Take turns washing each other's feet.

You could also read Luke 22:39-46. Visit a garden or park and pray there. Talk about how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Have your kids talk about what plans they have for tomorrow and what Jesus may have been thinking about for the next day.

Also, talk to your kids about a time when a friend hurt their feelings. Read Matthew 26:14-16, 47-56. Then give your kids a dollar bill. Ask if they would trade it for five nickels. Thirty pennies? Determine which has the most value. Discuss how Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins and what a poor trade he made. Ask your children how Jesus must have felt when His friend betrayed Him.

Friday: Make a cross out of wood scraps. Have each family member think of one thing they did this week that didn't make God happy. Have them write this on a piece of paper, fold it and pin it to the cross. Talk about how Jesus suffered the punishment for all of our sins so that we would not have to.

You can place a white carnation in a vase. Read I Peter 1:18-19. Discuss with your kids what it meant that Jesus was a "lamb without blemish or defect". Add a dozen drops of red food coloring to the water. Watch what happens over the next 2-3 days. Use the red petals as a reminder that Jesus took our sins upon himself when He died on the cross.

Have your kids talk about stories of bullies from school or online. Talk about how people often treat others unkindly because they are hurting themselves and that they need forgiveness just like we do. Read about the repentant criminal in Luke 23:39-43. Let your kids talk about how they might have acted unkind when they didn't think about how their actions might hurt others. Lead them in prayer, confessing your failings in this area. Allow your kids time (but don't force them) to confess too.

Saturday: Take a walk around your neighborhood. Talk about how spring reminds us of new life that Jesus gives us. Point out signs of new life around us.

Let your kids help you clean your windows. Talk about how much better you can see through them once they're clean. Read Luke 18:31-34. Explain that the disciples didn't see clearly at first. They didn't understand that Jesus had to die and rise from the dead - until He DID!

In the evening, decorate a plain white tablecloth with fabric markers or a disposable plastic one with Sharpies. Let your kids illustrate the tablecloth with symbols of Easter. Use the tablecloth for dinner the next day.

Sunday: Read Matthew 27:57-61. Ask for a volunteer. Wrap him/her up in toilet paper (grave clothes). After a few minutes, have the child "break free" from the wrappings. Talk about how sad the disciples must have been when Jesus died and then how happy they must have been when they found out He was alive again!

Go to a park and find an oversized boulder. Try to move it. Read Matthew 27:62-66; 28:1-4. Discuss how a large stone couldn't keep Jesus in the tomb and how surprised the soldiers must have been when the angel rolled it away.

During Easter dinner, have cupcakes for dessert with one candle on each. Use trick candles to show how Jesus, the Light of the World, appeared to be extinguished but wasn't. Light the candles and blow them out together. When they relight themselves talk about how everyone thought Jesus' light had disappeared, but it hadn't. He was and is STILL ALIVE!

Take a night walk together. Observe how a flashlight ensures safe stepping. Remind your kids how Jesus came into the world to guide our steps and show us the way to God.

So much has happened...

I can't believe I haven't posted anything on here since our first week of service!! I keep updates going on Facebook but forget about blogging. I think maybe what I'll try to do is give you some bullet points about what has happened since October. I won't be able to remember all of it but I'll try!

• enough volunteers signed up in October that I didn't even have to drive until one got called back to work - I now drive on Thursdays again but I love it!
• check received from Ridgeview Industries for $500.00
• 3 more checks received for $185.00 total
• product received from food drive from DK-5th grades for Thanksgiving
• misc. product brought in almost weekly
• bread received from Love INC continually
• food received from 4th grade class with "Oakwood Bucks"
  
• check received from the Detter Family Foundation for $1,500.00
• spoke to ladies at Coffee Break - they're doing a food drive right now

These are only a tip of the iceberg of blessings we've received this year! God continues to provide what we need to keep the meals going to these kids. He continues to bring the finances and/or product in when we need it. This continues to be His ministry and as long as He wants it to continue, I will be His hands and feet.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered in the past and is volunteering currently! Thank you to all who have donated product and/or finances! Thank you to all who have supported this ministry in prayers and who have given me kind words to keep me going!

Most of all, thank you God for allowing me to be used in this way for Your Kingdom!

Blessings to all,
Diane

First Week Going Great!

We've started the meals this week and all seems to be going great! Our numbers are down a little which could be a good thing. I'm hoping that means that not as many families need the help this year!

I've had an all time high in volunteer turn out this year which means I'm not driving the meals on a weekly basis! This will be different for me but it will help with keeping me from getting burned out. I am so thankful for each and every person that is volunteering their time and service to help continue to make this ministry a success!! Above all, I thank God for supplying everything that is needed to make this happen... money donations, product donations, volunteers, and sources of help.

There have been some companies who have really stepped up to help out in one way or another. Among these are LOVE INC for supplying bread almost on a weekly basis; Mel Trotter was contacted last year and is another source for bread; Ridgeview Industries has once again given a monetary gift of $500.00 because of Lew Wilson naming our ministry as a recipient; The Great Bread Co. was contacted to see if they could slice some bread I had received and they were happy to do that free of charge; and Feeding America has had bread for free lately among other low cost product for us!!

God placed Mel Trotter Ministries literally in front of my face last year! I walked into LOVE INC to pick up some bread they had for me and a representative from Mel Trotter was standing by the door talking to the director of LOVE. She immediately introduced us because he was trying to get rid of a huge donation of hamburger buns they had in. Of course I was interested and went to their warehouse to pick some up! It was toward the end of last school year and that was more than we needed to get us through the rest of the year! The remaining buns were given out at a community food drive!

God continues to make me smile! It is such a privilege to watch Him work!! Whatever you are going through right now in your life, believe that God can take care of it for you! Bring your burdens to the cross and LEAVE THEM THERE!

"Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you." Psalm 55:22 (AMP)

Blessings to you all,
Diane

Volunteers Set and Ready to GO!

I just got a call this afternoon from someone who was interested in helping however she could... we had one opening to drive on Thursdays. SHE TOOK IT!!! We are now all set with our volunteer base, product is on the shelves, and we're ready to start on Monday! I will be going to the schools tomorrow again to pick up the rest of the permission forms and then I'll have a better number to know how many kids we'll be serving!

I can't wait to start next week! God is so good and I can't even put into words how amazing He is and how humbling it is to be a part of this ministry! I have been so blessed over the years just watching Him work!!! God ROCKS!!!

Please continue to pray for the kids who will be receiving the meals, for the volunteers who will be working tirelessly every week, and for donations to continue to come in. I have no doubt that God will continue to provide what we need when we need it.

If you would like to donate product or money to this ministry, please let me know.

God bless you!
Diane

Gearing up for year 5!

I can't believe we are almost ready to begin our 5th year of service on October 4! God has been so good! Manna Ministries is His and His alone... I will continue to try my best to follow His instructions and serve the kids through Manna Meals! I love doing it and it is so rewarding for me.

We have almost all of our volunteers in place again for this year. I am still looking for 3 more drivers to deliver the meals. It only takes about 1 hour per week. I have openings on Monday, Thursday and Friday. If you would like to help fill one of these positions, let me know! :)

I have not been very good with blogging over the last year or more so I need to make more of an effort to do that. Manna Ministries has a Facebook page where I do most of my updates regarding day to day activities and blessings. I would love to see you on there!

Your prayers are welcome and needed so this ministry can continue and these kids can benefit from the food we provide and the love shown to them by the drivers. So far we have 42 kids signed up to receive meals! This is bittersweet to me ... I'm sad to see how many kids need the meals BUT I'm thankful for the opportunity to supply the food to them and build the relationships over the years! We have some kids that have been on the program since the beginning and I love seeing them in the grocery store or around town! Sometimes I will hear one of the kids say something like "Mom! That's the Manna Meal lady!!"... warms my heart!

Thanks for your continued support through donations, time and prayer! All are needed! All are huge blessings to me!

Love in Christ,
Diane Westrick

Girlscout Troop Brings in Donated Cookies!

Thanks girls for all your hard work and for the 22 boxes of cookies you donated! You rock!

~ Diane