Harbor House Ministries Newsletter Harbor House provides opportunities for people with limited resources to become self-sufficient through educational, spiritual, and economic programs so that, together, everyone becomes all that God intends us to be. November 2014 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:26 Board of Directors Vivian Cheung President Renee Chagnon Secretary Craig Lewis Treasurer Jonathan Hobbs Lee Lueddemann Mary Ann Carter Sally VanEtten Travis Marsh Zarek Woodfork Ginnie Daniel Staff Kathy Dwyer Executive Director Hector Cruz Lisset Santos Katie Traylor Tam Thi Ho Lupe del Toro Maria del Toro Bev Schmidt Youth Department Staff Bronwyn Harris Director of Education Lisset Santos Asst Youth Coordinator Christina Saechao Alexis Pruitt Paola Santos Betel Danielle Brown Nakota Moorehead Manny Martinez Selina Sabrina Nice Lana Lily Every year we increase our outreach in to the Oakland community by providing a number of special holiday programs. In 2013 we served about 450 families through our Adopt A Family Program, Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets and our Christmas Store. I knew that we would be expecting more people to sign up this year as we are still seeing increasing need, but no one expected the overwhelming number of people that were at Harbor House last Saturday. Unfortunately the crowd became so large that we required the Oakland Police to come to our aide. I would like to thank Officers Jon Low, Christy Amaral, Erwin Samaniego, Nolan Chan, Michael Camacho and Peny Likiu who calmly and in Office Chan assisting with the holiday multiple languages helped us to process the people who came to program sign up sign up for a holiday program. And throughout the chaos and the confusion, I knew that what we did that morning we were sharing God’s love, just not the way we expected. For despite the pushing and shouting, mothers who were signing up for the Adopt a Family program continued to tell us “thank you and I come every year to your program as these will be the only gifts my children will receive.” Our goal is to see that every person who came to Harbor House that day receives extra holiday food or a Christmas toy and we need your help for that to happen. I asking you to please try to dig a little deeper in order to help make the holidays a little brighter for those less fortunate. You can do this in a number of ways. Contact Lisset Santos at [email protected] or 510-534-0165 x 206 to sign up to Adopt A Family or donate toys to the Christmas Store. You can also send an additional monetary donation and designate it to go towards our Christmas programs. Serving with Joy! Maymi Saetern Lisset’s article Contact Info: 1811 11th Avenue Oakland, CA 94606 510-534-0165 510-536-7368 (fax) www.hhministries.org “A new commandment I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13.34-35 NIV MVPC Thanksgiving There was lots of turkey and also lots of love at Harbor House on November 6! Every year we have an annual tradition of the youth program being treated by the Moraga Valley Middle School group to an American Thanksgiving feast. For some this is their first experience, and for many it is a time for the Harbor House kids to see their friends from MVPC again. As you can see, the kids dined and served together and their families were treated to take home boxes of their own Thanksgiving dinners. At Harbor House we are thankful for: 1. Staff who are nice 2. Lots of good food. 3. Staff helps us with our homework. 4. We get to learn about God 5. I feel safe because you don't just let us leave but you make sure we are picked up at
© Copyright 2024