FHL Week 2013: Anderson/Pendleton - Tuesday

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TUESDAY, JULY 23, 2012
Today God wanted us to have fun while doing the work of service

We met at WellSpring Church and had our group devo (devotional). We started the day soaking in God's presence by being in His Word, praying, worshiping & praising the Lord! God’s presence was real! WOW!
Our assignment today was to do housekeeping at Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children in Indianapolis. Even though we had the wrong address we were able to get to the Center on time. Unfortunately, another brother from another church in Greenwood also had the wrong address, got turned around and didn’t make it to the Center. He will be with us tomorrow (Wednesday).

Begun in the early 90′s by a group of concerned businessmen, the Care Center merged with Wheeler Mission Ministries in 2001. In 2009, the Care Center was renamed the Center for Women & Children (CWC). The CWC provides an environment that is safe physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Hundreds of women and mothers with children enter our CWC seeking food, clothing and housing. The women find these vital needs supplied, but they also experience love and compassion, bringing rest for their weary souls. National studies indicate that the fastest growing segment of the homeless population consists of women and mothers with children, making the services offered at the CWC imperative to the community.
The average stay at the CWC is three months. During that time ladies are given Biblical counseling, job readiness training, job leads, educational assessment and tutoring, medical services, addiction counseling and encouragement to enter one of our long term residential programs.

Within the CWC there are five main programs: Emergency Shelter Care, Connect to Care (Special Needs), Fresh Start (Working Guest), Family Development, and Higher Ground Addiction Recovery.
Our assigned staff person, Anita gave us instructions on what we needed to do. The adults washed & cleaned walls, stairs, and furniture. The 4 young girls that went with us (ages 8-12) washed & cleaned the children toys. It was a fun environment. We worked hard for 2 hours straight. But we laughed, enjoyed our work and had fun. Anita said we accomplished in 1 day what most groups do in two! We will be back tomorrow (Wednesday) to work some more.
While we were there, the best part was to interact with the residents. We talked while we work to the moms and their children. Toward the end we even sat down and talked to some of them and some of them shared some of their stories. One young woman was in here early 20s and had 3 children ages from 6 months to 3 years. Another young woman also in her early 20s had a 3 year old that was cute as a button. She was pregnant with her baby’s due date around August 8th. Steve Wolverton, who came from Michigan with 2 of his granddaughters to join us for FHL week was able to share with 2 the women more about God’s word! He was having fun doing that! The young girls that went with us were able to have fun with some of the children. The one thing that we sense was the joy of the Lord in these women in spite of their circumstance.