Thank you note to St. Lukes UMC

Wow!! What a great few days in VBS. We had so many wonderful volunteers from churches like Crossroads and Abundant Life(boy did we need them) and we received items from Grace UMC. The folks at St. Lukes UMC approached me about doing VBS and working with us to plan and to provide the resources to make VBS happen. St. Lukes sent many volunteers, provided the food, the decorations and the finances needed to make the VBS successful. We had a great song leader from Crossroads Karen Malone, also from Crossroads was Stephanie who brought her usual band of wonderful helpers and of course our Children's Outreach Director Mary Ingle was present along with Intern Patric Newton. The Storyteller, the Registration coordinator, the kitchen crew(including youth from St. Lukes) and the actor in the skit were all from St. Lukes. We also appreciated the Children's Bibles donated by Bebe Doris from the Kokomo Rescue Mission. Following is a letter sent to St. Lukes Church:

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of 25 children at our VBS outreach. I wish you could have met the children that were so touched. Few of them attend any church and for some it was the first time they heard about Jesus. It has been neat to walk through the apartment complex a week afterwards hearing the children singing the songs they learned in Bible School. It has been a blessing to work more one on one with the children than we are able to do in a large cookout setting. Thank you for providing workers, cookies, food, decorations, finances and prayers. I want you all to know that the neighborhood has been buzzing since VBS asking when we are going to do it again!!! You have been salt and light to a community that needs both. I also wanted you to know that your gifts not only helped the children at VBS, as the leftover food was used at Sunday's cookout. Leftover money was used to rent a U Haul truck($25.00) to deliver groceries to 300 families in two apartment complexes and will be used to purchase much needed shelving($40.00) to hold food until it can be distributed, our little plastic book shelves that surrounded our distribution room walls collapsed under the weight of the food. I would especially like to thank Jean Tarner for organizing and preparing VBS for us so it ran well even though she was called away.


Thanks again.

Jeff Newton Director of Kokomo Urban Outreach