Margaret's Hope Chest

I Would Like to Thank I-Tunes.....

2012-02-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

Well, technically it isn't finished because I haven't quilted it yet-but the top is done. This one was so much fun to make. I think I might just do this with all of my scraps from now on-
First, I cut all of my scraps into 1.5 inch strips--then I cut those strips into pieces no longer than 4 inches and no shorter than 2 inches. This process took approximately 3 episodes of 'Downton Abbey', 2 episodes of 'Private Practice' and 1 episode of 'Parenthood'. Then I sewed the 1.5 inch pieces randomly into what felt like one very long never ending strip. {I can't believe I didn't take pictures of this process}
That process took an entire season of 'I Used to Be Fat'.
The never ending strip was then cut into 12.5 inch sections. Surprisingly, this only took one episode of 'Biggest Loser'.
Twelve 12.5 inch sections make one block....
I made 32 blocks....
and watched the rest of 'Downton Abbey' Season One.
So I would like to thank I-Tunes for this quilt top--because without their steady stream of entertainment--I might have lost my mind and never finished this scrap top!

I am linking up to Amanda Jean's 'Finish It Up Friday'- Did you finish anything this week? Join the link-up and show it off!

HST's For Haiti and Honduras Update

2012-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

We are halfway through our January/February collection of HST's for Haiti and Honduras--click here to read the original post.

As of today I have received blocks from five awesome quilters; Amber, Sharon, Anita, Joan, and someone from Ft. Collins Colorado :)

Thank you ladies so much. The more squares we get the more fun the quilts will be!

Please consider sending us a contribution to this project--it's fun and easy.

You still have the whole month of February to participate.

Just a quick review--we are looking for boy themed HST's for quilts that will be given to boys living in a boy's home in Honduras--ages 4-16. (click here for project details)

We are also collecting baby themed HST's for the momma's and babies at Heartline Ministries in Haiti. (click here for project details)

These quilts will have a huge impact in lives of these families--really. It's hard to imagine in our wealthy over saturated lives that a quilt means much at all, but these quilts will be something new and beautiful in their homes. . I recently read a blog post by a soon-to-be mother (from Colorado). She was sharing pictures from a shower that her friends from work had thrown her--you might never believe how much stuff she had gotten--it was almost sickening to me--and then she went on to explain how excited she was for the additional 5 showers she was going to have in the near future. My point in mentioning that is to offer a contrast--the quilts we make together may be the only gift these soon to be young mothers receive.

In December, we sent 12 baby quilts that our volunteers had made and sent to us to Costa Rica and just this week we received this heart-warming note:

"To the family, friends, and contributors of Margaret's Hope Chest,
   In December, I had the opportunity to bring a dozen quilted baby blankets to women of the Young Lives program in Costa Rica. These were beautiful blankets you donated upon the request of Evelyn, my mother-in-law.
   I wish you could have seen the expressions of astonishment & joy on the faces of the young mothers who received these special Christmas gifts! For many, they hardly have enough food & clothing for themselves & their babies. To receive such a lovely blanket for their little ones was overwhelming!
   Thank you for your love, as shown through these gifts.
                 Pat
                  for the Young Lives team in Costa Rica"

Wow-huh? Wish I could have been there too!

So, please consider joining our team of Project HOPE 2012-

we could use you!

I also wanted to add that you can send us completed quilts as well--no size requirements--boy themed or baby quilts. Here is a baby quilt top that I threw together yesterday--maybe I will have time to finish it up this week.....

How To Assemble a Quilt Top and Clean Your House at the Same Time

2012-01-27T05:50:00.000-08:00

If I play my homeschooling cards right Monday-Thursday I have Friday off from teaching--and that means that I only have to do the week's laundry and clean the house between the hours of 9-3. What a bargain right? Of course, what I really want to do is quilt, so I have found a way to sneak in what I really want to do amongst what I really have to do. I am no genius--just determined and energetic.
Step One: Clean one room or area of the house.

Step Two: Sew one row together and add to the top.

Step Three: Clean another small area of the house

Step Four: Add another row to the quilt.

Step Five: Pick yet another part of your messy house and pick it up.

Step Six: Add another row to the quilt top.

And if you follow this pattern for about 5 hours three things will happen--
1) Your house will be clean
2) You quilt top will be assembled
3) and you will be exhausted-but happy

And then on Saturday at sunset you force your husband to stop the car and hold up the quilt top--right there, no a little to the left--a little lower--please cover up your shoes--can't you just stop moving for a second! *SNAP* thanks sweetie--it's perfect.

I also finished this top this week--I love red and turquoise--it was fun and quite easy to put together--if you have never used this block before--check out this easy tutorial.

I am linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday!

Hope you can get some sewing (and cleaning) done this week!

A New Little Angel Added to Wrapped In Hope

2012-01-18T15:59:00.000-08:00

QUILT FOUND--THANKS DANA!!
Hello again, another last minute addition to the 'Wrapped in Hope' list. Liliana has a birthday on February 2nd. She will be turning one and her daddy was just incarcerated. He would love her to have a quilt that is light purple, turquoise, and one of the following--monkeys, or zoo animals, butterflies or princesses. Does anyone out there have a few spare hours in the next week or so??? Please e-mail me if you can help--thanks!

He's Always Been Faithful to Margaret's Hope Chest--A RECAP of 2011

2012-01-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

I have started writing this post a hundred times in my head...
but when it comes to typing it out on my keyboard
my words either come up short
or there aren't enough words to tell all the tales of provision and blessing
that Margaret's Hope Chest has experienced over the past year.

And then as I was sitting in church on Sunday the following song was sung and I realized I had to find a way share God's faithfulness to us with you dear reader.

He's Always Been Faithful to Me by Sara Groves
Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.

I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful, He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me.

Over the past year, I have woken up morning after morning to find e-mails in my inbox from

families who are brave enough to ask for a quilt
quilters who are generous enough to use some of their precious time and resources to help us serve these families
recipients of our quilts who are thoughtful enough to remember to say thank you and tell us how much the quilt meant to them or a loved one
notes of encouragement from friends around the globe who understand the importance and value of what God is doing through us.

And I am amazed. Simply amazed by it all. And everyday I am in awe of the mystery of the story God has written for my Grandma's life--she is dead on earth-yet through His perfect ways she is very much alive. Right now, her name and legacy are being passed through prisons around Michigan--I know this because we get letters from men and women in prison that say, "....I heard about your mother/grandmother from my friend in prison--I am sorry about what happened to her. It amazes me that you were able to forgive-and that you care about me and my family. I would like to humbly ask for a quilt for my child whom I haven't seen in 5 years...." That is a sign of life and HOPE--an example of God's redeeming nature--it is His desire to claim every inch of earth as His own-even prisons where, from the outside, it would seem that lives are wasted. I can't stop thinking about that some days.

God provided for our every need in 2011. Volunteers (approximately 150 in 2011), families and individuals who need HOPE and a quilt (470 quilts were given in 2011), monetary donations (over $4000 in 2011), and prayer and emotional support from friends, family and strangers.

I don't have one single regret in serving God and others in this way--not one. I count all of the personal time, money and creative sweat not as loss--but as gain.

So, we look forward to new year with new children to bless, new pain and grief to heal, new quilt patterns to try out because we know that...
"God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end"

Just Added to the 'Wrapped In Hope' Birthday List

2012-01-16T07:15:00.000-08:00

QUILT FOUND!! THANKS SHIRLEY!

I ~~just added 5 siblings to the birthday list but I want to highlight one in particular because her birthday is JANUARY 31--which is only 2 weeks away.~~

~~TAYLER will be 8 on January 31--she would like a quilt with the DISNEY PRINCESSES on it.~~

~~Can anyone help out?~~

Good Morning Quilt

2012-01-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Quilt----

--you look so much better in the early morning light.

And when I photograph you in the bright Bermuda sunshine you really come to life!

And to think I almost gave up on you because I thought you were too blah....I now believe my misguided judgments were based on two factors--laying you against my brown living room rug and working in dim light into the late hours of the night.
Now I see you for what you are....a beautiful quilt top that will brighten someone's days.

I am linking up to Amanda Jean's Finish It Up Friday post. I made this top in one week (a new record while homeschooling :)) working from the hours of 8pm (bedtime for the kids) until 11pm (bedtime for me). I have now proven to myself that homeschooling, quilting, and sleeping can happily co-exist in my life. This is huge.
I used two layer cakes of Hulabaloo by Moda which made things go a little faster--and once again I used Jennifer's fantastic HST method to make the pin wheels. Each 4 pinwheel section measures 24"--so, with the 1 inch sashing the quilt top measures 76" X 76". I originally wanted to make it a twin size by having one more row of the 4 pinwheel sections but I ran out of blocks--boo!
I have promised myself that I will not be purchasing anymore fabric until I run out or until I die-whichever comes first---so I guess it will stay a nice square quilt.
Hope you were able to find balance in your week too!
And remember, I am still collecting HST's for Haiti and Honduras--the more the merrier!

Help--Looking for a Car/Truck Themed Quilt for Jan. 19th Birthday

2012-01-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

WE HAVE A QUILT THANKS!!!
~~Hello Quilting Friends!~~
~~I am looking for a Car/Truck themed quilt for a little boy who will be turning 9 on January 19th.....I thought I would check before we resort to Plan B. Please e-mail me if you can help! Thanks!~~

January/February Project HOPE--Half Squares for Haiti and Honduras!

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Friends! We are so excited to start a new year of service here at Margaret's Hope Chest. In 2012 we plan to have 6 projects over the year in which quilters can contribute blocks or finished quilts. I am calling this PROJECT HOPE and I hope these smaller commitments will draw in more volunteers.

We don't know all of the plans that God has in store for us this year but I can tell you that he has given us a project for the first two months of the year. We have committed to sending quilts to babies and their mothers in Haiti and orphaned boys in Honduras.

So.....Project Hope's first assignment is Half Square Triangles for Haiti and Honduras!!

A few months ago I was reading That Girl That Quilt's blog and she was talking about 3 ways to make Half-Square Triangles (HST's). I have made many a half square triangle in my life but my jaw dropped to the ground when I read Jennifer's Method #1 of making HST's. Why had no one told me about this easy peasy method?? And to think I have wasted close to a year of my life drawing lines down the middle of squares--ugh.

So friends, here is your first assignment:

1. Check out Jennifer's tutorial

2. grab some 9 inch squares of baby (boy or girl) or boy happy fabric

3. create some easy HST's and send them to us before the end of February

Here are the details:

Please start with 9 inch squares (Jennifer uses 5 inch squares but it will be easier for me to put quilts together if the squares are bigger) this will yield 5.75 inch HST's.
One 9 inch square should be a white or off white solid or print fabric--the other 9 inch square should be a baby themed fabric (boy or girl or neutral for quilts going to Haiti) OR boy themed fabric (blues, reds, green, browns, blacks for quilts going to the boy's home in Honduras).
Make as many HST's as you want, send them to me and they will be put together into quilts.

My mailing address is Carin Vogelzang 5300 Hamilton Place Dulles, VA 20189

Of course, if you have finished baby or boy themed quilts that you would like to donate we will accept those as well--but please send those quilts to this address:

Margaret's Hope Chest

630 Griswold SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49507

Here are a ~~few~~ to many pictures of my HST baby quilt projects I completed last week--it was really fun!!

2011-Quilt Finishes

2011-12-31T05:54:00.000-08:00

I decided to go through my pictures and count up all of the quilts that I have finished this past year.

I came up with 32. That doesn't count the donated quilt tops that I have finished off--which I would guess is another 15 or more (?). I remember making each of these quilts and it is my prayer that they are all doing their job of comforting and bringing HOPE to the child/adult it belongs to now. Yes, with three exceptions (the large pinwheel quilt I kept, the Dr. Seuss and handprint ones were donated to a school auction) all of these quilts have been given to someone on behalf of Margaret's Hope Chest. Each has a story behind and ahead of it and for that I am thankful. After almost 6 years (I can't believe that!) of serving hurting and sometimes hopeless people I KNOW that each quilt is going to the person that God has chosen.

I know my personal quilting will be slower in 2012 because of family commitments but I trust that the collective work of Margaret's Hope Chest will fulfill the desires of God's heart.

Blessings on your new year!

Merry Christmas To All The Friends of Margaret's Hope Chest

2011-12-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

Emergency Christmas Request

2011-12-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

*****QUILT FOUND FOR AIDAN-THANKS!!*****

It's the time of year when we have a chance to give something meaningful to others: our time, our love, a gift. We have a mother who contacted us today and she would like her two children to have a special gift from their imprisoned father for Christmas--money is tight for her and a friend told her about Margaret's Hope Chest--and the gifts that we give children like hers. We have a quilt for her daughter ready to go but we are looking for a quilt for her son AIDAN who is 8 YEARS OLD and loves ARMY MEN and anything BOY. Do you have a quilt that is already made that might be given to this precious child? Army themed would be great but I think anything boy happy would be fine. Please e-mail me if you have a quilt that you would be willing to ship out asap. Thanks!!!

My Very Own Quilt Shop

2011-12-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

My kids were very into Lego last week. After school was done each afternoon they would flood into the boy's room and building, chatting, giggling, and a little bit of bickering would begin.

On Wednesday my older son Isaac found me in the kitchen and asked me what he could build for me.

I pondered his question for a moment and then I answered with a grin

"I have always wanted my very own quilt shop."

His eyes lit up and he ran off and spent every available moment of the next 2 days creating a huge surprise that I wasn't allowed to look at.

On Friday I was eagerly called to the Lego workshop for the unveiling of

My Very Own Quilt Shop

Here it is!

'Plans to Give you HOPE and a Future'

2011-12-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

" For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremian 29:11

Wow, it has been some time since I have shared what is going on in the world of Margaret's Hope Chest. God has a plan for our future service to people who need HOPE--it is always humbling (and exciting) to sit back and watch our coming year of service fall into place.

Our 'Wrapped in Hope' list is looking great! I just added 4 more children--it changes every day. Thanks to those quilters who have signed up to make a special quilt for one of these children. Again, we invite anyone reading this blog to sign up--there is no membership here, we don't require certain skills or fabrics, we are looking for people who want to serve others (in this case, children with a parent in prison) through the work of their hands-that's it.

We are fundraising this month. Yipee! (that is me trying to make you believe that I love asking people for money-which of course, I don't) Thankfully, we are a small operation and most of our 'donations' come in the form of quilters who use their own fabric and materials to make the quilts. But we do need to keep a small budget for shipping quilts, rolls of batting, travel costs to prison giveaways, and creating promotional materials.

Enter 25 days of Giving--something I have created this year for fundraising. We have been asking friends, family and supporters of MHC to choose a day in December to donate any amount of money to support the work we will do in 2012. There are 7 days left with no sponsor and so as a last step, I came to this blog last to see if there are a few people who would be interested in taking a day to support us financially. Of course, I know that if you are reading here you believe that what we are doing is important--and if you already volunteer quilt for us--you really believe that a handmade quilt can bring HOPE to someone who is hurting so please don't feel obligated. I live my life (at the fundraising part of it) under the adage; "The worst they can say is no" and it is working pretty good for me so far!
I do want to share one exciting donation that we received last weekend. My mom's church held a 'Tour of Tables' event (which I won't describe here but you can Google it) on Saturday and there was a collection for Margaret's Hope Chest. My mom spoke briefly about what we have been doing recently and she must have made an impact because these women donated over $1000!!!! Wow! A huge thank you to them.

And two more things--looking ahead to next year--we have agreed to collect 25 quilts for the Home of Victory in Honduras. This is a private orphanage that cares for BOYS who are ages 4-14. So we are looking for BOY QUILTS to send to them--there is no firm time frame right now but I would like to shoot for April.
Also, we will be collecting BABY QUILTS for a program in Haiti. Mothers who are attending prenatal classes at the Heartline Maternity Center will get to pick out a quilt for their unborn child. These quilts are an incentive for these moms to attend each class--and get educated about proper nutrition (for themselves and their unborn child) and newborn care. Also, no set timeline but I would like to send a group as soon as we have about 20-25.
So....if you have time to make one or more quilts we have people to share them with!

Well, I should go and teach my kids a few things since the stomach flu put us a few days behind!

Wrapped in Hope 2012 List is Up!!!

2011-11-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone out there in Blogland!! Hope you are all looking forward to a wonderful day of THANKS this Thursday. Of course, in Bermuda it is not a holiday but there are scores of people here who like America enough to celebrate it anyway! Our family will go the Aquarium, have a picnic lunch and a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in the evening--at least that is the plan right now.
So, just in time I have posted the new Wrapped in Hope 2012 list here on this blog and also HERE. If you are interested in quilting for one of these precious children (looks like some fun choices available!) please e-mail me and I will send you all of the information you will need. If you are new to Margaret's Hope Chest and Wrapped in Hope, you can read more about this program HERE.
Lord willing, I will have some more sweethearts to add to the list very soon--but God needs to connect a few more dots :) until then, we have 36 children to serve--blessings!!!

JANUARY 2012

~~January 10--Orianne (female) will be 3--brown and pink, polka dots~~ Jill

~~January 18--Oren will be 5--red, black, superheroes~~ Tina

~~January 20--Elessia will be 10--pink, purple, turtles, butterflies~~ Brittany

~~January 24--Rachael will be 16--pink, back, red~~ Carol

FEBRUARY 2012

February 9--Tyler will be 10--cars (not the movie) blue

February 13--Alyssa will be 13--hot pink, Hello Kitty and Zebra print (twin with Alessandra)

February 13--Alessandra will be 13--red, Paris, cheetahs (twin with Alyssa)

~~February 19--Jacob will be 2--blues, browns, and Goof~~y Teresa

~~February 24--Giuliana will be 6--purple~~ Lynn

February 24--Dartavius will be 10--basketball, blue, red

MARCH 2012

March 1--Chauncey will be 18--cheerleading, blue gold

March 8--DeMariay will be 10--legos, baseball, basketball, soccer

~~March 26--Isis will be 11--pink, soccer, peace signs~~ Janet

~~March 27--Dominique will be 18--blue, Colts (football team)~~ Brittany

~~March 28--Nayla will be 7--yellow, pink~~ Anita

~~March 30--Aaliyah will be 8--hearts, purple, light blue~~ Dorothy

APRIL 2012

~~April 4--Taeler will be 9--purple and black, or teal, birds, peace signs, stars~~ Catherine

MAY 2012

~~May 5--Tre will be 13--dogs, cats, football, blue, black, white~~ Sherry V.

May 12--Dion will be 18--green, Patriots football team

~~May 19--Corey will be 13--football~~ Katie

~~May 24--Addison will be 1--zebra, lime green, hot pink~~ Dorothy

JUNE 2012

June 3--Ebony will be 18--pink, Winnie the Pooh

~~June 10--Mariha will be 9--fashion, music, purple, light blue~~ Carol

June 18--Tahoni will be 10--blue, cheerleading

~~June 22--Luke will be 7--red and black, skateboards, Chargers (football team)~~ Kelsey

~~June 29--Ethan will be 10--black, red, gray, soccer~~ Catherine

JULY 2012

AUGUST 2012

~~August 1--Dayvhoun will be 11--black, gray, blue, orange, dogs, tigers, elephants, cats, football, baseball, basketball (twin with Dayjon)~~ Christene

~~August 1--Dayjon will be 11--red, black, green, blue, lions, tigers, dogs, football, basketball, soccer (twin with Dayvhoun)~~Christene

~~August 12--Darius will be 14--any colors, please put his name on the quilt somewhere~~. Sherry V.

August 27--Juicy will be 10--shopping and drawing

SEPTEMBER 2012

September 5--Rell will be 11--red, green, football, cheetahs, black

~~September 15--Areal(female) will be 12--basketball, gymnastics, football, soccer, yellow, purple, blue, puppies~~ Joan

OCTOBER 2012

~~October 9--Tony will be 11--fishing, bike riding, all sports~~ Sherry V.

~~October 30--Gabriella will be 4--pink, purple, brown, puppies and polka dots~~ Char

NOVEMBER 2012

~~November 2--Alyssa will be 7--pink, purple, hearts~~ Vicky

November 14--De'Marco will be 11--red, black, gold

November 27--William will be 12--blue, green, gold

DECEMBER 2012

~~December 13--Taleia will be 6--purple, butterflies, Barbie, princesses~~ Sherry V.

~~December 15--Destiny will be 2--Winnie the Pooh, pink, some green, flowers, and her name~~ Maureen

December 25--Bobby will be 11--wrestling, Nascar

My 3 Wishes

2011-11-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

I wish......
that my rotary mat wasn't locked away in a long term storage facility in Hagerstown, MD....
that I could quilt and homeschool my kids at the same time....
that I could play around with these fabrics today and start creating quilts for my two little boys...

Wrapped in Hope 2012

2011-11-14T17:18:00.000-08:00

The middle of November means many different things to many different people--it may signal the beginning (or ending) of Christmas shopping, it may mean it's time to nail down the Thanksgiving dinner menu--and for crafters it may produce a sort of anxiety over those unfinished homemade Christmas gifts.
For us at Margaret's Hope Chest it means it is time to pull out the ever growing list of birthdays for 'Wrapped in Hope' and share them with our faithful volunteers. January birthdays are right around the corner and I want to give everyone ample time to plan ahead.
At this point, our list is smaller than last year--we have a smaller group of kids from the Atlanta, GA area that we are serving this year. The other names on the list have come to me through a few different avenues:
1. Prison Talk (an online support group for families of the incarcerated)
2. Word of mouth--some of the families who have received quilts over the past 2 years are sharing what we do with their friends.
3. Prisoners that we are meeting in the prison giveaways are sharing our program with other inmates.
I see God's hand in all of this and know that he will send us the people that he wants us to serve.

If you are new here and what to know the process of this program here are the guidelines that I send each quilter when they sign up for a child:
1. Please make the quilt with at least one of the interests that are listed. Minimum size of the quilt should be 40X60. Quilts can be tied or quilted. Make sure the quilt is clean before sending--no pet hair etc.
2. Start the quilt whenever you choose--but the quilt must be finished 2 weeks prior to the birthday. 2 weeks before the birthday please post a picture of it on the Flickr site and e-mail Carin. If you don't know how to load pictures onto Flickr--please e-mail a picture of the quilt to Carin and she will add it for you.
3. Please add a small birthday card with the quilt. Add the message that the parent has provided (see below)
4. Please don't add any extra gifts with the quilt. Many of the children have siblings who are also receiving a quilt this year and we would like to keep everything as equal and fair as possible.
5. Please don't delete this e-mail because it has the mailing address for your child and what the birthday card message should be. I do have a hard copy of this information so if you do lose it I can provide it to you again.
6. You will be sending the quilt directly to the child but we ask that you use Margaret's Hope Chest mailing address as the return address--just in case there is trouble. That address is: MHC 630 Griswold SE Grand Rapids Michigan 49507.
7. After sending more than 200 quilts through the United States Postal Service over the past 3 years- a word of advice--consider paying the extra 70 cents for DELIVERY CONFIRMATION. It gives you the piece of mind that the quilt arrived when and where it should have. Many of the families will send a thank-you e-mail to me when they receive the quilts but many do not--and that leaves the quilter worrying that it was never received. Plus, it seems that packages with the delivery confirmation get a little more attention and are delivered a bit faster :)
8. If you have a blog where other quilters read we would love it if you would share your experience quilting for 'Wrapped in Hope' with them!
9. Have fun and don't hesitate to ask any questions!

A couple of 'housekeeping' items before I get to the list.
1. I will be sending you all the information about the child right away this year. Please don't delete the information. I ran into a problem this year after the addresses for all of the children were accidentally packed up in my household goods when I moved out of Toronto. There are a handful of children who will not receive their quilt this year because of the error I made--I don't want this to ever happen again--so I am taking new measures to insure that.
2. If you sign up to make a quilt and then for some reason can't carry through with the task--please, tell me as soon as possible. I have always found someone else to make the quilt but the more time I have the better.
3. Each year, a couple of the families on the list disappear off the face of the earth and the quilts are not able to be delivered. That is sad-and I always feel bad when it happens--but please be aware that is does happen.
4. Later this week I will update the 'Wrapped in Hope' blog with the full list of birthdays--this list is just for January, February, and March birthdays.
5. If you would like to choose one of the kids I have listed please e-mail me.

Wrapped in Hope 2012 Jan-March

~~January 18--Oren will be 5--red, black, superheros~~ Tina

~~January 20--Elessia will be 10--pink, purple, turtles, butterflies, cheerleading, dancing~~-Brittany

~~January 24--Rachael will be 16--pink, black, red~~Carol

February 19--Jacob will be 2-blues, browns, and Goofy

~~February 24--Giuliana will be 6--purple~~ Lynn

February 24--Dartavius will be 10--basketball, blue, red

March 1--Dominique will be 18--cheerleading, blue, gold

March 8--DeMariay will be 10--legos, baseball, basketball, soccer

March 26--Isis will be 11--Pink, soccer, peace signs

March 27--Dominique will be 18--blue, Colts (football team)

~~March 28--Nayla will be 7--yellow, pink~~Anita

~~March 30--Aaliyah will be 8--hearts, purple, light blue~~ Dorothy

Quarterly Quilt Giving Update

2011-11-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a long quarter :) I believe the last time I reported on where our quilts have been going was in March- so lots to report here in November.
*100 quilts have been given to children on the 'Wrapped in Hope' birthday list.
*133 quilts have been given away at prison giveaways
*A quilt was given to 8 year old Hannah after her mom passed away.
*A quilt was given to John after a devastating stroke--it was unknown at the time whether or not he would live--but I am happy to tell you that he is at home making progress every day.
*10 quilts were sent to Japan through Quilter's Newsletter.
*3 quilts were sent to 3 sisters in California after a terrible car accident.
*A quilt was given to Anna--a young woman with leukemia
*A quilt was given to Holly for Mother's Day-one of her sons has passed away and the other has leukemia.
*5 quilts were given to homeless mother's in Grand Rapids for Mother's Day.
*2 quilts were given as part of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day--Jamie in Maine and Johnnie in Alabama.
*A quilt was given to a couple who lost twin babies through miscarriage.
*A quilt was given to a Bosnian immigrant in the Grand Rapids area who was struck by a car while walking with her family.
*7 quilts were given to Safe Haven Ministries in Grand Rapids to honor the lives of 7 murder victims.
*A quilt was given to Deb as she endured chemo treatments for cancer.
*12 quilts were sent to an orphan's home in Guinea
*10 quilts were sent to organization that helps needy person in Traverse City Michigan.
*12 baby quilts are in process of going to a new orphanage in Costa Rica--they should arrive before Thanksgiving.

And so, as of today our grand total has jumped to 1265! Once again we are humbled and awed by the work that many hands have done in honor of my grandma. Deepest thanks to all involved!

Upon seeing that my family has moved out of the country, some people have been wondering if Margaret's Hope Chest will be affected. The answer is NO. I actually started MHC when I lived in Armenia--I had a computer speed there that hardly let me load pictures onto the blog :) that was interesting. Truth be told, I have never run MHC while living the the United States....maybe some day. Our mailing address remains the same--that is my mom's house and she is not moving any time soon!
I have a nice computer speed here in Bermuda and I will continue to make quilts and send them back with whoever visits me and has room in their suitcase. Thankfully, most of my work can be handled on the computer. The only thing that will change is that I won't be able to make quilts for the 'Wrapped in Hope' birthday list because I don't have a way to mail them from here without paying $$$.
I am so thankful that there are so many reading this right now that will take up the slack for me :)

Beyond Thankful

2011-11-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to so many of you Margaret's Hope Chest will be traveling to a prison in Muskegon, Michigan tomorrow morning with 70 quilts!!! Can you believe that? We only had about 15 quilts left after our giveaway in early Sept. We put the word out--God arranged a few things and boom! 70 wonderful quilts to share with about 54 kids who will spend the day with their father in prison tomorrow. You can join me in praying for these fathers--they are excited and nervous to see their kids--some of these dads only get to see their children once a year (because of distance)--and some of them are serving a life sentence. Tomorrow may be the only time they see their child face to face this year. The quilt that they give their child will be a concrete reminder of them--and their love--and the power of forgiveness. My mom will be traveling by herself tomorrow to share the love and mission of Margaret's Hope Chest. I will be praying for her.
This will be the last giveaway of the year--but we are already looking forward to next year--it's never too early to start making kid quilts--because we never seem to have too many! Again, many thanks to those who sent us quilts over the past year for 'Wrapped in Hope'--this ministry is ALIVE and THRIVING because of you!!

Welcome to Our New Home!

2011-11-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new home!

The main living area is on the second floor--the first floor is the laundry, guest room, guest bath and school room.

The second floor has a living room, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, kitchen and dining area.

I will show you more areas of the house as soon as they are presentable.

Currently, the only room that is picture worthy is the school room because we start school tomorrow!

View from the deck--Atlantic Ocean and the rain comes from that direction

neighbor's house across the street

The view from my rocking chair

Construction across the street--reminds us of Armenian construction

Ready for school!

So where is my sewing room?? Yeah, that will have to wait. Maybe by December?????

My husband drove up our street as I was taking pictures-Bermuda is left hand drive--totally confusing!

Showing off our milk purchase (??) a gallon of milk costs about $12!

View from the other direction

School room is the bottom windows

Two More Tops Finished

2011-10-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I have so much to write here but I am running out of time! We leave tomorrow afternoon from Grand Rapids. We are flying to London for a 5 day stay (my husband has to work there) and then we fly to Bermuda from London next week Tuesday--and we will finally arrive in our new home. I really have to get to bed because I know we won't sleep much tomorrow night but I wanted to show these two tops. They are Quilting Bee tops--my mom will finish them up.

Once again, I love the string block top for Harmony (there are 3 blocks that will be added to the back that you don't see here). The pink/purple hour glass block top isn't my favorite but I am sure that Frankee will love it.

Thanks once again to those who added blocks!

One other note: Thanks to those who have sent us quilts through '100 Quilts for Kids'. We are going to meet our goal of providing quilts for the prison giveaway in November!!! We heard this week that there are going to be over 50 kids at the prison--wow! That is a huge group! So we will bring about 70 quilts with us. Amazing and humbling how God provides for our needs over and over again.

I will write again when I have a computer connection in Bermuda!

Until then, keep quilting!!!

Finish it Up Friday

2011-10-14T10:54:00.000-07:00

Have you heard that Amanda Jean over at Crazy Mom Quilts has started a 'Finish it Up Friday' link up?

Well, I have a finish that I am happy to link up.

Here is a birthday quilt for N'Tari who has a birthday on November 9.

This quilt was constructed with the help of 12 ladies from our very own Quilting Bee!

We used Jennifer's Cross Block Tutorial. I put the blocks on point because that is what has been speaking to me lately :) and placed the extras on the back.

I hope he *loves* it and a huge thanks to those ladies who sent blocks--I love how these MHC Quilting Bee quilts are turning out--two more to go!

Still Alive and Kicking--or at Least Quilting

2011-10-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Despite a massive amount of last minute tasks before the BIG MOVE I am still quilting. I can't leave the country without finishing these projects because I don't have room to pack them in the suitcases. I like the feeling of starting a new life in a new place with a WIP "blank slate". Of course, this will never truly happen because I have ideas and fabric for projects that I want to start with as soon as possible but at least I am not dragging along old projects.

And so I finished off an I Spy top (above) and it will travel to the prison giveaway in November.

If you like I-Spy quilts jump over to Sandra's blog--she has a parade of I-Spy quilts that may inspire you this fall.

As I have mentioned a million times, we never have enough sport themed quilts--this one is basketball

I also finished this quilt for the giveaway in November. I am linking this quilt to Swim, Bike, Quilt

for the 100 Quilts for Kids collection.

I am beyond happy that we have received several quilts from this collection! Yeah! I will cover that in another post before I leave :)

Orange backing and quilting detail.

Two Sporty Tops

2011-10-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

Two Very Colorful Finishes

2011-09-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

Remember my pinwheel quilt? 289 pinwheels in the middle part of the quilt--2.5 inches each. I dropped it off at the quilters earlier this summer and got the message that it was finished yesterday morning. I dropped everything and ran over there as soon as possible :) I was so anxious to see what she had done with it. Wow! She added such a cool dimension with the quilting. For those in the Grand Rapids area, Brenda Kwekel did a fantastic job, she completed it when she said she would and charged me $76 which I think is a very good price.

I also finished this quilt yesterday--another bright and colorful addition to the quilt collection.

I quilted this one myself and I think if there was ever a quilt that was over-quilted--this would be it. I used 10 spools of gray thread on this--yikes! That is 2500 yards of thread on this thing--what was I thinking?!?! Anyway-it's done. That is the important part!

For the rest of the week I am working on this 'Wrapped in Hope' birthday quilt for a teenage boy who loves sports....

And I am also making a basketball themed quilt using this free pattern--love free patterns ;)

I am linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday!

Have a great week!

A Sneak Peek

2011-09-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

For those Quilting Bee readers who made blocks for N'Tari--here is a sneak peek at his quilt. The back will also be pieced with the pieces that were cut off of these blocks. I plan on adding a couple of borders--one a light gray and one blue (?) What do you think?

A Gentle Reminder

2011-09-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder to anyone who has made a quilt for Margaret's Hope Chest (or sent us one) over the past few weeks to link up at Kate's blog Swim Bike Quilt. Her program 100 Quilts for Kids runs through Oct. 14 so there is still time to be entered to win some great prizes! Have a great weekend--I am canning applesauce which is being sent to Bermuda for enjoying on a *cold* days :)

A Glimpse Into Our Family Vacation and This Week's Work

2011-09-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

For those who follow this blog and know a little about the life behind Margaret's Hope Chest, they may remember that my family is in the middle of an international move. We are between Toronto, Canada and Hamilton, Bermuda. We left Toronto at the end of July and we plan on arriving in Bermuda in late October. In the meantime, we are stalled in Michigan...and loving every minute of it!

We just returned from an 11 day vacation on the east side of Michigan. I had never really been there and we were impressed with a couple of our stops.

We LOVED Tawas Point State Park. Beautiful.

The lighthouse at Tawas Point

Tawas Point State Park at sunset--A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

My son flying a kite--Tawas Point

Me and my husband

My brood of wonderfully happy and beautiful children--truly, I fell a little deeper in love with each of them on our vacation.

Sand dune running along Lake Huron

Onaway State Park

Monarch butterfly along the shores of the Straits of Mackinac--Wilderness State Park

Weiner roasting with my mom and my sister's kids

We walked across the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day (you can only do this once a year--this year 46,000 people who love Michigan did it :))

Mackinac Bridge-outfits due to previous 10 days of camping--not enough clean and warm clothing!

Anyway, we had a wonderful time exploring Michigan and unplugging from our every day lives.

Now that we are less than a month away from leaving for Bermuda our days are filled with last minute details and a little more stress--boo! The good news is that my husband is on vacation until we leave so that has opened up a little more time for sewing :)

First, I finished off this donated quilt top. This one will go fast at the prison giveaway later this year.

I also finished this quilt for a nine year old boy who has a dad in prison and is having a hard time. He loves cars and so I wanted to use this car print that someone donated. I used all scraps for the front and I love it! I hope it brings comfort and HOPE to him.

And last but certainly not least....

I finished Meyon's quilt! All of the blocks were donated by members of our Wrapped in Hope Quilting Bee. I LOVE how this turned out. Each block is my favorite.

I hope all who participated can find their block! I added the late arrivals to the back.

Meyon's birthday is Oct. 7 so I will send this out next week.

Can Anyone Help??

2011-09-20T17:16:00.000-07:00

**WE HAVE FOUND A QUILT FOR CODY!! YEAH!**

Hi Friends! I will be back tomorrow to share what I have been working on lately but tonight I have a somewhat desperate plea--does anyone have a quilt already made that we could send to a little boy named Cody. Cody's mom and dad are in prison in Michigan--Cody's mom just heard about Margaret's Hope Chest in prison and has requested a quilt for the birthday's of her 3 children.

We have the other two kids covered with quilts that we have in our stash

but Cody is going to turn 7 and he likes camouflage, trucks, and hunting and we do not have anything that fits any of those themes.

His birthday is September 27--so the quilt would have to be sent out ASAP--I have the address ready to go.

So if you have anything that could be sent to this sweet little boy please email me!

margaretshopechest@yahoo.com

100 Quilts for Kids

2011-09-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about 100 Quilts for Kids?

It's a great way to donate to Margaret's Hope Chest and possibly win a prize at the same time. Kate just announced the prizes up for grabs yesterday--wow! You can read through the details of how to enter the giveaways HERE--but basically the process is easy--make a child-themed quilt--take a picture of it--donate the quilt to an organization that gives quilts to kids (like Margaret's Hope Chest :))--add your picture to one of the link-up's--and voila! You are entered into the drawing for some fabulous prizes.

I will tell you now that we NEED quilts. We just returned from a prison giveaway on Saturday--we gave away 45 quilts to some precious children who have a parent in prison.

We now only have 17 kid-themed quilts left in our stash--and we would very much like to be able to attend one more prison camp in early November--but we need about 60 quilts in order to make the commitment to go.

Every quilt we receive through the 100 Quilts for Kids program will get us one step closer to this camp. The timing couldn't have been better for us.

I just finished this quilt today and it will be my entry--I had finished this top in the spring but put it away because I had run out of batting. I love how it turned out and can't wait to share it with a little girl.

Can you join me in supporting 100 Quilts for Kids?

Home from Vacation for a Few Days--A Beautiful Donation--Argh! A Pirate Quilt--and Prison Giveaway Tomorrow

2011-09-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I am back for a few days from a vacation that was interupted by a misbehaving transmission--but we rolled with it and will return to our camping adventure on Monday morning.

I have lots to share about the world and work of Margaret's Hope Chest.

We have received so many quilt and quilt top donations over the past month--it has been amazing! Thanks to all who have spent the time and money to send or drop these quilts off--the quilts pictured below came last week from Jessica at Twin Fibers. I just love her blog and I was amazed to find out that she only lives 30 minutes from me and also, that she donated a large group of her latest projects!

You will continue to see other donations as we work our way through the 100 or so quilt tops--so awesome!

The night before we left for our trip I finished this pirate/skull themed quilt for an almost 2 year old who has a daddy in prison. I used the disappearing nine patch block because it's fast and easy :) and I was down to the wire! I hope he loves it!

And one of the great things that came out of our interrupted vacation was that I am able to join my mom tomorrow at a prison in northern Michigan to share our story and message of forgiveness and HOPE with a group of prisoners. Then each dad will pick out a quilt (most of which have been donated by blog readers :) ) to give their child/children. I love these days the best--I wish you all could see the joy that the quilts bring these families. 43 children will walk out of the prison tomorrow with a concrete symbol of their father's love! I can't wait!

And so I will sign off for now and be back soon with more updates on God's work through MHC!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy with Works in Progress and Boy Quilts!

2011-08-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

For some reason I can't shift around the order of the pictures tonight and so we will just skip around to explain and show off all of the the wonderful quilts we are preparing to give away on September 10!

I am linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced--WIP Wednesday!

Anita sent us this bright boy quilt this week! Thanks Anita!

Emily sent us these two fun boy quilts--I think these will be chosen right away!! Thanks Emily!

Front of the Cars quilt by Emily

Pieced back of the quilt donated by Emily

So, now we will get to what I have been working on this week...

I finished off this Cars themed quilt this week. I made the top a long time ago but I wasn't in love with it and so it ended up on the bottom of one of my piles....but then someone donated a large piece of Cars fabric and I was able to use it as a backing. The quilting is straightline and a light grey thread--for some reason the camera really picked it up.

I also finished off this blue scrap quilt--I took all of my blues that were boy friendly (no flowers :)) and cut them in 4, 5 and 6 inch strips of varying widths. I think I will be able to make 3 tops out of the strips...this is one of them.

I backed it with a Spiderman print that someone donated.

The red/white checked binding pulls it all together.

Currently, I am quilting a pirate themed quilt for a birthday next month. I have to finish it off tomorrow so I have time to box it up and get it in the mail before we leave on a 3 week camping adventure!! I hope to check back one more time before we take off!

Hope you all are enjoying the last fleeting moments of your summer!!

This Week's Finishes

2011-08-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that my sister was in town all week and we were B-U-S-Y having fun

I was still able to accomplish quite a bit.

This first baby sized quilt was finished by my mom. Someone donated the top and she added a few borders and quilted it. We think it is darling!

Here is the finished top for Alexis as part of the Margaret's Hope Chest Quilting Bee--which my mom put together as well. I love how the string block quilt squares come together so easily. She will have it finished by the end of the weekend hopefully and in the mail in time for Alexis's birthday on the 24th of August.

I finished off this donated top this week--it was easy and fun--some little girl will love this quilt.

My second donated top finish this week is this animal themed one. This top was put together so nicely-it was a pleasure to finish!

And last but not least I finished this scrap quilt this week.

Quilting Progress

2011-08-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

Keeping busy this week-trying to stay on schedule with several quilts that are due to be completed this month. First is this quilt top for Meyon made with blocks collected in our Quilting Bee. I put the blocks on point which always gives me great pleasure even though it takes a little longer to put together. There are 4 blocks that I am putting on the backing of this quilt. After that I will start finishing it off. Can't wait to see it complete!

I am currently quilting this top which I created this week and last from a charm pack, part of a layer cake and scraps. I was going to make Amanda Jean's 36 patch blocks but I didn't read the directions and ended up with 32 patch blocks :) and in my world when that happens I just say 'whatever' and move on!

I finished off two more quilt tops collected earlier this year. This first one is reversible--cute cowboy themed fabric. Someone donated two tops of the same size and fabric and I decided to put them together into one.

Front

Back

I love this top--so bright and scrappy! I added a red back and backing and did some simple straight line quilting because it didn't need much more than that frankly.

WIP Wednesday

2011-07-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

Once again it has been some time since I have linked up with Lee at 'Freshly Pieced'. But this week has been productive on the quilting end of life so I thought I would join.
First and foremost, I have finished this quilt top:

It is very green--and big--and bright! The middle section is constructed with 289 three-inch pinwheels. Originally, I had wanted the entire quilt to be made up of three-inch pinwheels but after making two batches of about 140 I decided I couldn't make one more! Plus, I used 7 charm packs and that was a bit too expensive for me. So now I will be giving it to a professional to quilt--something I don't do very often but I might want to keep this quilt myself and so I will give it the full treatment--we'll see how it turns out!
Next, I have almost finished this quilt--the top was donated in April--should be done this afternoon!

This 'Girlie Girl' charm pack will be made into a quilt for a new baby who has a daddy in prison....

And finally, this fabric arrived this week--I am going to make a quilt for my daughter Clara. The coloring is a little off--in real life it is not so turquoise. Can't wait to settle on a pattern and get started!

Wrapped In Hope Update

2011-07-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Boy themed quilts we have right now

Girl themed quilts we have right now

About a month ago I posted about 'Wrapped in Hope' and our current situation. I am happy to report that our stash of kid-themed quilts is growing.
Currently, we have 14 boy themed quilts and 23 girl themed quilts for a total of 37 quilts--maybe you remember that a month ago we had about 25 quilts--yeah for 12 new quilts!! I know some of you who are reading this love to see numbers so here are the numbers:

Quilts needed to be able to bless the children at 4 more prison camps this year: 115
Quilts that we have to give right now: 37

Quilts still needed: 78

Now a question was asked in the comments on the last post that I want to address:
"I'm wondering what constitutes a kids theme quilt? May be a silly question."
Not a silly question really--what we mean by kid-themed quilts is a quilt that is appropriate for a child between the ages of 4-18. Obviously, which an age spread as large as that most quilts would fit into the category of kid-themed. I will tell you that we NEVER have enough SPORT quilts or PINK/PURPLE/PRINCESS quilts. If you have a quilt that isn't 'themed' that is fine too--many parent's like to choose a quilt that will grow with their child and get many years of love and affection!
Basically, we will accept anything that you would give to your own child or grandchild.
Can't wait to see the 'still needed' number shrink!!

The Perfect Equation for Quilting Progress

2011-07-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Take one sleepy post-op 2 year old

then add

one weekend away up north for my husband, father in law and 3 older kids

then add

hot and humid weather

and that equals

major quilting progress!!

My youngest son had his tonsils and adnoids removed late last week which left him very sleepy and quiet. The rest of the family left to Traverse City for a few days in order to give Josiah a few quiet days to heal. I finished all of my cleaning and laundry as quickly as possible so I could get to my quilting!! It was a wonderful weekend for me :) I was able to nurse my son and quilt at the same time--beautiful!

I finished off this top that we received earlier this year from a generous volunteer--I added the orange print border and did some simple straight line quilting around the squares.

I also finished this top which is a small baby sized quilt.

I also removed several borders from other tops that we are going to finish soon.

Currently, I am working on more pinwheels to add to a top that I put on the back burner a month or more ago. Can't wait to show you that. Maybe tomorrow!

Crawling Out of a Pit to Share HOPE

2011-07-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been some time since I have gotten on this blog to give an update on what's going on at Margaret's Hope Chest--sorry about that.

I have become caught up in my own personal life and it feels as if I am starting to crawl out of a deep pit--I know that sounds dramatic but it is true.

Our family moved out of Toronto two weeks ago

and that was so much more work than I thought it was going to be.

I worked like a dog for 10 days--12 hours a day--cleaning, organizing, supervising the packers, hauling junk to the dump, selling some large items on Craigslist, cleaning our entirely too huge house from top to bottom. On top of that I still had 4 kids and a husband to tend to--the kids were leaving the only school they had ever known and I wanted to make sure everything was done well.

Then we arrived back in Michigan and it started all over again--this time unpacking and organizing our house here. Oh, and all of the wonderful Michigan summer things that we love to do--sunset walks in Grand Haven, trips to Grandma's cottage, strawberry picking, flower planting, firefly catching....

I finally feel like I can pick up some fabric and sew.

And it's a good thing because we have so many hurting people in our community and in our country.

They need to hear our story of forgiveness and HOPE.

Maybe some of you heard that we had a bad week in Grand Rapids last week.

There was a man who went on a shooting rampage and killed 7 innocent people in a matter of hours.

Our city is hurting.

These families need HOPE.

We are going to try and give some of the surviving family members a quilt.

Here is one that is going to be sent tomorrow--a beautiful quilt that we had in our stash-we are praying that our family's story of what came out of my grandma's tragic and senseless murder will bring them a measure of comfort in the months and years to come.

I also wanted to mention something that might be of interest to the Wrapped In Hope volunteer quilters....Starting on Monday of next week all of the kids that are on the list from Georgia will be gathering at Camp Hope--outside of Atlanta. All of the kids who attend Camp Hope have at least one parent in prison. If you quilted for one of these kids and you believe that God can transform that child's life please pray for the following things:

Prayers for Camp Hope

July 17-22, 2011

"For I know the plans I have for you; plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will fill the camp for the week. Bind Satan from approaching the camp.
Pray that campers and volunteers who do not know Jesus will accept Him as Lord and Savior.
Pray that campers and volunteers will know that God protects them and has great plans for their lives.
Pray that campers and volunteers who need renewal of life in Christ will repent, ask, and receive.
Pray for safety for all traveling to and from camp and for all during activities during camp.
Pray for fun for the campers, that children will have the freedom to be children.
Pray that staff and volunteers will recognize when DFCS needs to be called into a home.
Pray that additional campers will come forth to fill the camp slots available.
Pray that the attendees of the upper camp, Leadership Training Academy, will sense a higher calling for their lives.
Pray for discernment in assigning counselor and camper matches and for discernment for the staff and volunteers for the week.
Pray that each of the daily Christian themes will be engraved upon on the campers' hearts.
                Monday-Love
                Tuesday-Forgiveness
                Wednesday-Trust
                Thursday-Joy
                Friday--Forever

Thanks to all who come here to read--I promise to be back soon with more news about God's awesome work through us!