November Newsletter - Lufkin

​“Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.”  Psalm 106:1

Hear ye! Hear ye!

THANKSGIVING DAY

Three locations to celebrate:

• Nacogdoches at 12:00 pm
• Lufkin at 2:00 pm
• Livingston at 4:00 pm
• Visitors and volunteers welcome

In Lufkin:

• Work begins at 10:00 am
• Bible study at 2:00 pm
• And meal served afterwards

***************************EMPLOYMENT REPORT:

• New jobs-2
• Still working-7
• Part time-2
• The Fieldhouse-3

Praise the Lord!

She got out of the car with a big smile on her face. She ran over to me and said, “Look!” She was swinging a key in her hand.

Debrah landed on our door step early January. She moved out for a live-in job. That did not work out and she returned. Then she started the process to receive survivors’ benefits from the death of her husband. It  took awhile to get through all the paperwork and waiting. Finally it was approved and Debrah started to receive a small monthly check.

The next step was to find a place she could afford. Debrah filled out applications and put her name on waiting lists. Her patience paid off when she received the call that said ”she could move in next week”. That is when she got her key. We were able to help with some dishes and a pot or two. Wow!

While Debrah was here she helped Dolores in the kitchen. She heard about God and His love for her twice a day. On Wednesday evenings we sing songs before the Bible study begins. She joyfully joined her voice in song with every one else in the room. We praise God for Debrah and for her new home.

“O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name: make known his deeds among the people.”  Psalms 105:1

Love Lufkin. Love GODTEL. Love the Lord. It was a Sunday when four cheerful and willing servants walked into our kitchen. Their visit was pre-arranged and they came prepared to work with gloves and energy to spend. The heater closet was dusted and washed and mopped. The broom closet was emptied. The shelves were cleaned and then re-stocked. The floor was mopped. The pantry was not left out of the cleaning event. The three  silver cabinets were wheeled out and the pantry, also, found itself dusted, washed and mopped. And then the cabinets were cleaned out and the items put back in. While these willing servants worked Martin and I prepared the Sunday dinner. We were very careful not to get in their way. Whew! I was tired just watching all this activity. There was sweat on their brows and smiles on our faces when the job was done. Thank you to Love Lufkin of First Baptist Church.

We had a visit from the pastor and friends of Katy Baptist Church in Colmesneil, Texas. We gave a tour and answered questions. We are always glad to give a tour and talk about GODTEL and what we do here. Then the visitors gave us goodie bags to hand out to the residents. Then our new brothers and sisters in Christ had to head home. Thank you, Lord, for a lovely day.

Canned goods came in from St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church and Hillcrest Baptist Church.

Again, this year, we are blessed to receive food from the Second Helpings ministry. The volunteers pick up left over food from the high school and middle school. We are blessed to receive these meals several times a month. A schedule is set up and mailed to us. This way Dolores knows what days to expect the food and plan her meals accordingly.

Our guest cooks did not fall short to don their chef hats this past month. We enjoyed grill cooked hamburgers, homemade soup, chicken spaghetti, hot dogs, pork chops, and pizza. Those meals hit the spot!

Merlyna Valentine is her name. She was the guest speaker at this year’s Power of Pink Luncheon. And I was blessed to be there to hear her story of overcoming adversity and adapting to her new “way of life”. She had a serious health crisis which resulted in a quadruple amputation of both hands and legs below her knees. She endured several surgeries, pain and therapy. But she never gave up. With support from family, friends and God she has survived and excelled in LIFE. Her message of hope was clear to all. No matter what your “battle” is there is HOPE. And JESUS is our hope. Amen!

Augusta (man) came again to check in. He was tired of living “this way” and was planning to go to rehab. We checked him in and gave him a bed. When people are waiting to go to rehab we tell them they can not leave the property. Sadly, Augusta stayed one night and left the next day.

Kristina returned. She had messed up her life, again. We checked her in on “mercy fumes”. The second night she was here she missed our 9:00 pm curfew. She was let into the dorm and was told she had to leave the next day. It was cold and rainy, we gave her another night. She has left.

We are thankful that we were here to help Augusta and Kristina, even though their stay was very short. Pray for these two hurting souls.

We are thankful for you, our partners in God’s ministry, for allowing us to stand and serve another month.

​Because we serve a Living God,
Martin and Mary Baker