Tuesday, August 30, 2011

An Evening of Elegance: Black and White Gala


You are invited to City of Hope Outreach's first annual fundraising event. An Evening of Elegance: A Black & White Gala on September 10, 2011 at 7:00PM at the Conway Country Club. Come expecting to be whisked away with elegance. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's Quapaw Quartet will be playing, Heather Crawford of KATV news will be the M.C. of the evening, there will be hoer dour es, cash bar, silent auction to include (birth package, laptop, Downtown Conway Gifts, Fire Light website design, Cajun Bros furniture piece, art work from the children in the community and much more. Lori Cullum an art instructor here in Conway will be painting a live expression of the whole evening that will later be live auctioned. You will also hear words from the founders of City of Hope Outreach as well as meet the board and staff.

You don't want to miss this event. Wear your best black or white cocktail attire and come ready to meet and mingle.

Tickets are still on sale for $60.00 from now until door. Email Daspri at gala@cityhopeoutreach.com for more information.

A huge thank you to all our sponsors.

Mannco Fertilizer
Crain Team
Hendricks Remolding Service
Church at Oakwood
First Baptist Church
New Life Church
Crossman Printing
Smith Ford Automotive
Dr. Tilley
Toothacres

Monday, February 28, 2011

Join the Next 40 HOUR Immersion April 1-3, 2011

40 HOUR IMMERSION


Paul in Philippians 2, states that our service to one another and others is directly tied to Jesus Christ incarnation. Paul states that Christ, who is God, came in human form and humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. God considered the interest of others and humbled himself and we as believers should have this same mind.

The purpose of the Oakwood Immersion is to provide Christians an incarnational opportunity to: display Jesus Christ in urban areas, gain a better understanding of people who live in a difficult socio-economic status and finally learn and grow in their Christian faith.

Participants will arrive at Oakwood on a Friday evening and will immerse themselves in the community for the duration of the weekend. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the community, develop relationships with the residents and participate in a community revitalization project. We want this to be a time where Christians examine the existing conditions of people and communities in their own city and realize that God is more than able to bring hope to those in need.

NEXT 40hr IMMERSIONS:

Friday April 1-Sunday April 3, 2011
Friday September 23-Sunday September 25, 2011

If you or your group are interested in participating in an Immersion, complete the packet with your fee of $20* (payable to City of Hope Outreach) and return to:

The City of Hope Outreach
PO BOX 11474
Conway, Arkansas 72034

Read Brent Nelson's Reflections from Immersion in January 2011

Immersion is an experience unlike any other in the world. Through it you can obtain a deep since of what poverty really feels like. After the weekend ends, the world never looks quite the same.


Information about poverty and its effects on people can be found nearly everywhere. People talk about them everyday. Usually these facts come with a request for money so you to can help change the lives of so many. But facts are facts and nothing more. A fact has no use for money and when you hear a fact it may make your heart heavy but not necessarily pull at your wallet. When someone tells you a fact you may consider what should happen to change. When you read a fact that's all it ever amounts to in your mind, a fact about the world.

Immersion is not a fact. “Immersion” means, the condition of being engaged wholly or deeply and that statement could almost sum up the entire experience. You do not hear or learn or read facts, you live through them. You feel the weight of what these facts mean. You learn the true impact of every fact you've ever heard when someone told you about poverty.

These facts hurt. As you learn about what it truly means to live in poverty, you learn about yourself. Pride, the part of you that made you a little too busy to help out or made money just to tight to give, breaks and falls away to humbleness. Selfish arrogance gives way to selfless giving. Judgments and presuppositions become kindness and understanding as you really begin to feel the struggle that comes along with poverty.

Immersion puts you in this place so you can really learn what the life consists of. Forty hours, by comparison, amounts to a tiny glimpse through a foggy window of what impoverished life holds, but this glimpse changes lives and minds in a profound way. No one finishes Immersion the same person as when they started. It changes things.

If you haven't experienced Immersion, you ought to. It could be forty of the most pivotal hours in your life and the only way you'll ever know is to go.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

My daughter's Golden Birthday is TODAY!

Nichelle my youngest daughter is 9 today.  This a super special birthday in our house because she is 9 on the 9th of January.  So we call that your golden birthday.  It only happens once in a lifetime so there you go.  We celebrated her birthday with a slumber party camping theme.  We invited nine girls over our house.  We had a bonfire in our front yard for the first hour.  They played games out front with my husband and we all roasted marshmallows and made smores that was super fun.  Then we journeyed indoors to have a dance party.  The video is up on YouTube and facebook (I whip my hair) so much fun. Of course cake, ice cream, presents a few more games and then (mommas mind) wind down movie.  They watched a movie and then wanted to dance party again! Oh, my word!  So we had a dance party with the Wii games.  That was fun.  Then about 1am I thought people you must go to sleep.  So I gave them THE SPEECH!  That goes a little something like this, "You girls need to go to sleep right now, if you don't I will call Mr. Fletcher out here and he is going to yell at you all!"  The truth was my husband was already sleep, but I promise that works every single time.  I don't know why, Phil has never yelled at anyone who has slept over but they obey.  They went to sleep at about 2am officially.  They woke up the next morning and had muffins, fruit and OJ.  They made beads in the morning and hung out until their parents arrived.  It was a great day for her!

Today we will celebrate even more by giving her our family gifts at 9am!  Then a special dinner of her choosing this evening.  We will finish the day by retelling the story of her birth! 

Here are some lovely pictures of my 9 year old!









Happy Birthday Nichelle!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Happy New Year!

As we embark on this new year, I am sitting and asking myself what do I seek to accomplish with the voice I have developed as the Woman on the Vine?  Honestly, I am not sure.  Do I just share my heart? Do I share what is happening in the ministry?  Do I focus on women's issues?  The list of questions goes on and on.  However there is one topic I am passionate about yet have spent little time blogging about.  That topic would be birth and God's design of the human body.  As you may already know I am a doula.  A doula is a professional labor support coach. 

Everyday I learn more and more about how wonderfully God designed the human body.  While the average person stops at the point of being in awe of the human, I immediately feel worshipful to the Creator! We may dig into the fears that we as women and people have about birth and why that is. 

Again, I don't know.  We will discover together what is important to share in the coming days and months.  If you have a topic you would like to see discussed then leave a comment and let's talk about it.

Nicolle