AWAKE COFFEE COMMUNITY
PET OF THE MONTH
DEVOTIONAL
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AWAKE COFFEE COMMUNITY
POVERTY AND BEAUTY INTERTWINED
Haiti is a country of great beauty and devastating poverty intertwined so tightly; you can’ t see one without the other. This is the best description I can give of Haiti. There is so much to love such as the rugged beauty of the coast and the way the clouds sit just above the mountains like a blanket. The big smiles on mahogany skinned faces and laughter of children getting fresh mangos from the trees. However, there is a dark side to Haiti. A lack of life’ s necessities like food, clean water, employment and medical care. Things that we take for granted on a daily
basis. Some mothers resort to feeding their children mud cookies when food is scarce, and bellies are empty. It’ s a reality I first learned of five years ago on my first mission trip to Haiti. I came home and cried for weeks and I still cry over the devastation. But then I booked flights for my daughter, sister and myself to return only four months later. We raised money and set off to make a difference in someone’ s life. I will be returning to Haiti for the seventh time this year. We will be heading out on March 16th along with three other college girls.
Our focus for this trip is to help the patients in the Haitian hospitals. The conditions are extremely poor. There is nothing extra, such as food, drink, toiletries or linens provided. If they have no friends or family to provide these things they may go without. I recently read an article about a resident at a Hospital who watched a woman die because she could not afford the $ 11 needed for oxygen. I knew that was why we needed to go. Can we save everyone? No. Can we pray for people to be healed and give them hope? Yes. Can we provide material comforts? Yes. Will what we do there really make a difference? It will to the people we reach. If you would like to partner with us and help us make that difference, please drop by AWAKE Coffee Community in Old Town Conyers and let them know you would like to donate to the Haiti fund. This trip is part of an outreach by AWAKE and also supported by Conyers First United Methodist Church. Donations will be used to purchase
AWAKE IN HONDURAS
“ It’ s so green... It’ s so green!” was all I could say from the moment I saw Honduras for the first time from the airplane window. Our team was greeted with an endless expanse of rivers and mountains and forests, and I couldn’ t stop marveling at the vibrancy of this nation. However it isn’ t just the land that is lush and vibrant... it’ s the people. Despite language barriers and cultural differences, almost everyone we encountered welcomed us like family. From home cooked meals in the mountains of Olancho, to bonfires with our new next door neighbors, we were warmly invited into the riches that Honduras possesses. Not in literal riches, but rich in community wealth. supplies, food and medicine in Haiti to be distributed to those in greatest need. Contact me at 678-392-2400 ext. 4 with any questions.
Join us also on March 4th from 4-7 pm for a special wood-burning event benefiting the Haiti Mission Trip in conjunction with Awake Coffee and Conyers First United Method-ist Church. Whether you have used wood burning tools or not, we will make it so easy for you to create a beautiful masterpiece. Use one of these two designs or send us your
PET OF THE MONTH
March 2018
alternative text ahead of time to create a truly personalized sign. The cost for this workshop is $ 30 per person and includes all supplies. To register and pay for the event, go to www. thesketchingpad. com. Someone will also walk away with a gift certificate for a FREE FACIAL at Alli Roberts Salon. Come and support a good cause!
Toni Kelecheck Local Outreach Project
Manager AWAKE Communities
International
My name is Mad Maxx Rios. I have a brother( Ragnar), a sister( Zillah) and a new human( Baby Callista). I love to go hiking and swimming in the river with my humans. When they got me, they were told I was half lab and half husky. Yeah, I laughed too. If you want to set up doggie dates, let eMetro know!
P. S. I’ m free on the weekends.
DEVOTIONAL
BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE CREATOR
It is said by many that“ beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” However, one might also rightly state“ beauty is in the eye of the creator.” These phrases couple together to help paint a picture which reveals a source and a recipient. This powerful implication permits and draws the beholder to seek a creator.
In the book of Exodus, the Lord is imparting to Moses the vast array of instructions and details in the assembly and construction of the Tabernacle, which is God’ s first physical dwelling place amongst His chosen people. These guidelines included a significant amount of attention toward the artistic designs to be displayed. In the thirty-first chapter, the Lord explains to Moses“ to all who are wise-hearted I have given the skill and ability to make everything that I have commanded you”( Exodus 31:6b AMP). This passage reveals that the ability to make beautiful things accompanies the command to create beautiful things.
In the midst of all Creation, beauty and diversity are overwhelmingly established. Inanimate objects, flora, and fauna as well as the human race all display flourishing, eternal beauty. Birthing from the most difficult of hardship to the epitome of bliss, beauty can be brought forth and displayed because of the wisdom and skill God gave to His Creation. Once more, the beholder and the creator can be recognized in every occasion and occurrence of said beauty.
The concept that God desires and produces beauty in and through all of His Creation is stunningly vast. He has enabled His Creation to continue to create beauty for generations to come. His Bride, the Church, has been given the ability and authority to create beautiful things that bring glory and pleasure to both Him and all of humanity. Therefore, the Church has been given the full permission and, dare I even say, the command to create beauty for all the world to see. If we as the Church know the Origin of all things beautiful, how much more will our worship of the Divine Beauty be glorified through creating more beauty for the eyes of the beholders, both Heavenly and earthly beholders? Worship requires and displays beauty. So then, call forth and create beauty in your worship.
Caleb Halstead Student & Worship Pastor Eastside Baptist Church