Fall Newsletter 1

Cindy's Smile By Dion McInnis Prayer works. If you want your prayers to be answered, pray for someone else’s needs first. Everything that Lighthouse does is an answer to someone’s prayers. They are certainly an answer to mine. I found the ministry when God sent me and my husband to Bayshore Friends Church many years ago. We were looking for yard work and came across people near the church who told us about it. Almost immediately we learned about Lighthouse. I’ve never been afraid of hard work. I married a man who, as a Vietnam Navy veteran, is not afraid of work either. He’s had severe back injuries and a head injury from work. I was his caregiver. I’ve lived in two homeless shelters with my kids while my husband was healing from his injuries. I’ve had to learn peace and grace when it comes to dealing with life’s situations. I wasn’t always that way, but faith has helped me to put God first and choose a positive life. Life Lighthouse Christian Ministries 800 Grand Avenue Bacliff, TX 77518 Connect with us! 281-339-3033 www.lighthousecm.org fb.com/lighthousechristianministries lighthousecm.blogspot.com is challenging and each month we barely get by, but I’m happy and never give up working hard and taking steps to make things better. And pretty soon I’ll be smiling about it. Thanks to the ministry, I will be getting a partial lower denture and a complete upper. There is no way that I could get this dental work, and it is affecting my health. I don’t even know what to expect, but it makes me sort of emotional to think what it will be like when I get the work done. It should help with my health and even change the shape of my face, the doctor said. It has been so long that I have dealt with this…but soon, I will be able to smile big. Fall 2016 I enjoy volunteering at the church and the ministry. It is so good to help answer the prayers of others by distributing food and Christmas presents, or raising up others in prayer. God won’t meddle in our lives, but we can take steps every day with his grace to help ourselves and others. And do it with a smile on our faces. ate! D e h t e v Sa 2017 , 9 2 l i r p A Garden Takes Root Stalks of black-eyed peas sway in the bay breezes. A group of enthusiastic men, women and children shovel gravel and sand into a base plot for a 1000 gallon water collection tank. Kids’ brightly painted pictures of vegetables and fruit decorate the fence outlining the garden. The Community Garden at K. E. Little Elementary School is growing. Earlier this year, God scattered the seeds of an idea about a community garden all around Bacliff. Lighthouse Christian Ministries continued to seek sources of fresh produce for the community. The Lighthouse’s Kidz Dayz summer program was learning about nutrition and environmental sustainability through growing container gardens. A missional group from Clear Lake Presbyterian Church, with an interest in restoring God’s creation, was being drawn to Bacliff. A recent college graduate with a degree in Soil Science and Sustainable Agriculture returned to the area. An Eagle Scout candidate drew up plans to construct an outdoor teaching pavilion. A garden club at K. E. Little was tending a small plot of herbs. God gathered these hopes and needs, and is producing a garden in Bacliff. The ten raised beds already built in the green space between K. E. Little school buildings are flourishing with peas and beans. Plans are drawn up for a sustainable tree farm of bananas, papaya, apples, citrus, and peaches. Garden work days continue through sultry humidity, bayshore gusts of wind, and cloud-shaped patches of shade. LCM is grateful for the opportunity to partner with our community and KE Little Elementary in building the garden. We invite you to bring your family and join us for a garden work day. Want to join in the harvest? Check out pictures at the Lighthouse Christian Ministries Facebook page in the photos section. Get on our e-mail list by contacting Dolores Westerlund at [email protected] Special Thanks to Garden Contributors: St. Christopher Episcopal Church, Kemah Hardware, Target - Clear Lake Shores, Coffee Connection, Home Depot - Clear Lake Shores, Pasadena Skid and Pallet, Jardina Garden Center, Mike and Natalie O’Neill, and Living Word Church of the Bay Area