dance of mothers bringing their
children to Wednesday night youth
activities. Most of these moms
lived too far away to leave their
children and return for them later.
Also, many recently emigrated to
the United States from Haiti after
the earthquake devastated their
homeland several years ago. Lan-
guage differences were a barrier.
So the Fort Myers, Florida
Women's Ministry team decided to
reach out to them with "Catch the
Joy," a Christian fellowship.
one of whom helps to bridge the
language barrier and often leads
the women in Bible Study. They
enjoy singing and Bible study (in
Creole) followed by a fun activity..
They have been involved in exer-
cise classes, crafts, a baby shower,
Women's Ministries activities and
skill classes,.
to share family stories and make
some amazing connections. Two of
them realized that they had both
attended the same Salvation Army
school in Haiti when they were
children.
school student re-
calls the Army
school uniform she
wore proudly and
the love she re-
ceived from her
class for women in the community so they can work on their
own projects and create works of art to bless others in Jesus'
name. The women prepare quilts for people in crisis who
need prayer and support. A tie quilt is placed on the Mercy
Seat in the corps chapel during the Sunday services. While
the pianist plays, members of the congregation come for-
ward, pray for the member and tie a tie. Each tie is a person-
alized prayer lifted up to our Lord, allowing the recipient to
be covered in prayer every time they use the quilt. So far the
women have given prayer quilts to 14 people in emotional
distress, declining health or struggling with cancer.
her favorite colors, and delivered it to the church with direc-
tions on how to tie a tie and uplift her in prayer. Almost every-
one in the congregation, including many children, came for-
ward to participate. As people are given the opportunity to
I'm reminded of the covering of Jesus' blood. This reminds
me of His Holiness." The quilt means so much to him that
he never lies down without it. `The acts of love will continue
to show Jesus Christ through us if we lay down our lives to
serve Him.
new mothers and their families to
the program and they now attend
corps activities regularly.
dren and have great memories of
the time they spent with The Sal-
vation Army. They are excited that
their children have become a part
of the Army in their newly adopted
country. Their children were al-
ready sold on the Army's youth ac-
tivities, rarely missing a week, and
now the mothers are a part of this
great family as well!