"Helping Hands" ministry is a ministry that provides serving opportunities wherein we help meet the needs of low income families, our military and individuals who need help/support. We will extend the love of Christ to those less fortunate than ourselves (outreach). This ministry allows us to put the Lord's command "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:39) into action. We do everything with one goal in mind - to bring honor and glory to our God - "He who oppresses the poor, reproaches his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him." Proverbs 14:31.

If you would like to find about more about being involved in this ministry you can email Diane Reece for more information.

Current Update:

In January, we "adopted" a battery of 140 Marines out of Camp Pendleton called Tango 5/11, who are currently deployted in Iraq. We have sent 3 installments of goody bags to them in the last 4 months.  In total they have received close to 400 lbs. of food, cards and letters from our congregation.  To quote one of the Platoon Commander's email of 5/20/08, he wrote "The Marines really enjoy the snacks and that feeling of home when we read the letters enclosed in the treat bags.  I commend the ministry's dedication to supporting the Marines here and personally thank you for keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers. You truly make a difference in our morale and wellbeing.  We all look forward to getting home and being able to enjoy time with family and friends.  Be well, enjoy the summer, and thank you again for taking care of us."   

On April 26th we held our first "Marine Wives Appreciation Brunch" which was attended by 47 military wives. We provided a wonderful homemade buffet, crafts, plenty of free items (including Bibles, clothes and other merchandise), free childcare, a door prize for every woman, and our very own Rosie Loy as an inspirational speaker.  And, our own Women's Bible Study groups provided most of the snacks, drinks, coloring books and bubbles to entertain the children.  We were staffed with over 40 volunteers.  This was a very special event - one of the women wrote back saying "I wanted to also THANK YOU and the rest of the staff for such an awesome brunch - it was awesome!  I had a great time.  The food was delicious, the gifts were great and over all everything was perfect...  I really appreciate that people continue to support the military families and us wives, it means so much to me and my family..."

Thanks to everyone who prayed for or participated in any way with us in order to help us share the love of Christ with these military men and their spouses.  God has been gracious and has provided all that we need through your generous giving.

During 2007, we accomplished much for the Lord. In December, we distributed 150 of the SPIN food boxes and provided Christmas gifts to 550 children.  Each food box contained a booklet relating the Christmas story.  We gifted children all the way from Camp Pendleton to Watts, all living at or below the poverty level.  And, we were privileged to tell the Christmas story to preschool students and their parents in 8 public school classrooms.  We were blessed to have the Mission Viejo Christian Preschool and Elementary School join us in our efforts which allowed us to help 100 more kids this year than last year.  We were involved with 3 Marine "Welcome Home" events @ Camp Pendleton.  In March, we coordinated an Easter party on base that was attended by 200 family members of Marines.  In August, we sent 423 pounds of food to the Marines of Romeo 5/11 deployed in Iraq.  In May, we began and continue to maintain a gently-used clothing closet for needy children, to date we have given away clothing to over 300 kids.  Additionally, in August we supported our mission’s team who went to Haiti by collecting and sorting 500 articles of clothing for 46 children there.  In Sept., we handed out our first "Baby Moses Basket."  They include a complete layette for newborns presented in a lovely wicker basket.  The baskets are given to Marine moms, moms living below the poverty level and moms in need of emotional support.  In the four months we were up and running in 2007 we handed out 10 "Baby Moses Baskets."  We coordinated the delivery of 150 SPIN food boxes at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas that were distributed at Camp Pendleton and in our local community.  And, we told the Easter and Christmas story to preschool children in public school.  The loving-kindness of God has been demonstrated time and time again by the generous donations of this church and friends of this body.  These donations allow us to extend the love of Christ to those in need in our community and beyond.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

In our attempt to support the men of Tango 5/11, we will continually be collecting items to send to them. The first thing we need for these Marines is prayer. We need to pray for their protection and for their families here at home. Next we are asking for letters/cards addressed "Dear Marine" filled with words of hope and encouragement, scripture verses or prayers. These letters should only be from adults. PARENTS: for the protection of your children, please do not include your child's last name, personal photographs, email or home addresses and phone numbers. Feel free to use the church's address for a return address. If you would like your children to participate, please include a drawing completed by them. Also, we are asking for Crystal Light singles or Propel powder individual pack drink mixes, baby wipes in snap-lid recloseable containers (@ CVS called Solo SoftPak 40 count for $1.99 or @ Big Lots called Garfield 50 count for $1.00), lip balms in the squeeze-tube only - not the twist up lipstick type of balms due to melting (Target medicated lip balm/Target Petroleum jelly balm 2 for $0.99 or Vaseline lip balm 1 @ $0.97), or cash donations of any size to help defray shipping costs.   

Lastly, don’t forget our on-going need for the Baby Moses Basket program and gently-used children’s clothing. (Contact Diane Reece for more info.)