A Word From Courtney :)

Hi everyone!
I'm so excited to tell you about our last service at Ebenezer Christian Children's Home!! I had never gotten the opportunity to visit Ebenezer, but I had heard only fantastic things about it. I also was very excited that my whole family could come with me, includiing my dad who usually doesn't get to travel with us a lot! When we arrived at Ebenezer I immediately saw the huge area that they had!! The homes were absolutely beautiful, and I could feel the presence of the Lord as soon as I stepped out of the car. The first place I got to see at Ebenezer was their beautiful chapel. I stepped inside and it was simply amazing to look at. It was beautifully decorated, and I could tell that this was a wonderful place for the children to have church! One of the workers at Ebenezer told me that John Wishon held a "radiothon" on his radio station to help raise money for the chapel to be built. In just two days, enough money had been donated to pay for not only the church, but the beautiful lights and decorations in the church. Someone even called in and offered to put in all of the stained glass (which is absolutely beautiful). After I had toured the chapel my family and I, along with Jacob's family and Brittney's headed to a picnic area to have some hamburgers and hotdogs with the children! As we sat down we saw about 6 or 7 kids along with John Whison's mother and a Ebenezer house mother stringing beans! The kids looked like they were having a really good time which made me smile. I can remember helping my grandmother do that when I was younger. By the way, my grandmother came with me to Ebenezer and instantly started helping the kids string the beans and started telling them stories of her childhood. I was really excited when some of the kids started coming out of their houses and making their way towards the picnic area. I had heard that most of the kids love to give you hugs and instantly want to make a connection with you. I wasn't at all dissapointed, but a little surprised to see that the cuttest little boy didn't run up to me with his arms stretched out wanting a hug, but instantly ran to my mother. We got our food and Corey who is "4 and 1/2 on Feburary 9th" ran to sit with my mom. I could tell that my mom and dad instantly fell in love with him. After the food (which was wonderful) Corey told my mom, "I'm full! All the way down to my feet" . HA! After our sound check Mrs. Jean Davis took BBT and our families to tour one of the newest houses called Hope House which is 4200 sf, with 7 bedrooms!! THATS HUGE! Mrs. Jean started out the tour by telling us a different story about each of the 7 rooms which was each decorated by a different church who sponsered the room. We walked downstairs to the basement and there were 2 huge rooms for the children to play in with a pool table and air hockey table. Again Mrs. Jean told us the heart felt stories behind the rooms which brought us all nearly to tears. Everything in the house had been donated which is absolutely amazing because the home is SO BEAUTIFUL!! It seemed as if the house just went on and on and on. :) It was truely amazing to see how blessed Ebenezer is, and how amazing it is for the kids to have such a loving environment to live in. All of the kids at Ebenezer all come from different backgrounds and have various ages. But all of them feel safe and loved at Ebenezer.
Finally it came time for the service, and Jake, Britt, and I were pumped! The kids all seemed to really like the music and had a fun time clapping their hands along to Jake's crazy piano playing. One of the kids at Ebenezer has MD (muscular dystrophy) and he sang You Raise Me Up! It was so amazing, and made everyone cry. Towards the end 3 older girls that live at Ebenezer wanted to sing us a song! I was so excited. It was so beautiful and they were all so talented!! And then more kids started singing, It was a real treat!!! I've always had a huge interest in human services and children's homes, and Mrs. Jean even talked to me about maybe coming to work at Ebenezer next summer! It would be so amazing to be incorporated into that loving environment. I know that all of the kids there are being taught about the Lord Jesus Christ which is most important! It was a true blessing and such an eye opening experience to be there. It's truely the best place I think that I have ever been!!

Please keep Ebenezer Chirstian Children's Home in your prayers daily. And also Mrs. Jean Davis who does so much work for the home! She is truely a godly woman, who I personally look up to.

Until next time...
God Bless and keep on keepin on
Love Courtney Cooke