It has been a wonderful year for Open Hearts Orphans Ministry!!  We have so much to share and update everyone concerning the ministry.

1. Nazira - She is the college aged orphan in Kazakhstan that we are helping to support with our loose change and donations to the big water jug in the lobby each Sunday morning.  Nazira is sponsored through the REACH home in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which is run with the help of Otto Koning, one of our missionaries here at Winfield. 

Nazira just finished her second year of college, and expresses her deep gratitude for the role that Winfield continues to play in her life.  She is a good student, and is doing extremely well, when you consider that she has never had any family whatsoever in her life.  She is beginning to open up to the workers at the REACH home, and is attentive to the Gospel message.  Our prayer is that she will come to know Jesus as her Savior. 

2. Last December, we, as a Church family, were able to buy Christmas presents for 9 orphans here in Carroll County.  The County workers were so touched by our gesture, and said that the children were thrilled to get the wonderful gifts that so many of our members pitched in to buy.  We even had some families from our Awana program, that don't attend Winfield, helped us out in a meaningful way.  It was a great testimony to our area, and we hope to do it again this year. 

3. Dave and Trish had the opportunity this year to go to Siguatepeque, Honduras for a week.  It was a visions trip for our ministry, as we were able to sponsor La Providencia orphanage in Honduras, for our VBS this year at Winfield.  La Providencia is run by Providence World Ministries (www.providenceworldministries.org).  For our VBS, we had the President of Providence, Phil Darke, with us for 5 days.  It was a wonderful time to get to know Phil, and to let the family here at Winfield find out all about Providence.  Winfield were able to raise over $3,000 for a children's playground and generator shelter at La Providencia.

Dave hopes to be able to join the Board of Directors at Providence World Ministries, as we look for other ways to be involved in this wonderful ministry.  We are also looking to get a sponsorship team (group of families) together as well, that will commit to not only sponsor a Providence Child, but also commit to an ongoing relationship with the child and the ministry, and even visit Honduras.  We will be going to Honduras again next year, and hope to bring some other families with us next time!!

4.   In the past year, we have joined with other churches in Carroll County and abroad that also run orphans ministries.  We meet with them each quarter, and share ideas and passions concerning our respective ministries.  We hope to be able to do a joint event with them in the early winter of this year.  Stay tuned to hear more about this special opportunity.  Churches involved include Uniontown Bible Church, LifePoint Church, Hunt Valley (Grafted Families), and others.           

The future looks really exciting for Open Hearts Orphans Ministry, and we thank everyone for allowing us to bring this ministry into reality here at Winfield.  We also look forward to welcoming another member of our core ministry leadership.  Shelley Belk will be helping Dave and Trish in the leadership team for Open Hearts as we start the new fiscal year.  We are very excited to welcome Shelley and her wonderful ideas to the team!!

God bless you all for your help and your caring for God's special ones, the fatherless of this world.  Thank you so very much!!

David and Tricia Hurlburt and Shelley Belk