June 2022
Little Linc
Summer is here! Most of our Little Linc preschoolers are home for the summer, but we are offering Camp Little Linc for a small group of returning students. Our campers are having a great time learning about the ocean. They have been doing fun water themed tray work and making some ocean animal crafts. Our Bible stories for each week are all about water too, from Noah's ark to Jesus calming the storm! We are so thankful for the ability to continue to invest in our preschool students, especially focusing on those children going into kindergarten at Lincoln Academy. What a blessing to keep them in the routine of school and build their academic confidence before they make the jump to kindergarten. We are thrilled to have eight of our twelve graduating pre-K students enrolled at Lincoln Academy. We know that at Lincoln, these children will be loved and hear every day about the plans their Heavenly Father has to give them hope and a future.
Summer is also a time to get our playground and school building ready for the new school year. We are so thankful for a group of middle school students from Ohio who helped paint our playground equipment. The support of our local and visiting volunteers makes our work at the preschool possible - thank you!
Camp LEAD
Camp LEAD is off to a great start! We begin each day with a time of worship and teaching, and throughout the day the kids work on memorizing verses around this summer's theme of the Image of God.
We have a very active schedule, with swimming lessons, basketball, baseball, and golf, and a field trip each week. For our first week we learned about caves with a fun project before going on a trip to Cathedral Caverns, and for our second week we had a lake day with In His Wakes, full of tubing and swimming, which was a huge hit with everyone!
Father Daughter Dance
One of our former residents hosted a father daughter dance the weekend of Father’s Day in our auditorium. It was a lovely event that celebrated and reinforced the bond between fathers and daughters. Everyone dressed up and a good time was had by all! Esther Alsume, the event coordinator, shared her vision with me. “Being that I have a blended family, I wanted to throw a Daddy daughter dance on Father’s Day weekend. Like my husband, it mainly was towards fathers that are not living in the same household as the child’s mother. However, father’s that want to be, or are active in their child’s life. I wanted to create a platform to bring all of these dads together and show them that they are appreciated and supported. In my experience the majority of men that fit this narrative or profile, like myself were raised or live in the urban community. Because I understand the struggle, I made that my target audience. After receiving an outpouring of support and fathers that reached out, it allowed me to expand this horizon and open it up to every man who has a daughter. Whether they were single, separated, married or divorced, a multitude of fathers came under one roof and allowed their princesses to shine like the stars they are.” We were so thankful to be able to share our building for such a worthy event! Thank you, Esther!
Tuesday Bible Study
Last Fall, Lincoln Village Ministry offered a beautiful opportunity for women in the neighborhood to come together once a week to share a meal together and study the Word. Relationships with both Christ and each other were started and deepened. We weren’t sure how many would be interested or available, but the Lord blessed us with a wonderful group of moms with a heart for knowing Him more. Every Tuesday, not only would moms have dinner and a little uninterrupted time for themselves with like-minded women, but their children would also have time to grow and learn about Jesus. Depending on the age, these precious children had dinner, a Bible lesson, and a time of fun, provided by volunteers with a love for making an impact on young lives. As our time together went on, we were growing in our spiritual life, in relationships together, and also in a sense of community. It became obvious that walls were coming down, hearts were opening up, and real sharing was happening.
As the Fall study came to a close, we knew we all wanted more. So in the start of 2022, we began the next study, entitled Freedom. With a foundation of trust already being built among these women, it was a perfect time to dig deeper into our identities in Christ. Freedom offered weekly topics to discuss like Forgiveness, Pride, and The Power of Words, with scripture enforcing the importance of having the right mindset in so many of these areas of our lives. Again, hearts were changing, and women were being challenged in new and inspiring ways. The semester ended with a 2-day conference at Church of the Highlands with speakers, prayer, and more time to grow together. It was a life-changing weekend.
These residents left encouraged and truly walking in the freedom that Christ bought for us! One of the neighbors has even stepped up to lead and teach this coming fall thanks to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the encouragement of her sisters in Christ. This summer they are scheduling regular events to ensure they stay connected. It has been beautiful to watch what God has done in the lives of our neighbors this year through the Tuesday Bible Study.
Thank you to all who have taught, donated toys, provided meals, loved on little ones, and prayed and financially supported the ministry here at Lincoln! To God be the glory!
Volunteer Highlights
School is out for the summer and volunteer groups are showing up in full force! The month began with the Handsfree Work Camp hosted by Central Church of Christ. These students spent a few hours with us each morning Monday through Thursday helping in our community garden and various tasks around the school to get the building ready for the school year. That same week the North AL Realtor's Association was on site as Realtors in Action helped demo in Lincoln North, clean various facilities throughout the campus, and paint in a home we are renovating for an incoming resident. We are blown away by all that was completed during their visit to Lincoln Village.
The following week, Christian Life Center in Ohio spent a few hours with us painting in our school classrooms, assembling desks for new employees in field staff, and painting playground equipment at Little Linc. These students spent time learning all about what God is doing here at Lincoln Village while being the hands and feet of Jesus all throughout the neighborhood.
We are beyond grateful for all that these groups have done and we are looking forward to who else God brings our way as we walk out His mission here at Lincoln Village Ministry. If you would like to get involved either as a group or as an individual, please contact janah@lincolnvillage.org for more information. We hope to see you soon!
Student Artwork
We were honored to be featured on the Community Art wall at the Huntsville International Airport. Our student's artwork and the mission of Lincoln Academy was on display for people from around the world to see!
