Thank You from Woodbury Elementary

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who brought in school supplies during our Fill the MINI Event in support of Woodbury Elementary. I also would like to share what I experienced when I made the delivery. First some background: On the weekend of February 27 & 28 the KHUSA Team held the Fill the MINI Event. Nichole Zacharias decorated my MINI and we asked our congregation to bring in school supplies and drop them off in the MINI. 

The office staff maintains a supply closet for underprivileged kids who show up to school without the necessary items they need to be successful. There is no budget for these supplies. They depend on donations to keep their closet stocked.  

Mary at W.E. asked me what time on Monday I would be dropping off the donated supplies. I simply thought she had a busy day planned and needed to carve out a specific time to help me unload the car. When I pulled up, I was completely surprised by 24 kids running out of the school with carts to help me unload. Mary had also arranged for Madeleine Rush, Communications Specialists with South Washington County Schools, to photograph and write about our event and donation. She supplied the photos in this blog.

Everyone at the school was so grateful it completely warmed my heart and I only wished we could have done more. Below is a note given to our KHUSA Director, Judy Visness, from Principal Connha Classon: 

Dear Kids Hope and members of Five Oaks Church--

We at Woodbury Elementary want to thank you for "maxing the mini" and donating school supplies to our students in need. We truly value our partnership with you and thank you for your contributions!

Connha Classon, Principal, WES

Kids Hope USA - Fill The MINI

Fill the MINI

Woodbury Elementary School Supply Drive

Weekend of February 27th & 28th    

We want to help Woodbury Elementary School restock their “Magic” room of supplies!. The School Office Staff maintains a room stocked with school supplies that they distribute to children in need when they show up to class without the supplies they need to be successful. There is no school budget to stock this room and they rely, solely, on donations to keep it open. They asked if we would be willing to help. Of course, we are willing to help! We are Five Oaks Church!! Our goal is to fully restock this room in one weekend.

Jerry Meras will have his MINI Cooper parked in front of the church the weekend of February 27th & 28th. We need your help to fill the MINI from floorboards to ceiling.

Flyers are being given in the Tree House this weekend or can be picked up at Guest Services. Below is a list of the needed items:

● Plastic school box (5”x8”)               ● #2 pencils with erasers (Ticonderoga preferred) 

● 12 pack colored pencils                   ● 24 pack Crayola crayons

● 10 pack classic thick markers       ● 10 pack classic thin markers

● Highlighters                                       ● 4 oz. Elmer’s white school glue

● Glue sticks Glue sticks                   ● Crayola watercolor paints 

● Spiral bound notebooks (wide line)● Dry erase white board markers (low odor) 

● Pocket folders                                  ● Wet wipes (large container)   

● Loose leaf paper                              ● Post­its (3x3”) 

● 3”x5” ruled index cards                  ● Notebook of graphing paper (4 squares per inch quad)

Bring what you can, no donation is too small!   

For further information contact KHUSA Director Judy Visness, visnessfamily@gmail.com.

God bless!

Jerry Meras, jmeras@fiveoakschurch.org

Celebrations and Thanks @ Impact Ministries

Hello Five Oaks,

Last night I met with our Impact Coordinators, and as part of our meeting, we went over all the Impact projects and events that Five Oaks Church has been involved with recently. The list was impressive! I am so thankful that God chose to use me in the position of Missions Pastor for Five Oaks Church. Just thinking about how blessed we have been to bring Christ to so many and to have the privilege to make a differences in people's lives from our quiet little corner of the world.

This is a short list of the events we celebrated:

• Summer Mission to Camp des Cimes in France - My wife, Patti, led her first service team of 8 short-term missionaries to work the Youth English Camp from July 2 - 21.

• Haiti Mission Trip - The Schlegel's led a team of 12 to the All God' Children Orphanage outside of Mirebalais, Haiti. From August 8 -15, they taught Spiritual Gifts, delivered food to local villages and helped grow the church in Central Haiti.  

• Karen Backpack Drive and VBS - This past August, Five Oakers packed 100 + backpacks with school supplies and toys for the children of newly arrived Karen refugees from Burma and Thailand.  The Bryant Small Group also hosted a VBS for the Karen children at the Brittany Apartments in St. Paul.  127 children attended the VBS and 23 made first time decisions.

• Hearts & Hammers - On September 19, a large group of Journeymen, their family and friends got together and rehabbed a home for a couple in need.
  

• Team World Vision - Twin Cities Marathon -This past October 4, Five Oaks once again partnered with TWV to run the TC Marathon and raise money for water projects in Africa. The Metro area TWV teams together raised over $500,000 for clean water. Many of the runners were first time marathoners including our very own Dan Lukas. 

• Feed My Starving Children - Woodbury 4 Million Meals Mega MobilePack - On October 10, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm, over 500 Five Oakers came together to pack meals for FMSC. Together with other volunteers, we packed just over 385,000 meals in a two hour period. That is still a FMSC record for number of meals packed in a single shift. Those meals are now on their way to Haiti and Nicaragua. By Sunday night, Woodbury had come together to pack 4,066,200 meals. That is over 11,000 children who will fed every day for a year!   

- Jerry Meras

Kids Hope USA 2015 - 16 School Year

A new school year has started and we are looking for Five Oakers to serve as Mentors to children at Woodbury Elementary. You will spend one hour a week with your child developing a truly meaningful relationship. There is no better investment of your time then the hour you give a child. If you are interested please email KHUSA@fiveoakschurch.org.
 
Please join me in welcoming our new KHUSA Leadership Team:
Judy Visness - Mentor / Child Coordinator
Nichole Zacharias - Asst. Mentor Coordinator
Wendy Kremrey - Communications Coordinator
Carol Haglund - Prayer Partner Coordinator

We will be launching the new KHUSA year on October 5, 2015. Be a part of it!!