On Sunday, May 7, 2018, the Maranatha Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Outreach Ministries held a community-wide event for residents living in and near the Lindberg Bay and the Kirwan Terrace Public Housing Community. This outreach was a collaborative effort between the Community Services, Adventist Youth, Health & Temperance and Personal Ministries Departments.
Several tents were erected on the church’s grounds for the day’s activities. The services provided by professionals from the church included: Health screening, cooking demonstrations with healthy food-items, and the distribution of household goods and clothing. A quiet and secluded space was provided for anyone in the community who needed prayer. For the children, the kids’ corner hosted games and activities which kept them busy.
Although many people visited the church during the outreach, Sister Kerish Robles, the Adventist Youth Leader, made a decision to take some pre-packed items into the community. With the help of all the young people in attendance, they packed everything into a youth member’s pick-up truck and went into the community to knock on doors and give the items out. The residents received non-perishable items such as towel sets, cleaning supplies, pillows, a kid’s fun bag, and copies of the Priorities magazine.
Sister Robles shared that the response from the community was positive and that recipients were very appreciative. One resident in the community said, “Now that it has been at least more than 6 months since the storms passed, many people think that everything is back to normal for everyone. There are people in need and many haven’t caught themselves since the storms.” The community encouraged the church to continu