Five ways to Reach Out!

1. BAF JANES is doing its part to help Bay Area with providing the kids of Corpus Christi with presents for Christmas morning! Please bring your presents to the drop-boxes located in the atrium at Bay Area. If you don't have time to go shopping, you may donate gift cards and/or cash, and the JANES Women's Ministry will make sure that your donations buy Christmas surprises for local children and teens. If you would like to help get the presents ready for delivery on Saturday, December 15th, from 2pm - 6pm at Bay Area Church, contact Alisa at alisahopewagner@yahoo.com.

Gifts will be sent to the following charitable organizations: South Texas Children's Home, CASA, The Rainbow Room, The Battered Women's Center, Bokenkamp, as well as many of the families from right here in our church.

2. The Bay (Nursery) is in need of any donated baby blankets and/or burp cloths. If you have some or know of anyone that could donate them, please bring them to the resource room of The Bay.

3. Element is helping the HOPE HOUSE this year for Christmas. They are in need of jackets for children of all sizes. If your children have grown out of their jackets, bring them by the church. With your donations, the kids of Corpus Christi will have a warm jacket this winter !

4. The MOB (Men of Bay Area) has now organized a way for us to collect furniture and donate the items to anyone in need. Roger Potts and Scott Walker are coordinating a storage facility for us to store donated furniture, which will then be donated to anyone who contacts us with a need. If you have any furniture you would like to donate, please contact Roger Potts at 361-249-0513 or Scott Walker. It would also be extremely helpful if you could drop off the furniture items at the storage facility. The hours are 7 am to 7 pm, 7 days a week.

5. We are currently looking for volunteers for the 2008 It's A Girl Thing! Conference. It's A Girl Thing is a conference for middle/high school girls and their mothers/guardians/mentors, and their mission is "to encourage teenage girls to be virtuous women in a world that doesn't always care about moral and ethical standards." The conference will be February the evening of the 1st and the morning & afternoon of the 2nd at Gregory Portland Junior High. They are in great need for volunteers for both days. If you are interested or have any questions please e-mail Barbie Bowen at Babs1682@aol.com with your contact information or call the IAGT phone at 361-808-8883, and she will be in touch soon. You can also sign up to volunteer on our website at http://www.itsagirlthingconference.org/. Volunteers are needed for greeting, registration, breakout sessions, product tables and many other areas.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS NOTE FROM YOUR WOMEN'S MINISTER!

Merry Christmas JANES!

I pray that this holiday season is blessed and that you are filled with the joy of Christ in every activity in which you celebrate His birth! I love the scripture in Luke chapter 2 where it says, "So they (the shepherds) hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:16-19) This Christmas, my prayer is that while we are hurrying off to the Christmas programs, the office parties, the shopping malls, etc., we will purposefully and intentionally stop and ponder the treasures of our glorious King and share them with those around us!

Amazed By His Love and Inspired by Yours!

Your Women's Ministry Leader,

DeeDee