We are more than blown away at the support we received at Wide Open Corners!  And, we know the women who prepared art for this event were excited, too.  Talking to them after the event was such a blessing, as they began to see the support they had, feel the empowerment they were bestowed, and dream for the future.  We can’t thank everyone enough for coming, for purchasing, and for making a statement with your presence. 

Special thanks to those who chose to sponsor a woman with a microloan!  We received sponsorships for 7 women to begin their own small business.  That’s a lot of lives impacted in one night!!

Our friend, Bea, at City Church Pastors and amazing African community at City Church.  This group is hosting a New Year’s Eve party tonight and we’re so thankful!  We’re thankful because we are taking a group of Congolese refugees who will get to speak to people in their native language, talk to people from their home country, and just get the chance to feel a little more “at home.”  It’s going to be a fun night!!

It’s been a great Christmas so far at Spero:Voice!!  On Monday evening, we had a Christmas celebration with the families who we tutor.  They were invited to a nearby home to have Holiday desserts, hot chocolate, and apple cider.  We sang Christmas carols and Brad (co-founder of Spero:Voice) shared out of Luke 2.  It was a powerful time as Brad shared what a true gift the Christmas Story is to us.  It was an amazing glimpse of what an international church right here in OKC could look like!

Also this Christmas, we’ve given the framed pictures of families that Squint Studios took for us.  The mothers are especially excited when they see those!

Finally, with the help of some seriously generous donors, we’ve been able to provide Christmas gifts for families we work with.  I don’t know if we’ll ever see someone else so excited about receiving a new set of dishes!  And, the kids have gotten new clothes, toys, and educational materials–all VERY pleasant surprises for them!  

Thank you to everyone who contributed to any of these Christmas occasions.  We truly believe that we are honoring God in a beautiful way as we give to His creations whom He loves!  Blessings to all this Christmas Eve!

Family Portraits for the families we’ve been tutoring!  What a fun idea!  Bryce from Squint Studios was amazing and donated his time to setting up a professional studio in walking distance to the families, so they could get a picture of their family.  Many families left all their keepsakes at home when they left.  And, most certainly don’t have the funds to buy a camera or go to get a family pic taken.  And, what mother doesn’t want to keep records of her kids growing up?  

So, thanks to Bryce and all the many other volunteers who made this day great!  All the families are SO looking forward to getting the framed family portrait that’s coming to them this Christmas.

It felt like Christmas tonight!  All of us volunteers were grinning from ear to ear–being there was seriously one of the greatest things we could have asked for.  Being dramatic, am I?  I really don’t think so!  

Tonight, we held our Thanksgiving dinner for all of the refugees we’ve been having Conversational English sessions with.  Because of the fancy cooking of all of our great volunteers, we were able to feed over 50 students from places like Burma, The Congo, Saudia Arabia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  It was our own little multicultural fair!  The kids had lots of fun coloring and playing together and the adults and kids alike were mesmerized by the Arabic music jam session that occurred.  It was a huge success!  

Thanks to all the volunteers and especially to Paul and Jennifer Colley for offering their house for the event.  This year, we’re thankful for our new found friends from all over the world!