Forty-four
sick children had a warmer Christmas this past year thanks to the quilting
ministry of the Truro, Pugwash, and New Glasgow Seventh-day Adventist churches
in Nova Scotia. Headed by Jean and David Streifling, the churches prepared the
handmade children’s quilts in record time when an opportunity came to
distribute them at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax—the largest pediatric
hospital that serves patients in Atlantic Canada.
Although the church members couldn’t
enter the children’s ward directly, they were told by the nurses that the
children had loved their quilts and the parents had expressed sincere
appreciation for the beautiful Christmas gifts.
One quilt that
was given away recently went to an 18-year-old girl waiting for a stem cell
transplant in the cancer ward. When she heard about the ministry and was
presented with her own quilt, she was overcome with emotion, especially since
the quilt had a Bible verse on it. This girl was trying to memorize a Bible
verse before her transplant, but it was difficult. Now she was happy to have a
Bible verse to take with her when she went into the hospital. The member prayed
with her and assured her of God’s love.
Another recent
story happened when two of the church members met a young lady in a store who
had that very morning lost her home in a fire. She, her husband, her three
young children, and even the pet birds had made it safely
outside, but aside from a single box of precious
papers, they had lost everything else. The smell of smoke was still
noticeable on her clothing—all the clothing she had left. They had contents
insurance but, because a renovation had been in progress, had no house
insurance at all—basically a total loss. Touched by the devastation she clearly
felt, the members raced to our church nearby and retrieved the one quilt we
still had in stock there, also purchasing a gift card for her to buy other
things they so desperately needed.
“Oh, you didn’t need to do that” was
her response. Yet there were tears of appreciation in her eyes as the members
replied, “This is our way of doing what we can to help out.” It was our way of
giving her another “hug” to let her know that the community cares. The members
headed home to make three more quilts, including a queen-sized one, so that
each family member could have a quilt of their own which included a Bible
message of God’s care (Num. 6:24–26) embroidered on its back. These, along with
a warm coat, were given to the family the following day. This is the latest
giveaway in a quilting ministry that has produced and shared over 450 quilts
since its inception, including quilts for families who have lost their homes,
for people who are severely ill, and for new
mothers.
Each quilt we give has a Bible verse embroidered on the back as well as a message of love from our Adventist church.
—Alexandra Richards, co-pastor of the Truro, New Glasgow, and Pugwash churches
Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/news/wrapped-in-the-bibles-promises
