East Florence Mission

East Florence Mission, also known as EFM, is something that is VERY important to me. I want to talk about my story with them, but first I need to explain who and what they are. 

QUITE a few years ago, the Key family here in Florence felt the need to start a place for underprivileged children to learn about Jesus. Fast forward a while and the East Florence Mission is still run by the Keys, however Charlie Key (son of the founder) and his wife Marilyn are now heading the day-to-day operations while Charlie's parents are still the main financial supporters. While the building is known as "East Florence Mission, EFM, or The Mission" depending on who you ask, it's more than just a building on National Cemetary Road. EFM is a group of people who come together to make Jesus known to children who don't get that chance like many others their age. Basically, EFM is open Monday-Friday with some different programs, but everything is free, and it's to help children who can't afford or get help on their own. This year they are offering free tutoring as well as spiritual help. The thing I am mainly involved in, and how EFM got started, is the Tuesday Night Bible study. On Tuesdays, Mr. Charlie goes and picks up kids from the surrounding apartments and trailer parks and brings them back to the Mission on our bus around 4:30. The kids, whose ages range from 5-18, get to play and hang out for about 30-45 minutes. The older kids play football and basketball, the younger ones jump rope and play on the swing set, while the girls prefer to just stand around and talk. Then around 5:15, they come inside and get a free dinner. The meal changes week to week, but we try to make sure it's something that has some sort of nutrition in it, and that it tastes pretty good too. After dinner, sometimes group game time, and clean up, we split up into classes based on gender and ages for Bible study. As of right now, we have a 5-9 year old boy class, 5-9 year old girl class, a 10-13 year old girl class, a 14-18 year old girl class, and a 10-18 year old boy class. Basically for about 30 minutes, we  teach these kids about Jesus and how much He absolutely loves them. Obviously the lessons vary based on age and gender, and we don't all talk about the same subject. But we try to make the main point every week that Jesus loves every one of us no matter who we are. After the lesson, we start the first round of drop offs and continue till everyone is back home. Many of these kids come from homes that aren't exactly brimming with Christianity. While their parents do know where they are on Tuesdays, from things I've been told and witnessed, these kids do not have the same Christian environment at home that we try to provide at The Mission. Granted, a few of these kids have TONS of Biblical knowledge and their parents are doing everything they can to raise their children in the Lord. And I am so happy to be involved in their growth as well. Here are some random pictures from over the years of my favorite kids in the whole world. 

Such a sweet face. And such a sweet little boy.

Palmer with one of the kids from summer camp last year. 

One of my sweethearts. She's now 6 and super sassy.

So now that you have some background info into who the Mission is, and what we do, let me go into my story. In June of 2011, the First Pres youth group did something we call The City Project. Part of City Project that year was working at this place that none of the youth had ever heard of, called East Florence Mission. I went in that Monday morning in June, prepared to help with summer camp for a week. I never imagined that 3 years later I would be there as a Bible study teacher. But it has happened. In three short years I have fallen head over heels in love with these kids. Their personalities are amazing. Their hearts contain so much sweetness. And I have seen such an incredible amount of growth in so many of them, physically, mentally, and spiritually. After spending a week with them that summer, I knew that I had to come back. That fall, when Stacey mentioned going over there to help out every few weeks I jumped on board and never looked back. Over time, those "every few weeks" turned into every week, and I went from being a volunteer in the back, to the one teaching. Originally I sat in what used to be the "younger kids class" which was a class for the 4-10 year olds. ABSOLUTE CHAOS. When Mr. Charlie came to me and Lia Severance later that year, asking if we were interested in making our own class of 7-10 year olds, we agreed. Quickly agreed. Due to some circumstances, the Severances had to stop coming every week, but God provided in another awesome family. The Emerts, Jeremy, Courtney, and their crew, began to come every week. Courtney took Lia's place in our class. And so we kept going. I had no clue back then that Courtney and Jeremy were interested in becoming missionaries, but God did and He provided them with this amazing opportunity to serve in Florence that year and a half. When Jeremy and Courtney felt called to the mission field in Zambia, Africa, I was a little nervous about EFM. That summer (2013) as I worked as a "camp counselor", I was anxious about what would happen to my class. Thankfully, God ONCE again provided by sending me the extremely sweet Dee Temple. She had worked with me and Courtney the previous school year and her heart was as much in it as ours were.  Last school year (2013-2014), Mrs. Dee and I began as the two head teachers, rotating weeks. We started as the teachers for the girls and boys 7-10 year olds. Some volunteers came in, so we moved to just teaching the 8-10 year old girls. And then the lady who had been teaching the younger kids (4-7) had to stop helping for some different reasons. So we took her class, and moved our girls up. After a lot of moving around, we ended up teaching the younger kids for the end of the year. Oh my goodness. They are pure sweetness! And I love them. This year things are looking different. We will have two classes of 5-9 year olds, split up by gender. And I am thankful for that. There are a lot of them!! But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I have been taken captive by those sweet kids. They have my heart and I can't imagine a better place to serve the Lord. I am so thankful for the chance to love on them and for them to love on me. I truly pray that I teach them as much as they teach me. 

These two have been with me since the beginning.

What can YOU do? 

We need help. There are several things that anyone can do to help us out.
#1: PRAYER Simple enough. Pray for these kids. That they will receive what we are trying to say. That they will understand just how much Jesus loves them. Pray for the leaders. For me, as I speak to the younger ones. For the other teachers, that they will speak what needs to be spoken. For Mr. Charlie and Mrs. Marilyn, that they will lead us in the direction God wants us to go. Pray for our needs to be met. But overall, please pray that these kids will feel loved by us through the Spirit and that their hearts will be opened.
#2: VOLUNTEERS At EFM, we are always looking for more help. Help of all ages!! I started as an "assistant" at the age of 14. Specifically I am looking to find someone to help teach my 5-9 year old class. I am fine taking either the girls or the boys. We have the curriculum, the supplies, we just need someone who feels led by God to do the physical teaching.
#3: GROUPS This year, we are looking into something new. We are looking for groups of people, Sunday school classes, youth groups, women's circles, men's groups, ANYONE to help us out by cooking a meal once every few weeks on a rotating schedule, and maybe provide a fun group game. More than anything we are looking for people to help with cooking. We have had some absolutely awesome people who have stepped up to help in the past and I can't even speak about how amazing they were. But we are looking for new people to help to. This is a GREAT example of serving the Lord.
If you or your group is possibly interested PLEASE let me know. We don't start until September the 9th, and we still have many preparations to do. I am here to answer all questions, and if I don't know an answer I can put you in touch with someone who will.
These kids are a huge part of my world and I will do just about anything for them. They have blessed me incredibly. Won't you let them bless you?