​Some sit as far away as possible, slowly inching their chairs closer. Others listen distantly while folding their laundry. While even more sit in the living space of The Well and listen to Donna Elliott lead them through the Bible one book at a time. This every Tuesday women’s-only bible study has been influencing many homeless ladies and their children for the last several years.
 
It all began with obedience to the voice of God. “It’s completely a God-thing,” Donna remarks. Her husband and members of their small group enjoy doing construction- type service projects. At the time, one of the upstairs rooms at The Well was to be converted into a classroom. The whole small group went to check out the project and learn about Feed My Sheep. Even Donna, who is not into construction, went along for the ride.
 
President, Jim Hornsby, gave them a tour of Feed My Sheep and the room they were to renovate, giving an explanation of the various services they provide, including teaching bible studies. Donna felt God leading her to tell Jim that she enjoys teaching the Bible. But she argued with God, “He just said he had people who do that already,” she thought. However, over and over again she heard this call – “stronger than I have ever heard in my life” – you should tell them you like to teach Bible classes.
 
Surrendering, Donna found Jim sitting at his desk. She said, “I know you said you have someone who teaches bible studies already, but if you ever need a substitute. I just want to drop my name in the hat.” He began to tell her about this bible class that incorporated scripture into a twelve-step program. She told him she had never done anything like that before and didn’t feel she had the experience to take that on. So, she left Feed My Sheep that day thinking that God just wanted to see if she would be obedient. “God did not actually need her to teach a class,” Donna figured She thought she would never hear from Jim again.
 
To her surprise, two weeks later she received a call. “We need someone to teach a bible study,” Jim said. A different study than the one previously proposed. The very next day, Donna found herself preparing for what would be her weekly bible class and now she has been teaching steadily and consistently for the past two years.
 
Donna feels she was born to teach. When she was little she would line up her dolls and teach them. Then she gathered up the neighborhood kids, lined them up and taught them. She believes, “It’s how God made me. It’s my strongest spiritual gift.”  Donna has been gifted the opportunity to use her God-given talents through this ministry work.
 
The weekly study has proved itself invaluable for the homeless ladies, as well. Some say things like, “I’ve never seen it that way before” or “I’ve never heard that before.” Along with learning about God, The Well provides a safe and comfortable home-like environment just for women. Donna says, “They have the ability to go in and take a shower and do laundry whenever the doors are open.” There is a children’s play area, also a living room and dining area, where the bible studies take place.
 
Currently, they are studying the book of Acts. Donna’s teaching style is to simply start at the beginning of a book and go to the end – one verse, one chapter at a time. Some of the women have never heard scripture before or held a Bible in their hands. Therefore, there are no timelines or agendas; she takes the time she needs to teach them how to navigate the Bible. Donna simply allows herself to be led by the Holy Spirit. “When we get done with a book, I just ask the Lord where are we supposed to go next and He tells me.”
 
As with all “God-things,” when you give you also receive. “The women always thank me and they treat me like a rock star,” Donna smiles. “They act like I have done the most wonderful thing for them, and what they don’t realize is that they have done the most wonderful thing for me. I always get way more than what I give.”
 
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The Well, Women’s Day Center at Feed My Sheep, is located at 110 W. Ave G.

Feed My Sheep and Churches Touching Lives for Christ (CTLC) have partnered together once again for the Weekend Nutrition Ministry! This ministry provides food for local students; kids who face bare cupboards and empty stomachs over the weekend.
Jim Hornsby expressed that school staff noticed the need first. Children were “hanging out” in the cafeterias on Mondays to eat the leftovers, because they had not eaten all weekend.
Qualified students are provided refillable backpacks filled with seven kid-friendly meals and snacks. Breakfast includes foods such as oatmeal and cereal. Lunches and dinners consist of items like raviolis, mac and cheese, or ramen noodles. These types of foods allow children the ability to prepare the meals on their own. Additionally, snacks are comprised of fruit cups and granola bars.
Besides CTLC, Feed My Sheep is working with many wonderful people and organizations in the area. Other partnerships include ACE (TISD’s after school program) and 4C Communities in Schools. The program relies specifically on the school counselors, who help find the students who need assistance the most, and feeds 600 total students – 400 of them coming from the Temple area. Other school districts participating are Bartlett, Holland, Troy, Little River-Academy, and Rogers.
The Weekend Nutrition Ministry starts back again on August 22, 2018!

The Well Women’s Day Center at Feed My Sheep partners with The Christian Women’s Job Corps of Bell County to help women create and reach their spiritual, personal and occupational goals. The CWJC’s mission is to “enable women to bring positive change to their families and communities.”  
Site Coordinator Penny Reveile believes the road to success begins with mapping out ones goals. Specifically, the development of S.M.A.R.T goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Penny says, a goal like I want to go back to college, does not necessarily set a person up on a plan to get there, but making it a SMART goal provides direction and attainable milestones.
The volunteers walk the women, step-by-step, through the preparation process and timely action items needed to achieve their dreams. Critically thinking about the effort required and the life-altering changes needed to change their present course is an integral part of being successful. The women accomplish this by working through the Jobs for Life curriculum, which discusses how to attain a biblical view of employment and a healthy work ethic.
Local business’ have shown their support by giving guest talks and presentations and even holding mock interview sessions with constructive feedback.
Additionally, CWJC facilitates connecting the ladies with organizations or resources necessary to travel their newly created roadmap. The mentors – called “Journey Partners”- also assist their students in building a solid foundation for whole life success by helping them with relationship, budgeting, time management, parenting, and organizational skills. 
Journey Partners develop deep friendships with the women they assist; they are not just someone the women go to when they have a problem. Penny reflects, “This is something that sets the CWJC apart from some of the other programs that are similar.” Some relationships “have gone on for ten years or more.” They meet once a week, have dinner and Bible study together, and then work on personal goals.  Another part of their time together is in the study of the book Boundaries, which teaches them how to set healthy perimeters on the (sometimes toxic) relationships in their lives.
This program focuses on the generational change and legacy that these women can now leave for their families. When asked how the program had affected their family, a daughter of one of the graduates responded, “Mom’s different now. Our family’s different now. We go to church. We love each other. It’s just so much better!”
The leaders of the CWJC want to let these women know that they are worth the time they invest in themselves.   
If you are interested in learning more about the Christian Women’s Job Corps, you can contact Penny Reveile at 254-718-9698.
CWJC’s office hours at The Well: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am -1:00pm.
Class schedule: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings from 5:30pm -8:30pm. 

Feed My Sheep and Temple College partnered together to provide education for those who were unable to complete high school and receive a diploma. In this program students have the choice of three certificates: GED, HiSET, and TASC. The GED exam is on a computer; however, students can take the HiSET and TASC with pencil and paper, which may be an advantage to those who do not speak English as their first language.
Additionally, Feed My Sheep has been working on providing a permanent education room in their building so that students have a better more protected learning environment. September is the slated completion date for the new room, just in time for the fall cycle of the program to begin!
Becky Bradley, Coordinator for the Adult Education and Literacy Department at Temple College said, “The program is funded by the Texas Workforce Commission and as a result we have certain targets that we have to reach. One of them is how many students finish the program and transition to higher education or transition to one of our certificate programs in business or education. Our percentages of that are very high! Not only do we want them to come and get their high school diploma, but to either go to Temple College and then transition to a four-year school or transition to a job. We want them in the workforce! We want to prepare them to make a living for themselves.”
The program has done just that – prepared many to make a living for themselves. Mrs. Bradley told a story of one particular student who was living in a shelter, who obtained her GED through the program. During her time, she developed a relationship with Cecilia Watkins, one of the instructors. The young lady was able to secure her own apartment and a part time job, while attending and ultimately graduating from Temple College with plans to attend a four-year program in the fall. Her goal is to become a teacher herself. “She went basically from being homeless, to the shelter, to Feed My Sheep, to Temple College,” Mrs. Bradley stated, “and now to a four-year school… because we had a teacher there who not only had the credentials to do her job professionally, but she had a big heart for students.”
This beautiful story of a life changed continues, as this inspiring and intelligent young woman goes forward in her plans to “pay forward” the gift that she received.
This extended education program has the power to influence not just one life, but many. You can play a part in its design. As the students reach each milestone, they are required to pay for examination fees and graduation costs ranging from $122-$145. Many students are not in a position financially to cover the costs. We need student sponsors to commit to providing the necessary funds for these aspiring scholars! If you would like to financially support this mission, please contact Jim Hornsby at (254) 778-6885 or Staci Masson at (512) 775-7999.
What a small price to pay for the bettering of a life!

When she was 14 years old, Gay and her siblings found themselves homeless. Her mother left town, only taking two of her five children with her. Gay’s baby sister ended up with her biological father while Gay and her twin brother, Jay, had no one to turn to. They were left all alone to fend for themselves. “What do you do?” she reflects. “You make it somehow.” With God’s grace, they did just that.
Jay decided that Gay would attend school and he started working. For a few years this arrangement worked out, keeping them together and off the streets. Until, Jay, after receiving several traffic tickets stood before a judge with an ultimatum — he could either go to jail or join the Army. Jay chose the Army, leaving Gay homeless once again at the age of 17.
It was then that Gay confided in the assistant principle at her high school, Mr. John Brown. Tears stream down her face as she unfolds the tale of his kindness. See, Mr. Brown was a black man and Gay was a white girl. It was not acceptable for them to talk to one another, even though the school was now integrated.
Gay recalls that once people realized she was from “the same side of the tracks, just a different color,” she was allowed to associate with him. Mr. Brown, who she calls her “guardian angel,” showed his fatherly love for this young girl by paying her rent and utilities and buying her groceries until she graduated high school. He then guided her down the path to college and ultimately to a degree in social work.
A few years later, Gay learned that Mr. Brown had contracted cancer and had passed away. She attended his funeral at the cost of losing her job. Her voice cracks as she says, “My heart has always been with the people that don’t have anything — because when I needed it, others were there helping me.”
Gay is now a regular volunteer at Feed My Sheep. What started out as just a couple of trips, turned into serving five days a week. She helps to build case files for clients. She primarily works with people who need birth certificates. Volunteering so frequently is critical to all because she is able to follow through on needed paperwork and requests, as well as providing clients with timely answers.
Gay has met and assisted many people in her time at Feed My Sheep, but there is one man to whom she feels a deep connection. “This man I’m helping now… he’s a twin, just as I am; he’s left handed, just like I am; he has a twin sister, I have a twin brother; he’s a veteran, my brother is a veteran; we were both born in the same year, just a couple of months apart.”
She beams at the thought of him. “My heart, just by his smile, it melted me. To the point where I was going to do anything I could to help him. Whatever it took.” And this gentleman needed someone who would do whatever was necessary.
Hitchhiking his way back to Temple from Waco, he found himself in a terrible situation. A driver stopped to pick him up and he tossed his backpack into the bed of the guy’s truck. The man sped off, riddling him with gravel. There he stood, alone — all his belongings, all his identification, stolen. He managed to get back to Temple and tell Gay his story.
Gay went to work right away, starting with the basics. She knew that if she could get his health records and school records she would be able to prove that he existed and then apply for his birth certificate. After some research she was able to secure all of those items, along with his DD214. (A DD214 is the Army’s discharge paperwork.) This is where they ran into a problem. Veterans Affairs (VA) turned him away because it said dishonorable discharge. He told her that it originally said, other than dishonorable discharge, which would qualify him for VA assistance. Gay was able to talk to someone at the VA and straighten out the whole situation. Now, he is able to get his benefits from the VA. A man with nothing now has access to help that would have been denied him without proper identification.
Gay smiles bright and says, “When he sees me now he lights up like a Christmas tree.”
These two souls have become a holiday gift to one another. A light to each other and the community. Using the strength she gained by surviving her own childhood turmoil, Gay’s depth of love and dedication to volunteering is making a profound difference in her community, one life at a time.
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