First Baptist Preschool Update

February 19, 2006

If anyone asks you if God is alive and working through others, you can tell them He is very much alive in Long Beach, MS.

Hurricane Katrina took our school, but she did not take our hope. Though saddened, we did not give up. Within a month, my teachers were asking me where we could open our preschool. I went right to work. I didn't know how I was supposed to accomplish this feat, but I knew that if it was God's will, we could do it.

I immediately began to look for a building that might house the many children that would need a place to learn and play. Due to the hurricane, it was so difficult to find anything that was affordable, safe and dry. We were excited about a vacant gym and our spirits began to rise, just to be disappointed when we found out that the building flooded when it rained; we heard about modular units, but when we were told the price was around $50,000 each, we knew they were way beyond our budget; we were graciously offered a building in need of repair, but it was something to get us started. Again, we began to dream of how we would use it to house our children. The building was small - too small to house all the children that wanted to come to preschool. I was left with a difficult decision to make. How could I possible decide which 20 children would come to our school? My heart was heavy with that decision. Then as we tried to make the building ready, things began to go wrong. It seemed it just wasn't meant to be. It took that small set back for me to realize that I was praying for the wrong thing. I had been asking God to tell me what to do, and I would do it. I knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me to reopen His preschool; what I didn't know was how He wanted me to do it. As soon as my prayer changed and I began praying for the Lord to open the doors HE wanted me to go through and close the ones He didn't want me to go through, things began to happen and happen fast.

In December, my husband told me of some modular buildings that might be available through G.E. I began talking to the Department of Health and the Department of Education about rules and regulations concerning housing of children in modular buildings. Time after time, I ran into a brick walls. I needed divine intervention; it was going to take an act of congress to get us in modular buildings. And then, a miracle happened. One Saturday morning, I got a call from Tupelo. A very nice lady asked if there was anything they could do for us. I told her we really needed her earnest prayers and as a side comment I told her it wouldn't hurt to have an ear to the Governor's Office. The next day, she called Senator Allen Nunnally who happened to be going to Jackson on the following Monday. Monday night, I got a call telling me that we would be given permission to use the modular buildings.

That's all it took for me to know that I was in God's will. I went out on a leap of faith and bought the first building the week before Christmas. After the New Year, I bought two more buildings. The money for the buildings was another miracle. Brother LaRue told a church in Nashville that we needed money to pay for modular buildings. They donated $6100.00 - the first building was paid for. A church in Alabama sent another $6100.00 and then another church sent $6100.00 - all three buildings were paid for.

Brother LaRue spoke with a man in Alabama and shared with him that we needed childcare for our community. He sent $50,000 with the majority of it going to the preschool to pay for the parking lot, decking, plumbing, electrical work, etc.

The volunteers that have come to us from all over the United States are such a blessing that I can't put it into words. We had a crew from Maryland come down and build our deck in four days. Mr. and Mrs. Etter from Sedona, Arizona brought crews out from Colonial Heights in Jackson and they placed skirting around the buildings, cleaned bathrooms, made curtains, built a privacy fence around the dumpster and two of the women filled huge holes with dirt. All of this was done in Christian love that you could feel. What a wonderful opportunity to share with one another. I had a long list of "to dos", but it wasn't long before the Colonial Heights crew had completed the entire list.

We want to thank Mrs. Woodfield; without her generosity, we would not be opened. Her decision to allow us to place the buildings on her property was the first step in our preschool reopening.

Twenty years ago, Sandy Cockrell bought our first table for our preschool. Twenty years later, she gave a donation to buy the first table for our new preschool. God bless her.

Matt Carte's wife Erin (Mrs. Lillian's son and daughter in law), and her preschool have been praying for us ever since the storm. They sent us the most wonderful cards made by her preschool. Each child wrote a note and signed it "your friend" followed by their name. Along with the notes were books that had been prayed over by the children - prayed over by the children; Praise God for the children and their love. When our children read these books, we will also say a prayer of thanksgiving and ask God for a special blessing for the children of First Baptist Church of Richardson.

Tupelo not only sent us Senator Nunnally, but they also sent a check in the amount of $4300.00 for school supplies.

I was working here one Saturday morning and a man from Bell South came by. He asked me if I wanted him to hook up our telephones. Of course, I said yes, but what a blessing to have him see us working, and just stop by to help.

Mark Walley was going on vacation, but he delayed his vacation to come out and survey our land, so that we could get the plot plan to get a permit that we needed by the following Tuesday.

Back in December, Mississippi State University held a meeting about recovery which I attended. They asked us if there was anything they could do to help. Last week, they, in a joint effort with Kaplan, delivered a truck load of toys, furniture, etc. to our preschool.

A lady from Ohio sent a truck of supplies and furniture - enough that allowed us to share with First Baptist Church in Gulfport. Pass Road Baptist Church in Gulfport not only donated $2500.00 to buy shelves for all of the buildings, but also sent someone over to put them up for us.

Our concern about where the children would be kept in bad weather was alleviated by Rick and Elizabeth Bazzell who arranged for us to use the Masonic Lodge until our building can be made ready.

We are so thankful for a pastor who gives us encouragement and supports the preschool ministry. Brother LaRue has been there from the beginning; with no job too big or too small for him to show his love for the children and for the community.

 Thanks to my preschool teachers and parents who have volunteered their time and energy to get the preschool back up and running. Their love for the school and the children is unsurpassed. I've often said the teachers and parents are a large reason why our school is what it is.

There are even more opportunities being discussed now. For instance, there may be grant money coming to help us build a playground. I will do my best to communicate with you as events occur and we continue to grow as a school.

We offer a heartfelt thanks to all the members of the community who have offered up prayers on behalf of the preschool ministry and the children affected by Katrina. There are just too many people to name or even count from our community who have been praying for us and who have donated time, toys and other supplies.

And of course, there is my husband, Jerry. Without his long hard hours at the preschool, we wouldn't have made it. He works diligently and silently to accomplish whatever needs to be done. How blessed I am as a wife; how blessed we are as a church to have him.

As you all know, everything we had was destroyed. You have all seen how the powerful water and wind made little more than match sticks out of our steel, brick and concrete buildings. I was working at the new preschool one day when one of the parents of a former student came to me. He was carrying our preschool sign - yes, the original sign. After the storm, he had seen something red in the debris and it seemed familiar to him. He pulled the sign out of the pile and it was undamaged. He had been saving for me until I could get a new school opened. With a heartfelt hug and best wishes, Rocky Ladnier left us not only with a sign identifying our preschool, but a sign from God that this is His preschool and He has been our pilot through all we have done to reopen.

Oh, yes, and then there is the letter from the state saying we are "legal" in our buildings. I received the letter the day before we opened. It just goes to show, if we take the leap, God is there to catch us. He will not let us fall if we are in His will.

So, if you want to see a miracle, drop by 535 Klondyke Road. Yes, God is alive and well in Long Beach, MS.

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Our Preschool at First Baptist Church is a place where children grow and learn according to their own needs and abilities under the guidance of experienced, skilled and devoted teachers.  Our program provides a variety of activities such as:

Our preschool is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and follows the public school schedule.  Children can enroll for two, three or five day programs.