I married my husband, Mark, in Guatemala November 23, 1991. Since Mark is from Atlanta we decided to honeymoon there so that I could meet his family. During our six-week stay in the Atlanta area, being members of Wycliffe Bible Translators, someone from Wycliffe told us about the Missionary Care Center (MCC) at First Baptist Atlanta (FBA). It was sometime in December 1991 that we made our first visit to the MCC. I remember that it was downtown, in a stand-alone building not far from the former location of FBA.
I do not remember the name of the person that waited on us during our first visit, only that she was a kind, elderly lady. This same lady waited on us during one of our other visits to the MCC after it had moved to Dunwoody, although, again, her name escapes me. At any rate, during our first visit in 1991 we were tremendously blessed with a variety of clothing and other types of articles. Since then, we have made many visits to the MCC in-between our overseas assignments, and we have all benefited from its blessings including our daughter, Ana Elizabeth. After Ana was born, we were blessed several times from visits to the MCC - from the time she was small, up to now that she is in nursing school, and preparing herself to go into missions.
The blessings are not just for us but also for my mother and sister who are planning to visit us this Christmas. You kindly allowed me to pick out some coats for them to wear during their stay here. Thank you also for the solar-powered "Messenger" device that I can use to listen to some of Dr. Stanley's messages. This will help me, because I am legally blind and my vision has been slowly deteriorating. Thank you all very much for your prayers for us and how you have tremendously blessed us over the years.
Ana Celina & Mark
Wycliffe Bible Translators
We would like to thank FBA for the ministry of the Missionary Care Center. It's always exciting to see how the Lord provides for something we've prayed for. God is so good! It is an honor to serve Him! We especially want to thank you for praying with us. We are humbled and grateful for this precious time.
The Lawtons
North American Mission Board
I wanted to thank you again for your kind care of our family when we visited the Care Center a couple of weeks ago. What a blessing it was in so many ways! In no way did we feel like "charity cases," but we enjoyed our "shopping" experience and were so blessed by the precious servants working with you that day. It was a tremendous blessing to be able to say "yes" to our children to the things they wanted and not have to respond to them with, "not today, honey." As a mother, that was perhaps the greatest gift I received that day. Each day we continue to think of the kindness we were shown as we dress and feel good in wearing all of our new clothes. It was such a tremendous help to our family. Be blessed.
The Missionary Care Center has been blessing our socks off for over a decade now (of course they provided the socks in the first place)! The genuine love and care shown by Linda Taylor and the staff has made the "shopping" experience even more special to us. From clothes to vitamins to household items…we have really been cared for well. It is always a joy for us to visit the MCC.
With grateful hearts,
Long-term missionaries serving with Operation Mobilization
We are so grateful for each of you and your work in the Missionary Care Center. It is such a blessing every time we come. We never know what treasures we will find. To have a word of prayer is meaningful as well. Thank you for creating such a warm atmosphere.
In Christ's love,
Leckman family
Campus Crusade for Christ
A week or two ago I visited your Care Center and was blessed by your kindness and love to my family and me. I have two young boys who cried and messed up some of your displays but you still showed kindness, even when my two year old threw up on your carpet. Thank you for pouring out Christ's love upon us! Your ministry has allowed our family to cut our clothing budget out of our budget and meets a real need in our life. May God bless you for your faithfulness and care. It is a welcome and friendly place and when we go we feel Christ's love poured out on us. I continue to thank God for you throughout the year as I wear my clothes.
McCullough family
Biblical Ministries Worldwide
I cannot thank the volunteers of the Missionary Care Center enough for all the work they have done. But without the donations from the people of the First Baptist Church, they would not be able to serve those of us in missions. I myself have been blessed beyond measure with many lovely clothes I never would have been able to afford, or even buy. I am the contact person for my ministry, Operation Mobilization, so I have seen many of our missionaries who have been to the MCC be served with love and respect. Over and over I hear of the love they were shown by the volunteers and how appreciative they were that someone would pray for them. I cannot thank the pastors of the church enough for the vision and heart for those of us serving the Lord in missions. Words are not adequate to thank everyone who is responsible for the ministry of the MCC.
In His love,
Shelia Slocum
Operation Mobilization
I thank God for the opportunity He has given you to serve us in such a special way. Currently, out of the five things I have on, three of them are from the MCC. It has always been fun going there, where you can "shop 'til you drop" for free. Again, many thanks to you and God.
Kaleb
Biblical Ministries World Wide