Wk 24 OHCE LUNCHEON

OHCE LUNCHEON

Oklahoma Home and Community Education at the OSU Extension Office on Fair Grounds Road.

It is my PRIVILEGE to be your guest today.

            Thank you Ms. Jill Gibbons and the other officers and staff for your due diligence all along the way to provide such support for our Communities in Okmulgee County and allow me to speak today.

With me today are two rather special LADIES in my life:

            My wife Marcie Baldwin

(of 39 years come October with 8 children—2 boys and 6 girls)

            My Mother-in-law, Jeanette Huff who is visiting from Ponca City

Maybe you have seen my wife in the PAPER these past few months as she has been awarding Quilts of Valor to some of our heroic aging veterans.

            Mom has a long-arm quilter that Marcie has learned to use and together they have put the finishing touches on many quilt tops.  It is such an amazing process. Taking raw materials and a pattern and Vola—an artist at work!

THAT PROCESS could be likened to the development of a person’s life…

Possibly….

Being raised near the poverty level,

Maybe not excelling in education,

Social awkward – hopping job to job,

possibly marrying late – with divorce following in a few years…

and then it HAPPENS!

SPECIAL CONNECTIONS…

at a local church

A new discovery of interests – a new job – new friends

THE OUTCOME is a refined life that rises up out of the dust— like into a beautiful sewn quilt with

finished corners,

proper seams,

edge to edge stiches that are put in with the right tension and

with the right matching color.

I feel I have some similarities of that tattered soul…

I grew up in Ponca City, 12 miles from the Kansas border near I-35.

I was told, just this week, that I have a Kansas accent— that’s a first;-)

I attended a Lutheran Grade School

I was very athletic – however asthma was a significant issue

My parents were church leaders – and prayer and God’s Word ruled our home.

I was healed of asthma when I was 15 years old.

Marcie and I married and that was probably one of the most significant influence on me as we surrendered our lives to follow Father’s leading and to walk in unity.

I have traveled overseas on numerous mission trips ( Africa, Russia, to Central America and south to Peru).

Marcie and I have worked with the Kuna Indians in Panama on three occasions.

But while we were planning to move there for a month stay… we felt that Father told us to come to Bubbling Brook – Okmulgee.

We FOUND a city that has a varied past that many have been holding on too FAR TO LONG, but at the same time we SAW this city as a city of possibilities: Destination Hope

            COULD A CITY BE TRANSFORMED INTO A BEAUTIFUL QUILT?

Ron Drake put it so well when he came here to consult on Okmulgee Rising 2.0 saying, “God is in the restoration business, and that is what we do—Restore Cities.”

Marcie and I found ourselves involved with DHS shortly after coming to this Destination of Hope as we joined the Foster System here in Okmulgee, OK

We found a piece of that REDEMPTION—that TRANSFORMATION—that can take place in the lives of everyday people going through trauma or moments of tragedy --

We BELIEVE that it not only takes a village to raise a child…it takes a village to raise a family.

Serving as MAYOR, I see this first hand.

People often want the City to do what community should be doing.

But like I said it takes a village. WE ALL HAVE A PART!

The greatest RESOURCE we have in Okmulgee isn’t a lake, an airport, the Deep Fork game reserve or even our historical buildings.

I hope you will AGREE with me when I say, “Our greatest resource in Okmulgee is our CITIZENS!”

WE HAVE LOST A FEW RECENTLY…

Rev. Leman Lewis

Bob Brown

Dan Anderson

who are some others???

Having said this, One thing we have going for us today— and that are the clubs and organizations like OHCE!

You are part of a STATEWIDE organization with members in local communities across all 77 counties of Oklahoma.

OHCE is dedicated to lifelong learning and community service.

OHCE empowers individuals by teaching valuable skills that enhance daily life

(also known as Life-Hack’s), skills to make life better.

The members of OHCE do this through friendship, support, and shared knowledge, members working together to make a meaningful impact on their communities.

Okay, I found that on the website, but it is true.

Every time I come out here with my family we usually are taken by what is represented here— COMMUNITY!

Wendell Berry’s quote on community:

A community is not merely a condition of physical proximity, no matter how admirable the layout of the shopping center and the streets, no matter if we demolish the horizontal slums and replace them with vertical ones. 

A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other’s lives.

It is the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, their trust in each other, the freedom with which they come and go among themselves

OHCE is impacting our today! And has helped me define My DESTINATION HOPE!

May we each learn that we are #bettertogether.

Ty

(Questions and Answers)