By Quinn Lavespere, Message Summer Staff Writer
HORNBECK – It was a seed planted two years ago.
First Baptist Church of Hornbeck celebrated its first-ever quilt camp on June 7-12, after months of planning and praying, quilt camp director Mary Wind said.
“It was an idea I really prayed about that God just wouldn’t allow me to let go of,” Wind said. “I just had to do it.”
Wind described how the idea for the camp came into existence.
[img_assist|nid=6526|title=Participants in First Hornbecks Quilt Camp had a chance to visit and admire different quilts during the camp|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100]“I grew up in Hornbeck,” Wind said. “I met my husband, David, who was in the Air Force and stationed at what was England AFB in Alexandria. We eventually moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, but I would periodically come home to Hornbeck to visit.
“The grandmother who raised me taught me to ‘hand piece’ quilts,” Wind said. “When I left home my mindset was ‘I’ve been there and done that, and I’m not gonna do it anymore!’ It just goes to show you that God often has other ideas.
“About 20 years ago,’ Wind continued, ‘a friend in Miami, Fla., introduced me to ‘rotary cutting and strip piecing’ and there was no stopping me. It became such a passion for me that I was burning with a desire to share the joy that quilting gave me. Well, I prayed about it and eventually did begin one. Over the years, God really blessed the ministry, because it started out with 20 women, and now, more than 120 women have come to learn what this is all about.
“Two years ago, during a visit to Hornbeck to visit my sister Margaret Carter, I, Margaret and some friends were taking our morning walk,” Wind said. “I was sharing with them my passion for quilting and the joy that it gave me and those with whom I shared what I knew. Margaret and the others asked me to come and help them learn how to quilt at First Hornbeck. …
“I got together with Margaret, my friend Margaret ‘Margo’ Whatley [First Hornbeck Women Ministry Union leader], my other sister Becky Herbert and others, and we began planning for the camp.
“We were going to do it last summer,’ Wind continued, ‘but because economic times were hard, among other reasons, we weren’t able to. Plus, it was our plan, not God’s, so we prayed about it and God led the way.”
Whatley said First Hornbeck pastor Jack Bell and members of the church were very enthusiastic about the prospect of a quilt camp.
“Pastor Bell and the others were very pleased to hear about the idea and were supportive and excited about it,” Whatley said.
Despite various hardships in the months leading up to the camp, Wind and her group were able to persevere through God’s blessings and timely help from others. Whatley recounted how church member Brenda Marsh stepped up to do much of the legwork for the camp with Carter.
“My daughter had a baby, and there were times that I was unavailable to help out with the work for other reasons,” Whatley said. “Brenda, God bless her soul, really stepped in and helped pick up the slack.”
Wind herself could not stop thanking Marsh for her efforts.
“My sister Margaret was just overwhelmed after her husband Terry had a heart attack last winter and needed someone to help her,” Wind said. “God laid Brenda on the hearts of Margo and Margaret, and I called her and asked her to help. Brenda worked so hard. She’s just a blessing to us.
“One day, as I was sitting in my quilting room, I was praying and thinking about how I was going to do this as Hornbeck didn’t have a quilt shop nearby,” Wind said.
“As I looked at the many yards of fabric laid out before me on the many shelves of my open closet, God spoke to my heart and said ‘Do not a hoarder be.’ It was hard, for these fabrics were treasures to me. But God said, ‘I blessed you so you could in turn be a blessing to others.’ So, I contributed many of my treasured fabrics to these women.
“Also, I had friends who provided me with fabric from their abundance of material,” Wind continued. “They wanted to be a part of this ministry so I could provide the women at Hornbeck with kits at a nominal fee and have available door prizes and gifts for all the attendees, including one particularly dear friend who probably provided as much of the fabric as I did. God really did provide.”
Wind said the ultimate purpose of the camp was to serve as “a fellowship” for women reaching out to those in the community while teaching them how to quilt and use their newly learned quilting skills to do godly things for people.
“We wanted this camp to provide a Christian environment of love and fellowship for these women and help them to connect with each other,” Wind said. “Rick Warren, in The Purpose-Driven Life, says we are all born with a unique emotional purpose, and I feel this is a God-given purpose for me that I can share with others.
“One story I always tell people is how a woman who joined the quilting circle to learn how to quilt and find a place to fellowship with other women ended up getting saved,” Wind added. “Eventually, she led her father, who had never been inside a church his whole life, to Christ, and the same year, he died. That, more than anything, exemplifies why I want this ministry to be successful and help people.”
Wind said various activities performed during the quilt camp included a daytime “table-topper” project, night projects where women attempted to create something in one night, games, classes intended just for fun, and the creation of objects such as candle mats, notebook covers and pillowcases.
“Of course, the best part was the fellowship and love displayed between all the women,” Wind said. “We had women coming from places such as Zwolle and Anacoco. God really blessed us.”
The quilt camp concluded on Saturday with a potluck dinner held in the church fellowship hall at 5p.m. on June 12. Before the dinner, the women gave a brief presentation of the various projects they had made during the week.
Wind gave a speech imploring the women to go out in their communities and use the gifts they learned during the camp to help other people in their communities learn how to quilt and build a relationship with God.
After the speech, Wind awarded gifts to several attendees such as Whatley, Marsh, and Sharon Owens, who had provided her own share of support for Wind and the others. A touching moment occurred when Wind awarded gifts to her sisters Margaret and Becky, and told them how much she loved them and appreciated their help.
Several attendees commented about how much fun they had during their time at the quilt camp.
“It was fun and inspiring,” said Owens. “I think Mary was Godsent to come and do this for our church.”
Similar thoughts were expressed by Taylor Jones, the 12-year-old daughter of First Hornbeck secretary Jennifer Jones, who was honored by Wind for her perseverance despite her struggles quilting.
“I had lots of fun, and lots of ladies were very nice and helped me,” Taylor Jones said.
Whatley said many of the attendees of the camp had filled in questionnaires saying how much they enjoyed the camp.
Despite the overall success of the quilt camp, both Whatley and Margaret Carter said they were not sure if the quilt camp would become an annual event at Hornbeck or any other places.
“We’ll just have to see how it goes and pray about it,” Carter said.
Whatley did say there were several projects planned for after the quilt camp that would employ fabric given to them by Wind during the camp.
“We’re going to create lap throws for those in the nursing home and pillowcases for children who are sick in the hospital,” Whatley said. “The ladies are also going to get together and sew together a quilt for the youth auction at First Hornbeck to help raise funds for mission trips.”
“In any case,’ Wind added, ‘whatever happens, we are thankful to God for such a blessed camp.”