January
Kellie Markee and Rocky Vest
Written by Karli Roth
On January 13th, Young Patriots Club had two wonderful guest speakers- people dedicated to helping the broken. We were honored to have Mr. Vest and Ms. Markee join us to tell about what they do to share God's great love.
Ms. Kellie Markee is the founder of Dorothy’s House, a place for girls who need care, support, and love. Before she started the house, she went through many other jobs- advertising, starting a website business, flipping houses, and more! But through this all, she saw the problems that kids were facing and felt that she should be doing something to help. So, as she continued flipping houses she became a foster parent, but she was stirred to do something even greater to help the broken people in this world. Dorothy’s House came into being after she bought a run-down house, repaired it, and dedicated it to helping girls going through tough times. Ms. Markey now gives a place for girls to overcome the difficulties of life. She shows them love and helps to mend their shattered hearts. Ms. Markee enjoys her work and said, "One of the greatest things you can be given is a mission."
Mr. Rocky Vest is a man with a heart for people in the grip of modern day slavery. Before he began his organization, Break the Cycle 200, he was broken because of the hurt of enslaved people, and he longed to help. One day, a friend dared him to ride a bike two hundred miles. At first Mr. Vest was skeptical, but he found himself climbing onto his bike anyway. As he endured the pain of the ride, people started asking him why he was doing it. The Holy Spirit then inspired Mr. Vest to found an organization of people who ride their bikes to raise funds and awareness of modern day slavery. He started Break the Cycle 200, his response to the gospel and the love of Jesus. Mr. Vest credits God for his work because without Him it would not be.
Young Patriots Club enjoyed learning from both of our speakers. All of us can do work in our own lives by loving the people around us and caring for others.
Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God- this is your true and proper worship.”
September 23, 2019
Fern Sump
Written by Lila Norby
On September 23, 2019, Mrs. Fern Sump visited us at Young Patriots Club. She shared that one night she couldn’t fall asleep and an idea came to her about designing patriotic pillowcases for veterans. Mrs. Sump shared a story about one time when she gave some pillowcases to some students to hand out to veterans at a cemetery in Washington DC , on Memorial Day. She also told us that she received a thank you letter from a veteran sharing with her that he had never spent a Memorial Day at a Veterans Cemetery before but her gift made it the most memorable Memorial Day he had ever had. Mrs. Sump has a very strong faith in Jesus, and she reminded us, “that Jesus is always with you.”.
Mrs. Fern Sump is woman of many talents and kind words! Mrs. Sump has a great talent of giving to others. She even told us that when she shares her talents, it blesses her more than others! One of Fern’s biggest talents is sewing and she’s great at it! In fact, it has become Fern’s mission to sew patriotic silk pillowcases for veterans! She has sewn over 500 pillowcases. Last year, Mrs. Sump help us design and sew patriotic pillowcases to hand out to veterans at our Young Patriots Club events. Fern Sump is a kind woman with a heart for Jesus and giving to others. We are blessed to have Mrs. Sump associated with are club.
september 16, 2019
Commissioner Baynes
Written by Karli Roth
"On September 16, 2019, we were happy to have Commissioner Baynes, Commissioner of Iowa Safety visit us! Some of the many interesting things he told us about were drug trackers, who track with specially trained dogs, bomb robots with special attachments to find and take care of bombs, and police jobs and positions. Before he was a commissioner, he was a prosecutor. One day, he got a phone call from a number he didn't recognize. When he picked it up, he found that Governor Reynolds was speaking. She called him about being the state commissioner, and after some thought and discussion, he accepted. Commissioner Baynes said that the governor made him feel like they were just talking across a table to one another. He credits God for the position, himself having no idea of how the Governor got his name and phone number. As the commissioner, his main mission is to help people. Commissioner Baynes' dad also served in the police force.
Commissioner Baynes told us about some police positions. People who work with bomb robots have heavy suits called bomb suits that can weigh 120 pounds! Commissioner Baynes also told us about a special lab that can help to find fingerprints, tire prints, and more. In the lab, they have machines to detect how nervous a person is, which helps them tell lies from truth. Police also have airplanes, for search and rescue, and to chase criminals down. The planes have heat sensors to locate where people are. Commissioner Baynes met the vice president of the United States of America while protecting him on a trip. Commissioner Baynes was asked what advice he had for kids in the YPC group. He said to be thankful for our education, we'll use it the rest of our lives. Learning about Jesus, and learning in school, will benefit us greatly. We had a lot of fun having Commissioner Baynes visit, and really enjoyed talking to him!"