This week’s Vicksburg Post Volunteers of the Week are a group that volunteers at the Good Shepherd Community Center and are known as the Good Shepherd Bible Study Group. The group includes Vicki Womack, Laura Kay Peyton, Paul Eagles, Barbara Toliver, Peggy Gouras and Dawn Egger. 

How did the Good Shepherd Bible Study Group begin?

We are all members of a local Bible study class and this spring Laura Kay and Vicki were praying and talking about a ministry with children and started to think about Good Shepherd. We were studying the book of James and at about that same time, we were all feeling led by the Lord to work with kids. Laura Kay and Vicki arranged a meeting with Good Shepherd Director Cindy McCarley and Paul came along, too, after looking into a way to work with kids at Good Shepherd. Barbara got involved and Dawn heard Paul talking about it and also wanted to join. We all felt called to do this around the same time but none of us had discussed it among ourselves to help these kids at Good Shepherd. When we did all start talking, we realized that we all had the same idea. 

How long have y’all been around?

We started working with these kids in March. In the summer, we were coming every day except for Friday and did a little devotional with the kids. After the summer, we decided we wanted a structured approach. Vicki got a lot of the material from Samaritan’s Purse and we all started using that and plan on wrapping it up this week. It’s just been a real blessing for all of us. 

What is your favorite memory?

After a few weeks of starting this group, it was time for everyone to go home and this little boy got up and started jumping up and down saying, “This is just my favorite time of the week.” Getting to see the kids learning more about the Bible and showing them things they didn’t know before has been really exciting. We also had a little girl in class during our discussion on Heaven who opened up and talked about how excited she was to go to Heaven. It was just so genuine. They all really open up and give such genuine and real answers. 

What would you tell someone who is thinking about volunteering?

Here at Good Shepherd, you just need to love kids and be open to the fact that things don’t always go as planned with little ones. There is not always the structure that you expect and they don’t always react the way you plan. It is important to remind the kids how great, sweet and loving they are and how much they are loved and cared for. These kids are definitely learning things, whether we see it or not. 

What are some of the group’s tasks and responsibilities?

We have a lot of really good teachers in our group, so they already know how to create a plan to guide us through the lesson for the week. Sometimes we take turns during the class such as one of us leading the Bible story and then the other will do some kind of activity with the kids. We try to get them to play a game before the lesson and make sure they drink plenty of water. We have two groups that we split up into younger and older groups. They follow similar lesson plans and we will follow this book called “The Greatest Journey” from the Samaritan’s Purse. 

Any additional comments?

As Christians, we feel like we are compelled to spread the gospel and pour it into our community and the children of our community. Good Shepherd is looking for tutors, mentors and volunteers that want to help better the lives of these children. This organization is such an asset and blessing to our community. Everyone who works here are all so committed to these children. This whole experience has been a blessing. 

If there is a volunteer who should be featured, please submit their name and contact information to volunteer@vicksburgpost.com.