Give me a “High-5!” I have heard that expression my whole life. We hear it anytime something good or exciting happens. If it is not said, so often, people are giving others a “high-5.” Well I believe something exciting is happening in our Children’s Sunday School. Starting on Easter Sunday, we are launching “High-5,” for our children. This is a new Sunday School program that will be built around the five objectives of our Church: knowing, growing, sowing, glowing, and going.With this new program, we will be moving our Children’s Sunday School to the Attic. There, the children will participate in praise & worship, large group Bible teaching, and small group application discussions. I believe that all our children will have the opportunity to meet our Savior, grow in their walk with him, lead in worship, and introduce their friends to their Savior. For these reasons I am pumped.

In order for this to happen, we need your help. Because of the move, we are adding some new classes in which we need teachers. We need people who are willing to teach the small group times. Along with the teachers, we need shepherds. Shepherds will be similar to a teacher’s assistant, but will not necessarily have to teach. The focus will be on building relationships with the children. We need volunteers to be on the crew, which will make sure everything is set up and ready to begin Sunday School. Crew members will not have to stay around during the whole hour. We also need greeters who will meet the children as they come in and make sure they feel welcome. The final volunteer we need will be someone who can run media/sound. We need a lot of people, because will will be going through “High-5? in both hours of Sunday School. If you are interested, please go to the “High-5? table on Sunday morning, or come to a meeting on February 5 at 6:30 in the Attic. HIGH-5!

Bro. Grant

DeSoto Hills is excited to welcome Micheal and Lindsay Bucy to Southaven. Micheal and Lindsay were married on December 29, 2007 and Micheal will be joining our staff as the new Youth Pastor. Be sure to welcome them to DeSoto Hills.

Well we have a brand new (web exclusive) video series called “Stories”, in this series we’ll visit different staff and church members and hear their life story. This series especially excites me because I enjoy getting to know people and hearing interesting facts and bits about their lives. I decided to start with my own, as you will see in the video I have recently noticed the massive amounts of new faces within our church family and many of you may not know how I came to be a worship leader at Desoto Hills and I wanted to share that with you. I hope you enjoy, we’ll have more “Stories” coming soon…

Marc Lewis

In Nicaragua, we’re not just building a house, we’re fulfilling a dream for families…the dream of owning a REAL HOME! With your support and in cooperation with Life Outreach International, our Homes for LIFE outreach will build 300 brand new homes for families and children living in extreme poverty.

These concrete homes are built to last a minimum of 25 years in the roughest weather conditions. To provide a home for only $3,600 means your gift goes a long way!

• $30 will help provide shelter, water and food for 3 months
• $60 will help provide shelter, water and food for 6 months
• $120 will help provide a home for a family for an entire year
• $1200 can be combined with two other gifts to help sponsor a new home, water and food
• $3600 will help sponsor a new home for a family, provide a lifetime of clean water and food for a year

Facts About Nicaragua:

50% of the population in Nicaragua lives in overcrowded housing with 3 or more people per room. Most do not own their own houses.

83% of the homes are self-constructed and built from scrap and other discarded materials. 43% have earthen floors.

75% of the targeted population is malnourished. 27% of the children are underweight, comparable to areas in central and eastern Africa.

The dirt floors and unclean water create a cycle of deteriorating health. Ear, eye and skin infections are prevalent in children and many of the water sources are contaminated, leading to cholera, dysentery and, in some cases, death.

Good housing provides the first steps toward better health and a better family life. Project HOPE homes will shelter a family from the environment with concrete floors, solid walls and a reliable roof, providing a place of rest and safety.