I am so excited about so many things!!!! The Fredericksburg Satandard-Radio Post, our local paper, put a large article in this week's edition. It was deeply needed and deeply appreciated. We have to raise the awareness of events that we would like to provide the wounded warriors, because we need donations of time and money to make them happen. Secondly, we have finally made contact with the Naval and Marine wounded warriors. Most with whom we have worked with are in the army. I love the army and each and every soldier I have gotten to know. But, my husband is a retired Marine Lt.Col. and his one request was to make sure that we were helping the Marines as well as the soldiers. Yahoo! There is hope that we will be able to do that!!!!! Next, I got a call today from the EMS/Fire Department in our rural area assuring me that if we had any medical emergencies while the warriors were with us they could be there in minutes. They gave me an easy way to get in touch with them. Finally, there was what some people call a coincidence, but my friends and I refer to them as God-incidences. So many of our warriors want to go fishing. SO, we have been looking for a place where the guys,gals, and their families can fish. We were specifically searching for a place that not only had water and fish, but also was wheel chair accessible. I knew that the person I was talking to about EMS in our area was an outdoorsman. So, I mentioned the fishing idea to him. He said,"What a coincidence. I just leased my land with the creek running through it to the The Hill Country Fly Fishemen. He is going to help us get in touch with them. And guess what - he said he knew of several spots along the creek that would be easy for a wheel chair to access.

Christmas Cards for Wounded Warriors

I will never forget what I felt the first time I walked in the halls of the San Antonio Military Medical Center last December and saw so many young men and women so horribly injured from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. My heart felt a painful twist as I realized what they had suffered in serving our country. I so wanted to run to each one of them to tell them that they were loved and so deeply appreciated. The friends who accompanied me felt the same. The feeling that blossomed in our hearts had to be expressed in some way. Christams was just a few weeks away. So it was natural for we stampers to desire to make each one of them a Christmas card. A call was quickly made to determine how many cards we would need. The number was so much larger that we expected - 1,000. However, it never occurred to us not to try. Some people told us it couldn't be done in the short amount of time we had. Even though we didn't have the money or the time to make all the cards by ourselves, with a lot of prayer, we decided to make a stab at getting it done. We sent a plea out to our community to help us pay for the materilas and assemble the cards we had designed for those very special warriors. We set aside a Saturday and asked the people to come with their families and help us assemble the cards. Based on other stamping events we thought 25 people might show up. We decided we would work from 9 AM - 2 PM and get as many of the cards done as possible, figuring that we would have to burn some midnight fuel to finish the cards not completed. We all agreed that if there wasn't enough money we would pitch in to cover the cost and for some of us that was a huge leap of faith. What an awesome card making day it turned out to be!! More than 60 people came, ranging in age from 6 months to 85 years. Each one of them wanted these young people to know they were not forgotten, that they were appreciated and that they were in the prayers of people thay had never met. Over 1,000 cards were made before noon. Truly we saw a miracle that day. And so, we are asking God for that miracle another time. This year we are going to try to make 1500 cards. We will meet at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 1800 North Llano, Fredericksurg, Texas on December 8th, 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. If you are reading this we ask you to pray for our success. If you will be in the area come join us. If you are able, send us a donation -even one or two dollars will help.

The Warrior and Family Support Center

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We were amazed at the beautiful facility built for the wounded warriors at the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC).The entire building was donated due to the efforts Judith Markeltz and others. The building is called the "Warrior and Family Support Center", otherwise known as WFSC. This center provides coordinated services to patients, next-of-kin, and extended family members with primary focus on Wounded Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Warriors. It is a place were the warriors and their families can have a small respite from the grind of all kinds of treatments. The troops can enjoy video games, all kinds of classes, great food,select a book or video to enjoy, participate in counselling groups, make a phone call or just enjoy a cup of coffee. It helps extend the warriors rehabilitation, which involves learning to cope with war related disabilities as individuals, as couples and as families.

Judith Markeltz We met this incredible lady in November, 2011. We were so blessed that she allowed us to start teaching a card making class at WFSC

It is hard to believe that Wounded Warriors at Nebo ministry is celebrating a year of service! The ministry started with four women who felt that God was asking them to serve the wounded warriors and their families who have sacrificed so much for their country. The ministry has grown from four women to an interdenominational one which is under the auspice of the Fredericksburg United Methodist Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. It has been an amazing journey and one that I think is time to share. Three of my friends and I felt that we had been called to reach out to our wounded warriors to assure them that they are appeciated and loved. We are all at the "grandma" stage of our lives and the sight of our injured young people pulled on our heart strings. We all wanted to invite small groups of them for a respite week end in the Hill Country of Texas. We wanted a chance to tell them that we care about them. We really didn't know how to get started, but God always seems to step in and make things possible. My husband came home one day to inform me that Judith Markeltz,the Director of the Warrior and Family Support Center at Fort Sam Houston, would be speaking at his Rotary club. He wanted to know if I wanted to be his guest to hear her speak. Well, you know what my answer was - a resounding YES. All I could think of while she was speaking was that I needed to run to the front of the room to talk to her as soon as the meeting was over. I could hardly wait to tell her that some of us wanted to host a few of the warriors for a week end or two in the Fredericksburg area. After my sprint to the front, getting in line to talk to her, eyeing her every minute to make sure she wasn't going to escape, and finally facing her and sharing our wonderful idea, I was disappointed when she told me she didn't think they would come. However, being given a direction and goal, I don't give up easily. My brain quickly went over her speech, trying to see if my friends and I could help the warriors in any other way. She stated that she was always looking for craft classes to offer. Well, I have very talented friends - some of them are more than crafty. SO I offered our services. She didn't give me an immediate yes, but was willing to hear what we had to say. So,as soon as possible, I asked my buddies if they would be willing to show off their talents in an effort to teach a craft class at the Warrior and Family Support Center - fiber art, painting, stained glass, card making, etc. Once they said yes, we made an appointment with Judith. We were about to begin our journey.