Stories

Good Neighbors At Christmas

By Heather Howard

To meet the demand for basic emergency needs in Lincoln, Nebraska, local Seventh-day Adventist churches established the Good Neighbor Community Center (GNCC) in 1973. Our mission is “Helping People Help Themselves.” The GNCC vision is to serve people in a Christ-centered atmosphere that meets basic human needs and provides culturally sensitive services, offering social, educational, physical and spiritual direction. Individuals and families are empowered with positive life-changing skills, making a tangible and intangible impact in the community.

We serve a diverse population of clients, including Iraqis, Iranians, Vietnamese, Africans, Russians, Yugoslavians, Hispanics, African-Americans and Caucasians. It’s imperative for the staff at GNCC to be culturally sensitive to our large clientele and appreciate diversity.

GNCC has several programs that assist the Lincoln community. We supply clothing, emergency food and household items to those in need. We offer ESL classes (English as a second language), GED and computer classes, a diaper club and many more outreach programs.

One unique GNCC program is the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Hope project, serving refugees and immigrants to the United States, many of whom are Muslims. We help them gain the day-to-day skills necessary to survive and thrive in a new culture. MENA also provides a variety of classes: healthy cooking, citizenship and parenting. MENA even sponsors a culturally appropriate women’s swimming class for Muslim clients.

Our Crisis Fund project is funded by the Building Strong Families Foundation of Lincoln, which provides a grant each year. These funds assist families in desperate circumstances, whether from an eviction notice or a notice of disconnection from a utility company. Because funds are limited, we are not able to meet all the needs in the community. However, we can and do assist two families a week.

Touching Lives

Each of our clients has a special story to tell. Amber has agreed to share hers.

One day after work, she stopped at her mother’s home. Finding her ill, she spent the night. At 2:30 in the morning, the phone rang. Her house was on fire! Despite heroic efforts of firefighters, when morning dawned, Amber’s house was gone. All her possessions were ashes.

Though devastated that everything she had worked for was destroyed, Amber determined to start over. GNCC became a lifesaver for her. We assisted her with emergency food, clothing, quilts and support.

Grateful for the services she received, Amber now volunteers at GNCC. She also takes our GED classes and excels in them. After receiving her diploma, Amber plans to earn a degree in counseling. Her goal is to be an elementary school counselor.

GNCC classes have brought Amber new hope. She sees them as the gateway to success in life for her and her children. Amber testifies that her life was forever changed by experiencing GNCC—and she’s not the only one.

During the past three years, six clients served by GNCC have been baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church, with more planned shortly. These lives would not have been touched if they had not needed help. God connected them with GNCC, giving us the privilege of fulfilling His calling: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you took care of me “ (Mathew 25:35, 36, NIV).

Heather Howard is the executive director’s assistant at the Good Neighbor Community Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.