Newsletter ~ February 2009 SERVING INNER-CITY YOUTH & FAMILIES IN

THE DOWNTOWN ATLANTA AREA

Written by James Walton (age 15)

My name is James Walton and I

have been a member of Ms.

Justina’s after school program,

summer camp, basketball leagues,

and football teams since I was 7

years old. These programs have

had a great impact on me for so

many years because they have

kept me out of trouble, and off of

the streets hanging around bad

influences in my community.

I like this program so much

because it helps me keep my

grades up and is a great influence

not just on me but on other kids as

well.

If I didn’t join this program who

knows what bad influences I would

have been around. I probably

Testimonials From the Kids would have been walking the

streets with my friends and

everything but there are some

extra curricular activities that are

keeping me off of streets and

around bad things.

I have even been to church with

Ms. Justina and her family on some

Sundays. I think of them as a part of

my family as well because I have

known and been around them for

so long. I have also been trying to

keep other kids off of the streets

and ask them to join too. My friend

Russell now helps out and plays on

the team because I told him what

we do.

“If I didn’t join this program who knows what bad influences I would have been around.”

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I am now a 15 year old freshman

attending Maynard Jackson High

School and I am still a part of all of

these programs. In two more years

I hope to become a Job Trainer at

summer camp and will always be a

part of it.

(Continued on page 2)

We moved into our new ASP home in January of 2009!!!

Summerhill Community Ministries, Inc. February 2009 ~ Page 2

Written by Markeesha Arnold (age 12 )

My name is Markeasha Arnold, and

I have been in Summerhill program

ever since I was nine years old.

Mrs. Justina is like another mother

for our after school program. The

three years I have been here Mrs.

Justina has been nothing but careful

to us.

(Continued from page 1)

Written by Bianca Smith (age 11 )

Hello my name is Bianca Smith and

I am 11 years old. I have been

going to Summerhill Community

Ministry for 6 years and they have

been the best years of my life. I

have participated in the summer

camp, after-school program, soccer

and many other activities. This has

made a great impact on my life

because Ms. Justina has taught me a

lot about the Bible and God’s word.

I have made a lot of friends and

being around Ms. Justina is like my

mom and I love her for that. All the

teachers here are nice and caring.

These are my wonderful

experiences in my life in the

Summerhill Community Ministry.

Thank you for donating the funds needed to purchase the wood chips for our playground!

Written by Edrek Brooks (age 14 )

Hello, my name is Edrek Brooks. I

have been going to Summerhill

After School Program ever since I

was 6. If it wasn’t for Summerhill I

would probably be on the street or

in a gang.

Written by William Bland (age 13 )

Hello, my names is William Bland. I

have been going to the after school

program for two years and I’ve

been to the summer camp when I

was four years old. At these places

I’ve made a lot of friends. One of

my best friends here is Ms. Justina.

She was my best friend when I was

a baby. She took care of me when

my mother was at work. She gave

me a home, a bed and food.

P. O. Box 160294 • Atlanta, Georgia 30316 • 404-964-4604 • justinascm@juno.com • http:\\www.summerhil lcm.com

February 2009 ~ Page 3

An Update From Justina Ashley & I had good mother and

daughter time on the way to Morris

College in South Carolina before

Christmas. On my return drive after

break, about an hour into Georgia,

my heart seemed to skip a beat and

began to race. Short of breath, a

little light headed, nervous and

praying I worked my way into the

slow lane and took some deep

breaths. Finally on the side of the

interstate I called Ashley and asked

her to pray as well. Even after

several minutes my heart was still

pounding. “Ok Lord, I need you

right now! I’m out here in the middle

of what seems like no where, and I

am asking You to please help me in

Jesus’ name.”

“You’ve been up since 4am this

morning. You’re just tired and need

to rest when you get home. Just calm

down and think of calming things.” I

thought of water fronts, my

granddaughter’s smile, my favorite

worship music, and so on. After 20

more minutes my heart rate was

down. I could actually feel when it

stopped racing and returned to a

normal pace--but feeling also very

tired as if I had run a mile or two.

Praising God for being alive and His

merciful answer to prayer, I made it

home in the next hours and went to

the after school program. After

going to bed early, I woke up in the

wee hours of the morning with my

heart again pounding. I knew that I

had to go to the doctor. But by 6:30,

after trying to calm myself, I was so

tired and out of breathe that I could

barely make it to my nephew’s

room. Justin got the boys dressed

and took them to school for me.

After Jeremy was off to school, I

called the doctor who said to come

right in.

Why not straight to Grady

Memorial? You must have a real

emergency for them to take you

soon and a written notice from a

doctor can lessen your wait time. I

also heard of heart palpitations and

knew that they felt serious, but were

very common and not as life

threatening. I had to be sure I

needed the emergency room.

After the doctor examined me, he

didn’t waist any time. My heart rate

was 150 beats per minute even after

calmly waiting an hour to see the

doctor. Forbidden to drive, he sent

me to the emergency room. James

stayed with me and I persuaded

Emanuel and Justin to help me by

carrying out the After School

Program that day.

There were many people at Grady

Memorial. As I sat there taking small

breathes and trying to stay as quiet

and still as possible, I saw a mother

bring in a very small baby wrapped

in a white sheet that was dripping

with blood. The mother was covered

in blood and the dad was almost

delirious with grief. I began to pray.

Another woman came in from Duluth

GA. She was limping and had cuts

on her face. She was in a car

accident and was taken to a hospital

in Duluth, but they told her that her

injuries were not life threatening

and that she would have to go to

Grady because she did not have

insurance. I quickly learned that

there were many people in this

waiting room who were there

because they did not have

insurance.

The stories went on and on. There

was another young lady who we all

watched vomit over 25 times in a

pan, while her older sister tried to

comfort her. I wished I could have

given her my place in line.

It took about an hour for the intake

process. I was finally called back

and soon after admitted into the

hospital.

Around midnight my pastor, Mike

Higgins, called on my cell phone. He

said that many people were praying

for me and that I was going to be

alright. I felt at peace and believed

just that. He told me no one was

allowed to come back to where I

was, but he was in the waiting room.

Pastor Mike prayed for me and then

began to pray for all of the people in

the waiting room, which was pretty

full. I remember thinking how God

used him to send up prayers for

these people who clearly were in

need of prayer. I became full and

began to thank God.

The results were back pretty soon

from the many tests. The blood test

revealed that I had high cardiac

enzymes which only appear when

your heart has undergone an attack.

Then they labeled me a cardiac

patient who had a mild heart attack. I

was on a heart monitor, blood

thinner, aspirin and a high blood

pressure medication for the next 4

days. While in the hospital, other

tests were taken. My EKG, stress

test, and chest ex-rays were fine, no

plaque build up, no diabetes, and no

high cholesterol or glucose levels.

My blood pressure was good, (and

that’s because I’ve been taking a low

dose HBP pill). Adding more whole

grains, veggies, fruits, green tea and

lean meat to my diet in 2008 was

paying off!

The team of cardiac doctors was

very attentive and explained how

(Continued on page 4)

“Then they labeled me a cardiac patient who had a mild

heart attack.”

February 2009 ~ Page 4 Summerhill Community Ministries, Inc.

P. O. Box 160294 • Atlanta, Georgia 30316 • 404-964-4604 • justinascm@juno.com • http:\\www.summerhil lcm.com

V-Day Celebration there was no actual damage or

lacerations to my heart which

usually occur as a result of a heart

attack. One of the women in midst

said, “That was God!” My response

- “Yes it was!”

The doctors told me that although I

have made better changes to my

diet, I also have to rest and need

exercise regularly. I was sent home

with orders to bed rest, daily aspirin

and high blood pressure

medication, and follow-up monitor

visits.

In retrospect, I know that I had been

wearing myself down for some time.

My mother reminded me of what

I’ve been doing this last year.

Besides taking care of my family and

working in the ministry, I’ve been

primarily taking care of her

household and her physical care

since she had surgery in March of

2008. For those that don’t know, this

was when she caught staph infection

and it started a series of surgeries,

resulting in the loss of her hip. She

has to have 24 hour care and has had

to adjust to a different way of life.

When it comes to a sick parent, you

do what you have to do to make sure

they are taken care of. This meant

often filling in when my siblings

could not make their shift. Sleep

and rest became less and less.

Nevertheless, I appreciate God’s

gentle reminder that I need to take

care of this temple He has so

graciously given me, or I’ll be of no

good to anyone. A dear friend told

me the other day that “life is

precious”. May we never forget this

and try to live it as well as we can -

spiritually, mentally, and physically.

(Continued from page 3)

I want to sincerely thank all of you

that prayed for my family and me,

sent an email or text message, and

called. It meant a lot.

Thanks goes out to my sons -

James, Emanuel, Justin, Joel and

Jeremy, who took care of me so

well during my recovery, and also

kept all of the ministry programs

going.

To my church family, Redemption

Fellowship and to Pastor Mike and

first lady Renee Higgins, thank you

for taking care of my family and me

with such care. Thank you for all of

the meals, prayers, visits, phone

calls and cards.

To our faithful after school program

volunteers from Christ Church and

East Cobb PCA, Anne Burlas, John

and Anne Buchanan and family,

Sally Doster, Anna Winter,

Rebecca Niederfringer, Elisa

Bennett, Lisa and Shelby Robinson,

Mamie Hite, Bunny and family,

Sallie Gustafson and family and

others. You ALL were a real

blessing to the kids in the ASP, and

they were so glad that we did not

have to close our doors during this

time! Thank you for helping the

program to run so smoothly.

Thank you to Danny Wuerffel and

Desire Street Ministries for your

prayers and for being ready to

step in at any given moment with

more help for this ministry.

I did not have to worry about

anything during my time of

recovery because God had placed

dear friends and wonderful people

in my life. I was reminded of God’s

love toward me, through His

people. Thank you all for this gift.

Justina Dix

“I appreciate God’s gentle reminder that I need to take care of this temple He has so

graciously given me…”

“I was reminded of God’s love toward me, thorough His people.”