Barbara Kilby, Paul Gonzales and Claudia Moore

Lupe Martinez, Cody Glasgow, Abel Hernandez, Susana Maldonado, Travis Hernandez, Alberta Hammond, Maria Vargues

We want to commend two women, Barbara Kilby and Claudia Moore, with the words Paul used to describe a woman named Dorcas. She “… was always doing good and helping the poor.” Barbara and Claudia (and all of their volunteers) are truly letting their lights shine in the community as they help feed the poor and hungry and “hold out the Word of Life” through ECHO, the ministry that they began in June 2011.

E.C.H.O. stands for Eastwood Church Helping Out. The Bible tells us the Holy Spirit gives gifts to all God’s children for ministry. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)

We began our ministry in June 2011. This was just one way for women to have an active role in the church. We are fortunate enough to purchase our food from the West Texas food bank with monetary donations; the food is sold to us at a reduced cost since it is used for distribution to low income families in El Paso. “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11)

Every month the number of families that attend our ministry increase and we never cease to meet new families or see new faces. People will actually begin gathering an hour before our doors are scheduled to be opened, as there may not be enough food to serve everyone that attends. The amount of food that we are able to donate would mean nothing to the average family, but to the families we are able to help, you would think that we were passing out gold. Each family receives two bags of food; one with dry goods such as pasta, cereal, rice and beans; the second is with various canned goods. This amounts to around $20.00 worth of food. Occasionally, the food bank has free food which may include pizza, meats or fresh vegetables. Paul Gonzales gives a short lesson before the food is distributed. Our ultimate goal is to show Christ’s love and power through our services. We have been able to touch the lives of people to the point that a number of them have asked to be baptized after attending our ministry.

We have wonderful volunteers and have been blessed with more help than work. If you are interested in seeing this ministry at work, please join us as we serve every 3rd Saturday of the month.

May God Bless Everyone

Claudia Moore and Barbara Kilby are in charge of this ministry. Please contact them for more information on ECHO.