Vicki Knight has a passion for books and for serving her Lord, she says. Last year, after much prayer, God led Vicki to use her passion to help the boys and girls of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home.
MONROE – Vicki Knight has a passion for books and for serving her Lord, she says. Last year, after much prayer, God led Vicki to use her passion to help the boys and girls of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home.
“Vicki and Richard Knight’s ministry will impact the lives of our children for years to come,” said LBCH President Perry Hancock.
It started in early 2008, when First Baptist Church Franklinton began a missions emphasis based on Acts 1:8. The church members got busy and in just a short time, several projects began to take place, usually in nearby New Orleans.
“Many of the projects involved rebuilding in New Orleans,” Vicki said. “Wonderful things were happening, but I didn’t feel that was really where God wanted me.”
It was when Vicki read about preparations being made at the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home for a grand opening of the new Learning Center that she had an idea.
“As a former teacher and librarian, I thought I would call the librarian of the Learning Center and see if there was anything I could do to help,” she said. What she discovered after talking with Dr. Hancock was that there was no librarian!
After a few conversations and much prayer, Vicki said she realized God’s plan was for her to use her experience to help the boys and girls of the Children’s Home through the new library.
Vicki and her husband Richard made the four-hour trip to Monroe in early spring of last year to visit LBCH and see the library. It was the first time they had ever been to the Children’s Home campus.
During their two-day stay, the couple spent time most of their time meeting with staff and assessing the needs of the library, which was to be an educational resource center. Vicki began her list of things to do in order to get the facility up and running for the boys and girls: Sorting and processing books, labeling and getting the library computerized, ordering supplies – there was much to be done.
After their initial visit, Vicki and Richard made two-day trips almost every month for the rest of the year to Monroe to work in the library. Not only did they give of their time wholeheartedly, they brought volunteers with them! Over the past year, about two dozen volunteers from First Baptist Franklinton have come to Monroe most every month to work in the library. Not only have they gotten all the books in the new library labeled and processed (every book had to be handled three times) – they have worked in the old library, which has now been designated for fiction books.
“I just saw the need and felt God’s call,” Vicki said. “I feel blessed to be able to use what I know to help these children. Providing books and encouraging reading is so important for all children.”
The Children’s Home is grateful, CEO Hancock said.
“Vicki and Richard have provided an invaluable service to the Children’s Home,” the LBCH president said. “God was able to use her background as a librarian to help our children. The resources in this library are a huge asset for our boys and girls. We can’t thank them and all the volunteers of FBC Franklinton enough for their ministry to LBCH.”
Although many hours of hard work have been put in and the children are able to use the library, the project is still not quite complete. Vicki and friends have a few things left on their to-do list they would like to complete by this summer. They also hope to host some learning activities with the cottage parents and children to show them how to get the greatest benefit from the new library.
“God’s love is evident in the work of Vicki and Richard Knight and all the volunteers from FBC Franklinton,” Hancock said. “Boys and girls of the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home will benefit from their unique ministry for years to come.”