Our Suffering Savior By Nathaniel Gingrich
A personal Messiah, the Son of God, King of Kings, and Prince of Peace became a
resident of His creation. Those with whom he sought relationship, honor, and glory
rejected His message, His person, and His mission. Jesus of Nazareth faced the
ridicule and opposition of the governing bodies and the religious leaders. He was a
perfect Man in a world of iniquity and vice. In the war of the heavens the front-line
focused on the small Roman province of Judea. Lucifer’s opportunity to destroy his
enemy on home turf had arrived.
There is no one better acquainted with what the Devil can devise than the One who
created him. The Son of Man experienced the full onslaught of Satan’s wiles to
humiliate Him and cause his downfall. Jesus faced betrayal, violence, neglect, and
every temptation known to man. He intimately became familiar with the worst that
mankind will experience. His example while being violated by the creation He
loved so dearly cannot be surpassed.
Isaiah prophesied, “He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and ac-
quainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and
we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). This unique experience by the creator God
was His perfect plan to fulfil the promises of the next verse. “Surely, he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Our suffering Savior experienced
firsthand the griefs and sorrows of us all, and He conquered them all, so that he
could carry them all, for us.
Thankfully, Jesus desires to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows as we journey
towards Him. Only as we open ourselves up to Jesus and share with Him our hurts
and losses will He be able to apply the healing that will bring us back into right
relationship with Him.
The passage in Isaiah continues, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Often the pain caused by others blinds
us to the destructive, hurtful ways we have been relating to those around us. Jesus
cares about both, and for our spiritual condition to be made whole we must recog-
nize that he suffered and battled to not only understand what we have experienced,
but to also redeem the many sins we have caused.
Our suffering Savior dealt perfectly with the effects of sin in the world. Embracing
His example of humility, forgiveness, and love will empower us to surrender our
lives completely to Him.
Spring 2018 Volume 5
Aquila Villa A discipleship ministry and loving home environment for hurting girls
Purpose and Vision
To bring girls who are struggling into
purpose and fulfillment in Jesus Christ
To help them work through and deal
with life dominating problems
To help them learn and value discipline
and focus through a structured home
setting
To give them vision and understanding
of the joy of blessing and serving others
Aquila Villa is structured to minister to girls from homes that believe and
adhere to the 1963 Mennonite Confession of Faith.
We desire to see hurting girls brought into spiritual freedom and life in Jesus
Christ. Please pray for this ministry to our Anabaptist community.
Aquila Villa is an auxiliary of Charity Christian Fellowship, has an Advisory
Board, and is operating under a Board of Directors.
Thanksgiving Meal
“We are very much enjoying our family here at Aquila Villa.”
ADMINISTRATOR’S UPDATE BY MEL ESH
As of January 1st, another resident girl came into
our home. Then a few weeks later Naomi
Grimshaw from Syracuse, Indiana, joined us to be
a part of the staff of Aquila Villa. She is serving as
a matron here. Our home is now fully staffed for
which we are very grateful. Welcome Naomi!
In December one of the residents graduated and
went back to her community. We are grateful for
the work of God in her life. Also in December we
had a Christmas cookie fund raiser that was a real
enjoyment. The girls love to bake and cook. Their
record for baking cookies is a 1000 in one day. In
November we also had a Thanksgiving chocolate
candy fundraiser.
We are very much enjoying our family here at
Aquila Villa. We love the girls. Each one has a
unique personality. We have lots of good times in
our Bible discussions, singing and prayer times.
The counseling times are going well with the
matron sitting in on the sessions of her two girls
so that she understands the counsel being given
and then can come alongside the girls and further
encourage them. These matrons are a tremendous
asset to the ministry.
We have lots of good times of fellowship and
family time in the evenings. We play board games,
foosball or ping pong. Sometimes we watch a
documentary. Other times we sit around the
living room singing along with the piano or just
chat. Weekends we often have company or an
WELCOME
We welcome Naomi
Grimshaw as a matron. She
joins us from her home in
Syacruse, Indiana.
2
event, maybe a ladies tea or dinner, men’s
breakfast, etc. We do these meals only about once
or twice a month on a Friday evening or Sat
morning. This gives the girls opportunities to
serve. Some weekends we take the girls on
excursions, maybe to an ice cream shop, train ride
or shopping. At times weekends the girls have
visitors, such as family or friends.
Recently we got our home business up and going.
We’re excited about this project, as it is giving the
girls consistent focus in the afternoons. We will be
sharing more about this wholesale business in a
future newsletter.
Please pray that God would continue to anoint our
hearts, so we can be able to effectively minister to
these dear ones in our home. Pray for the matrons
as they seek to give the needed mentorship and
oversight. Pray also for Sadie Smucker who is on
staff as well and who does a lot of domestic work
and takes a tremendous load off my wife. She is
such a blessing to us all.
Pray that God would continue to meet our needs
according to His riches in glory through Christ
Jesus. To Him belongs all the honor, glory and
praise.
Tuition Benevolence Fund: The Aquila Villa tuition is intentionally lower then the cost of
service to increase accessibility, but, there are many among us seeking help that do not have the
means or support to afford the full tuition. If you desire to help in this area of need please
earmark your contribution “Tuition Benevolence Fund”. May God bless you for sharing.
STAFF REPORT BY SADIE ANN SMUCKER My perspective as a housekeeper.
Thanks to our Savior, love is there each day for us, to remind us we are never alone. My job consists
of LOTS of cleaning, food prepping, keeping fresh bread on hand, etc. I take a turn to make breakfast
once a week for all of us. My favorite thing to make is waffles. In the summer I do outside work like
lawn mowing, weeding the garden and watering flowers. I fill in any extra time helping with the
wholesale business. Saturday is usually my day off. I also like reaching out to one of our neighbors. I
enjoy being around the girls and speaking encouraging words to them. I am blessed to serve here.
PRAYER REQUESTS
• A matron by July
• Grace to minister
effectively to those in
our care
• Staff as they provide
mentorship / domestics
PRAISE REPORT
• For break-throughs in
the girl’s lives
• To God for continuing to
meet our needs
• Giving us wisdom and
grace in the startup of
our home business
OPPORTUNITES TO HELP
• Food Mixer (5+ Gallons)
• Office Laptop
The kitchen here is a very busy place! 3
RESIDENT’S CORNER BY CARLA
I’m thankful to God for allowing me to come to Aquila Villa.
I would like God to teach me to be more Christ like and more submissive and trust in him.
I came frustrated and angry and belittled myself, but God has shown me he loves me.
I know that I am in a healing process, but I know that God will see me through.
I enjoy my counseling sessions each week and the Bible studies with Mel and Barbie.
I also enjoy project time where we are working on the latest craft project.
I like working in the kitchen, we take turns making meals.
Please pray for all at Aquila Villa. Thank you for your support.
Thanksgiving Fund Drive
Christmas Fund Drive
Here is some of what we do for
afternoon project time. A 50 day
card in a bottle. (Fifty different
scriptures and poems in individual
capsules). We are now placing
these in stores.
More on this next time!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Leroy Smucker, Chairman
Old Order Amish 717.629.3915
Cleason Sensenig, Secretary
Mid-Atlantic Fellowship 717.278.0364
Nathaniel Gingrich
Mid-Atlantic Fellowship 717.572.7150
Adam Latin
Charity Christian Fellowship 717.403.0028
Mark King
Bethel Christian Fellowship 717.278.9287
STAFF
Mel & Barbie Esh, Administrators
Sara Lloyd, Matron
Naomi Grimshaw, Matron
Sadie Smucker, Domestics
WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Aquila Villa 6 Happy Hoof Lane
Ronks, PA 17572-9578
Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, chords that were broken will vibrate once more.
Give anonymously. Send and make checks payable to:
CCF Aquila Villa, 340 Rose Hill Rd, Ephrata, PA 17522
A tax-deductible receipt will be provided annually or upon request (e-mail
needed) when a name and address is provided. God bless you for sharing!