Aquila Villa · 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.

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!