God has blessed the start of our new school year (#6) in marvelous ways! We have four new students and 5 on the list waiting to begin in January. The Jubilee Theme for this year is, "Walking By Faith" and that is what we are ALL trying to do! All ages are memorizing parts of Hebrews 11 while learning about each "faithful follower" God tells us about – this morning we learned the lesson of Enoch who was so faithful for his 365 years of living that God asked him to take a walk with HIM and they left this earth and went straight to Heaven. Everyone looked for Enoch – but, he was gone! Wow – some walk huh?!

We are so excited about our new website – our wonderful friends at FGP (Find Great People) drafted their friends at StoneSoup Technology in GA to update and re-create in a more professional site, our info and history. You can also follow us through pictures, videos and segments found on the "Heartworks Jubilee" Facebook page that one of our highschool volunteers set up for us – wow!

Todd is moving into a cute condo on Lakeshore Drive, in between working at Jubilee all day and coaching football at A.C. Flora each evening. (We are still looking for a few pieces of furniture to add to his eclectic collection, if anyone has anything in a "parting pile" – smile.) He will have a "Ballgame watching party" soon – no "housewarming" for him, he says.

Mr. Sultan’svan finally died, after being stolen twice and found on the side of interstates in other states – the head gasket blew and that was the last straw. We are glad he lives close enough to school to ride his bike and/or walk to Jubilee, but he is looking for another "ride" to get him to CIU for his seminary classes. He has a great attitude about it all and is loving his classroom, his students, his churchwork and CIU! Our men are looking forward to a wonderful YEAR!

Laura Registerhas settled into the younger classroom now that Anna Sharp moved back to Converse College for her graduate degree in Counseling. Mrs. Register’s young men have been "knighted"  and are steadily working to finish the leggo castle and their shields of FAITH! The growth level is amazing – new progress is made every day! Mrs. Wattis at Laura’s elbow and is training her in the Montessori methods that are working so well for us.

Mr. Bullockis coming daily to work with some of our younger boys and has such an influence! His presence makes a difference! He also reminds us every so often that he was trained to kill people in the military…just in case discipline is needed. ha ha! Mr. Vernis continuing his "handiness" in any way we need him – he can fix ANYTHING which reminds me of my daddy! What a blessing he is and continues to be – such an encouragement to all of us, with his dry sense of humor. His brother died recently – please join us in praying for the family.

Cindy Webband I are trying to hold the office together and get lunch on the table each day. (Speaking of lunches…Sandra Steele, Eric and Aaron’s mom, is handling our lunch calendar and has tons of openings for anyone who will donate lunch for 25.) Our most trying challenge seems to always be funding and trying to keep up with the monthly expenses – we spend time in fervent prayer and now ASK YOU to JOIN US! We were so excited when a friend pledged 3 years of salary for us to hire a Development Manager who will be able to write grants, go after funding leads, expand our donor base and build relationships with corporations who might support our efforts – We’ve interviewed SEVERAL folks and believe that we have found the RIGHT person with a heart for our Lord, a heart for this ministry AND good experience in fundraising and development in SC. (Jennifer Hall) Please pray for her as she starts at a trot! 

Please join us in fervent prayer and FAITH as our Zoning Court datewas "continued" for the third time, as we wait in expectancy for God to work it out – even before actually going to court. (Forest Acres gave us a zoning citation for this Eastside property. Apparently a mistake was made by the Forest Acres officials who misinterpreted the P-1 and P-2 zoning codes – we are only allowed to have kindergarten on this site, not all of Jubilee Academy. It was thier mistake and we will see how God works it all out. We have a good attorney and are trusting GOD!) 

We also ask you to PRAY for a boost in funding to bring us up-to-date in several areas. Please spread the word that we have students who are WELL WORTH the investment of scholarships for their tuition, which would help tremendously! The investment in the life of one of our student scholarships has AMAZING BENEFITS! ($10,000 per year)

I (Sandee) have recovered nicely from my little "lump" surgery in the spring and have had a great summer taking kiddos to camps and visiting with my mama in the mtns. I love so much! Our first week of Jubilee was spent in the traditional way – in a marvelous house in Montreat where we stayed in the creek much of the time. What a blessing it is to be able to take my children "home" and expand their comfort zone – they relax and truly experience God’s PEACE and the best sleep of their year on that trip!

We hope to involve more volunteers and develope more sincere donors for this year and the future – our vision for Jubilee and Heartworks continues to come into focus and IS AMAZING! I trust we will be stabilized in our "EXCELLENCE BUDGET" soon and can again DREAM of afarm towards the mountains for our families to learn on!! We hope to see God do powerful things THIS year to "grow" us, to "mold" us and to "perfect" us for HIS GLORY!

Please join us for lunch,  soon – we eat at 11:30 and love to have company. Please give us a call or an email to schedule a good day for you!

Many Blessings,
Sandee Hensley

(Updated 10-6-2011)

We need Boxes, Clear or tinted plastic bins w/lids, and PEOPLE! We have a big truck on Thursday and Saturday and NEED PICK-UP trucks on Friday.  SATURDAY we’ll meet at Jubilee (Crescent Hill) @ 9:30am.

We are sharing Eastside Baptist Church at 1410 Sunnyside Drive in Forest Acres. Turn off Forest Drive at Blockbuster and Miyos – It is a precious location with wonderful shade trees and lots of room for us! God has richly blessed us!

I am in NC with little ones who are attending Camp Cedar Cliff Day Camp and staying overnights at my mom’s. Last week, Jada, Johnetta and Robert went to Hickory Cove Bible Camp and loved it —except Johnetta broke her foot and had to come home for surgery!! yikes! She was a trooper ! Robert stayed on to work on the jr. staff for a few weeks before going to the SC Governor’s School for Arts and Drama 2 week summer Discovery program. We pray that it will go well and will lead to “real” Gov. School for his Jr. and Sr. year of high school, down the road. He is now starting 9th grade. Isaiah and Aaron are spending the week at a beautiful horse farm in Rock Hill, SC with our Mr. Cameron. They and Asia and Amaya will go to Hickory Cove in July. Amaya is with Shandon youth at Kids Jam Camp. Whew!

Todd is handling things like a pro – the air conditioner is out at Jubilee so of course, he is working other places until we find someone to help with that.

Our staff is living sacrificially for sure – The Board and I paid off a large debt for us, back in April which made it necessary for me to get my SC teacher retirement money out. After paying my part of the debt, I’ve been subsidizing the ministry – I haven’t been able to pay staff since end of May – I’ve gone without pay since April. One teacher cashed a paycheck they did get, and gave it back designating it for camp for his students. Wow! What a blessing it is to work with others who are so mission-minded and living with faith that God will provide for all needs. Please pray that we will be given the $35,000 which will finish our fiscal year in July EVEN! We want to start our new school year well -

Aug. 11 will bring us back to Jubilee with some new students in the lower elementary age group. Anna Sharp will begin her Montessori training and will take on the new little ones. Abile Sultan will work with the upper elementary group and team teach with Anna and Todd on Art, Music and special projects. Todd will be the Academic Coach for the middle and high group of 4: Johnetta, Jada, Robert and Amaya who will attend some classes with the homeschoolers at their resource center. Mrs. Carolee Watt will begin 2 new classes for us: Infant/Parent and Toddler/Parent. Both will meet weekly at our newly renovated center in the alley of apartments on Waites Road. (Faith Court, formerly gates of hell)

Please pray as we work toward excellence and influencing more families for Christ and His ways! It is our true desire to see changes in the welfare dependent values and mindset which will enable our children to fulfill the seeds of promise, God has planted in them!

We thank Teresa Ruducille for all her help and support as we learn from her to “make our case” in an excellent and organized manner, for fund raising. Our new school year’s budget will include a savings plan of 3 months of expenses and still be under $399,000.

We thank Debbie Zveineik for her visit and her funding through her husband’s foundation. We are blessed by those who believe in our children and families and in the ministry we are doing.

Please pray as we search for other foundations and corporations who would join in our work!

I especially want to thank April Allen for all her love and support – her mind races with amazing ideas that will help others. The Jr. League Ladies are a GOD SEND! They have fed us for these last weeks and have provided such blessings over and over! I had no idea how much wonderful work that group could do – it’s mind boggling! Ladies, we love you!

Please pray blessings on The Daughters of The Cross and the Trinity Bazaar in November – they are choosing to bless us with part of their earnings. Wow! We are making crafts to sell and will be there at a table to participate in this great event!

Please pray as the Lipscombe foundation considers us for a grant – I was tickled at how many personal connections I have with the family: one sister has moved to Black Mtn. (my hometown) and they have always summered in Montreat. I pray that we will build a relationship that will be a blessing to both sides.

We continue to get nice comments about the Reach Out Columbia! March article. “Todd is so good-looking”, “Todd is so huge”, “Todd is such a blessing”, etc. YES! YES! YES! Pray for him as he seeks God’s will for him in our work. He IS the ONE the children want to be LIKE!

Blessings to all -

We are resting in the shadow of the wings of the Most High – He is ABLE to handle ALL we care about!

Jubilee Academy Gets Donation from Taco Bell wltx.com | Columbia, SC News, Weather and Sports |.

Todd was Grandma Doll’s favorite thing in LIFE! She was so very proud of him and hung on to life in serious pain and terrible circumstances to see him graduate from college. What a day that was!

From that May day in 2005, the other mothers of our Heartworks Ministry kids came to me wanting the same for their own children. All that getting ready for college requires, and being zoned for failing schools led me to Leviticus 25 where God said to me, “It’s time for my children to have a Year of Jubilee and be set free!”

So…Todd is how Heartworks started on Waites Road in a little house dedicated as a safe haven for children in a desperate, generational poverty area. Todd having come from the “gates of hell” alleyway originally and our little Heartworks children living there is how God bonded us to that area. Todd graduating having overcome so many challenges and obstacles is why Jubilee Academy was created for others to follow after him.

God has been preparing Todd for years to lead many others out of a life of generational poverty, into freedom in Christ and a life of Biblical values and middle class status. He is the hope for this next generation in this part of the “hood” of Columbia.

He has been involved regularly even though he’s been living and working in Greenville for Schneider Tree Service. God is bringin him back to help raise money for Jubilee and to fill the Assistant Headmaster position. Todd will be THE ONE to head up our Farm School Project – we are looking for a place to live with our teenagers who desperately need to get away to finish preparing for higher education and their futures.

Please pray for Todd as he makes this transition and as he raises his salary and support for the entire ministry. What a blessing and a Joy to have him more often! The kids can hardly WAIT! They absolutely adore him and listen to him more than to anyone else – including their moms.

Todd and Isaiah at Camp Cedar Cliff - what a picture with a message!

Todd led us to the falls and kept us from falling in!

Todd and girls making cookies from scratch!

Eric was scared to death of the butterfly - Todd stepped in!

I finally got a REAL Clemson gift for Christmas!

Todd is now taking younger ones to FCA retreats he used to attend.

We’re gutting and starting all over in our duplex on Waites Rd.

All new windows!

We are having some great times with the families and volunteers from Radius and Shandon! What a blessing to have some people with a heart for the “hood”.

The older kids class took a special trip during fall break to work on some Life Skills and get out of town during the State Fair. Each year, we are reminded that Brandon’s best friend was shot and killed at the Fair in a gang shooting. It’s getting more and more important to stick close to our teens because of all the “worldliness” that is trying to smother out their light!