President's Report

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

A seven-year-old girl went to the mall to see Santa. When it was her turn to tell

Santa what she wanted, she gave him a Styrofoam cup filled with change. She

told him that she didn’t want anything. She said the money in the cup was from

doing some work at home, and that she wanted someone in need to have it.

Santa was a little surprised by the little girl’s generosity and her request. He set

the cup aside until it was time to go home. He thought about putting the money

in the Salvation Army kettle, but then he thought he would bring it home. When

he got home, he told his wife the story of the little girl and the cup, and he said he

didn’t know what to do with it. They counted the money, and it came to about

three dollars and seventy-two cents. This Santa did not go to church, but his wife

did. She said that she would take the money to her pastor and give it to him. So,

on the Sunday before Christmas, she gave the cup to the pastor and explained the

circumstances saying she thought this was a special cup. Now the cup with the

change in it sat on the pastor’s desk. At the Christmas Eve service, he took the

cup and set it at the front of the church. He told the story of the little girl wanting

the money to go to someone in need. During the service, people came forward

and added money to the cup. After the service, the money was counted, and it

totaled three hundred and seventy-two dollars. Now the pastor was not sure

what to do with it. Right after Christmas, he called a pastor who was starting a

church in the inner city of Atlanta. He asked him if he knew anyone who could use

the money. The Atlanta pastor said that there was a man volunteering his skills in

renovating an old house they bought for back taxes. They were turning it into a

church. The pastor said that he would like to give him the money. The pastor did

not know that his helper had a car payment due the next day, and he did not have

the money to pay it. When the check was presented to the volunteer, he cried

out, “Isn’t God good!” several times. The check was for the exact amount he

owed on the truck. This story is true and took place in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The churches and pastors involved in this story were in the district where I served

as Conference Superintendent. No one knew the identity of the little girl until the

pastor who had the cup wrote the story, and it was printed in the newspaper.

The little girl and her parents came forward, and they learned the path their

daughter’s cup had taken and how it was used to help someone in need.

It Is almost the end of the year, and you will soon be getting the Tuscawilla

Homeowner’s Association Membership Dues invoice. Please respond right away.

We need you to be a member. I can’t tell you how many Tuscawilla residents told

me that they needed to pay their dues but just didn’t get around to doing it. We

are a voluntary homeowners’ association, so no one has to pay their dues. But, if

you like living here, you know that you have someone working to keep this

premier Central Florida Community a wonderful place to live. The dues support

our magazine and pay for our insurance. The funds help promote community

events, pay for our website, and cover administrative costs. With all the increases

we are experiencing, your dues just cover your Association’s expenses. Your

Board of Directors are all volunteers who believe in community service, and they

believe that Tuscawilla is a way of life we all want to preserve. I want to thank

each one of them for giving their time and talent to Tuscawilla. Our Board of

Directors consists of Kim Coburn, Roger Monroe, Chris Waguespack, Tony

Bolyard, Cindy Guiles, Carlos Luengo, Greg Smith, Sue Beveridge, and me. I also

want to thank our Tuscawilla Today editor, Elaine Johnson, for her amazing work.

May each of you enjoy this Hanukkah and Christmas season.

Dr. Kurt Miericke

THOA President

Publisher/Tuscawilla Today

Email: THOAws20@gmail.com