Pettus – Joy comes in many forms at Christmas. For many area residents, few things compete with the chance to see the eyes of a child light up and that beaming smile that says it all.

Three hundred people gathered at South Texas Children’s Home Ministries (STCHM) on Friday, Dec. 2, for the 51st Annual Christmas Party sponsored by the Blanco Association Baptist Men and Women. Twenty churches within the association sponsored 55 children with gifts and a whole lot more.

Members present from each church sat with the children their church sponsored. Homer Hanna, STCHM president and CEO, gave a warm welcome, and Becky Moore, STCHM director of student ministries, helped everyone get to know each other better during a jolly interactive game time. Bob Granger, from First Baptist Church Beeville, directed a time of caroling, assisted by a chorus line of jingle-bell-ringing little ones across the front of the stage. The program concluded with a blessing after Nikki Rojas dazzled the crowd with a special song.

Howard Kovar of First Baptist Church Mathis was touched by the events of the evening.

“Ten members of our church were able to come to the party, and when we got ready to go, Chace, the young man we sponsored, came up to us all again,” Kovar said. “He gave all the ladies a hug, and he shook my hand and said, ‘Do y’all have to go right now?’ I told him, ‘We will be back!’ He was so polite, and you could see all the way to the heart that he was so appreciative of the little gifts we brought him.

“It says a lot about the houseparents and their influence on the children. To drive up and see all the cottages decorated for Christmas and to know what South Texas Children’s Home Ministries has meant to so many kids over the years is really something. We as a church appreciate what STCHM is doing, and we are grateful to be involved.”