Packages delivered!

St. Lukes- Woodlands Family Birthing Center

We took a round of packages to the hospital today!!! 

What a blessing to be able to provide these items for these precious families!

We dropped off 25 comfort bags at St. Lukes in The Woodlands. 

In our comfort bags we have a copy of  the books I Will Carry You and Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow. These books were lovingly donated in our book drive in February by so many amazing, loving people. In each book we put an "in memory" label for each person who gave in memory of a baby. Gideon's Warriors also included a CD of music, a candle, a beautiful piece of jewelry made by a dear friend of mine who lost her daughter 21 years ago, some tea, seeds to plant a garden, a card, some resources and a letter written from me to these newly bereaved mommies. I pray and hope that these items really help heal the hearts of these mommies who are just beginning their lifelong journey of grief.

I know, for me, it was so amazing to be able to have something in my hands after I got home that I could look at, listen to, wear and read after Gideon passed away. Reading books and listening to music and having jewelry that reminded me of him was truly a gift.

Lord, I know you will walk closely by each family who receives one of these bags. Let them know You are near. Be closer to them than their very heartbeat. Give them the assurance that their baby is with You, in Your arms. And Father, if some of these families do not know You, show them that You are real. Bring them into a relationship with You. You are so good. Be the balm to our broken hearts.
I love you.


We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort that God gives us. -2 Corinthians 1:7

Books and Bucks

I haven't posted in a long time! I realized I never posted pictures of the books that were donated! We had over 100 books donated for Gideon's Warriors and many of them were given in memory of precious babies who have passed away. These books will be included in the items we are donating to the local hospitals. We are still getting together all the other items and will be donating them for Gideon's 2nd birthday in May!

These books are going to bless so many families. It will give them a place to go, to read about hope. To read the stories of other women who have had a baby die as well. And they will be able to see that there is hope after loss. And these books will help them to grieve. God will use these books to mend the hearts of these sweet parents. It will help these families in ways that we will never know. I know that after Gideon died, I plunged into reading books. I would read a few pages, weep, cry, scream and then read some more. Some of the deepest anguish I experienced was while reading, but also, some of the most hope that I had was while I read these books and the Bible. It was an incredible time of heartache and hope. God used these books in my life as a balm to my aching heart and to bring me closer to Him. I have no words to express my gratitude to everyone who donated. These books will help so many families. Each person who donated a book has participated in something great. Truly.


We also were given an amazing donation by the North West Houston Mom's of Multiples group. They held a fundraiser in memory of sweet Carter Bickford and raised money for Gideon's Warriors as well as NWHMOM Hartman-Bickford Memorial Fund. I cannot thank them enough!!! This will bless so many families in the area. We will be able to help more people because of this donation. Its so amazing! I have no words for how blessed we are and how incredible this will be. It will reach so many people for years to come. It is amazing. This will touch more lives than we even realize. Thank you, Angela Bickford. I remember Carter always. 

Book Drive

We are doing a book drive!

If you want to help, but you do not know how. This is it! 

We are including books into our care packages that we are giving out to the mommies and daddies of babies who have passed away. These books will bring healing to the hurting hearts of these parents. I know for me, it was beyond incredible to get to read the story of someone else's loss and see the way God made beauty from the ashes of their heartache. 

The two books we are including are I Will Carry You by Angie Smith, and Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow by Nancy Guthrie.

In the days following Gideon's death, I sat in my couch and read the book I Will Carry You and two books by Nancy Guthrie. I wept until I couldn't breathe. But as the tears fell and my heart was in agony, God used the book to draw me closer to Him. He used those books to bring me comfort. And He spoke so clearly to me as I read the words on the page, drawing me into his peace. 

I want to give that to other mommies and daddies. 

Help us give peace and comfort to hurting families. 

Our goal is to get 50 of each book! Help us reach our goal!!! 

Go to this link to order some books through amazon on our Wish List. Choose the book you would like to order, if you want, you can order both. Then click the Add to Cart button. After that, if you wish to change the number of books you want to order, you can do so through your Cart. Then click Proceed To Checkout. Make sure to click the button Ship to This Address that is above my name, Stormy Mitchell. It will automatically ship the book to us.

Also, if you are buying this book in memory of a baby in Heaven in your life, please email me at gideonswarriorsministry@gmail.com and let me know the name of the baby you are remembering and your relationship to that baby (mom, dad, aunt, grandma, sister, cousin, friend, etc), and the date of their birth/death. I would be honored put the baby's name in the front cover of the book. 
Example :
This book was given with love by Gideon's mommy and daddy.
Gideon Mitchell born still 5/17/11 

Hats

I had a special knitted hat that I was able to put on Gideon after he was stillborn. Knowing that he had something to wear was a great blessing to me. He looked so sweet and cute in his little white hat. I still have his hat and it is beyond precious to me. It was one of very few items that belong to him. One of the very few items that he wore. One of the few items that touched his skin. One of the few tangible things in this world that remind me of him. One of the few things I can touch, hold and cuddle.

Every item that belonged to him is priceless. And each parent who receives a special hat for their baby to wear will be able to have the same tangible piece to remember their child. 


 Here are some of the beautiful hats being made by one of the most kind women I have ever met. The families who receive these hats are going to be blessed so much to be able to give their baby a special hat to wear, made with love. 

 "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 

1 John 4:11

This Ministry

My name is Stormy.

I want to introduce to you a ministry God has laid on my heart. This ministry will reach people in my community who have lost a baby before birth through miscarriage, stillbirth or who have had a baby die in infancy.

You see, I am one of those people.

My son was stillborn.

We were pregnant with our first son and were just a month and a half from our due date. We were so excited to be welcoming our first child soon! We had tried to get pregnant for three and a half years and this baby was truly a miracle from the Lord. We had his baby shower just the day before. I noticed he hadn't been moving, so my husband and I went to the hospital and were told the words no parent should hear “I am so sorry, your baby has died.”  We cried and prayed to God for peace. Two days later, I delivered a beautiful little boy with curly strawberry blonde hair. He was perfect. Fearfully and wonderfully made. His name is Gideon. We named him after the Gideon of the bible and his name means "warrior."

At the time, I didn’t realize how many people I know who had lost a baby. Since then, I have been told story after story of women and men who I know that have lost their baby, or a sibling, or a niece or nephew, or a grandchild.

1 in 4 pregnancies end in a loss, through miscarriage or stillbirth.

In the US, every 20 minutes a baby is stillborn.

1 in 160 pregnancies end in stillbirth.

26,000 women experience the loss of a baby after 20 weeks pregnancy which results in the baby being stillborn.

About 600,000 women experience a miscarriage every year in the US.

Approximately 5 out of 1,000 babies die in the first 28 days of life.

Another 2 babies out of 1,000 pass away within the first year of life.

It is impossible to describe the pain you feel when your baby dies. After the baby is born, you have to try to cram a lifetime of memories in a few short hours. You will never get to see their first steps, hear their laugh and see their first day of school, their first ball game, their graduation, their wedding, and future grandchildren. The whole life you have planned is gone. And now you have to plan their funeral. It’s agonizing.

But, the amazing thing is; there is still hope. God never leaves our side. He makes beauty from ashes.  That is what this ministry we are starting is about. Giving people the hope of God.

This outreach is called Gideon’s Warriors.

It is our mission to provide care packages to the mommies and daddies in the local hospitals in the Woodlands/Conroe Texas area that will meet some of their immediate needs. Most parents go into the hospital totally unprepared for the death of their child. We want to provide clothes that will fit for the babies, hats and blankets and cloth diapers for the babies to wear. We want to give jewelry for the mom that will help her to remember her baby when she looks at it, books that are written about baby loss that will help them to see they are not alone and that will point them to Jesus. We will also provide a list of resources that will help them after they get home, as well as other items for comfort.

Another aspect of our ministry is to do one on one counseling for the parents, or just go have coffee with the mom or dad to just talk.  We also have some plans to expand the ministry in the future to help meet other needs of families. One of our dreams is to provide scholarships to the local families to help cover the cost of their baby's headstone or urn. In the next year or so, we would like to have a 5k run or a concert to help fund this scholarship.

Do not worry, you don’t have to be able to sew or knit hats, clothes and outfits to be able to help. We do need those people But we need many different types of talents, if you can organize, make phone calls and contacts, donate money or items,  help plan events or pray, you can help. 

We need your help. 

If you feel like you want to help these families in our community, please contact me at gideonswarriorsministry@gmail.com

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. -Revelation 21:4