by Sarah Andrews
OBHC Communications Intern
A new cottage was dedicated at the Baptist Home for Girls in Madill June 2.
Dedication services for the new 13,000-square-foot Thompson/Mabee Cottage featured several speakers, including State Rep. Tommy Harden and Richard Thompson, retired president of Wynn Construction Co. Inc.
“We realized that it was a major task to accomplish a goal like this,” Thompson said. “God would have to get involved with all the people, and that’s what happened.”
This is the first new cottage for the Baptist Home for Girls since 1979. The “double cottage” houses 16 residents and three houseparent couples with their children.
Ricky Thompson, project manager for the new cottage, presented the residents at the Madill campus with a key.
“That key represents security and a safe, safe place to be,” said Tony Kennedy, president of Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children.
Reighna, a resident at the Madill campus, accepted the key on behalf of the girls living at the campus today and the girls who will live at the Madill campus in the future.
“A house is just a house until you put girls in it,” Reighna said of the new cottage. “The Home has served many girls who have come through, giving them many good memories that will last a lifetime.”
The Thompson/Mabee Cottage is part of Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children’s strategic plan to double the ministry to serve more children.
“Moving forward, there are girls we have yet to meet who are going to find a safe and loving place to live,” Kennedy said. “We are glad we are able to be a part of God’s great work and what He is doing in the lives of these girls today, tomorrow and further into the future.”
