The Santa Clara Church had occasion to celebrate Nov. 17, 2007. Samantha Shipley, church member and Laurelwood Academy student, was celebrating her 15th birthday just after completing months of chemotherapy. A year earlier, she underwent surgery for a tumor. More than 120 family and friends attended her party, enjoying pizza, birthday cake, games and a pie-eating contest.

In other church news, ladies there, have been making quilts for families in Oregon and around the world. Most recently, eight baby quilts went to an orphanage in Sri Ram Ashram in Northern Haridivar, Uttarkhand, India. The orphanage has 66 children and teens, ranging from newborn to 20 years old.

Julianne Reed, a registered nurse and caregiver at the orphanage since 1993, said, "Children will be so happy to have the warm, bright quilts through the cold winter." Whenever she visits the U.S., Reed takes as much clothing and needed items as possible back, to the orphanage.

Ladies at the church have been quilting for five years. Recipients of the quilts have been local families and shelters. Quilts have also been sent to Hurricane Katrina survivors as well as to families in Russia, Mexico and El Salvador. Recently, these same ladies gave a full-sized quilt to be auctioned off at LAA and brought in $400 for the upcoming academy's mission trip to Mexico.