First Baptist Church of Brookhaven is having its 10th annual “Tis The Season Dessert Banquet” Monday night to raise money for an orphanage in Ecuador.

The event will be at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall, and the church is asking for a $10 donation at the door. There will be a silent auction, and missionary Christy Hayes, who works in the orphanage, will tell the story of how she went from being an ambitious business woman to being an independent missionary at the orphanage with her husband Matt and their three children.

The event is coordinated by the church’s Women’s Ministry. Lay Leader Theresa Sones said the special speaker’s witness should not be missed.

“It’s an incredible story of how God puts people in our lives,” Sones said.

The church has had close ties with the orphanage because one of their church members started the orphanage. Pattie Sue Arnold began her path to Ecuador through mission trips with members of First Baptist.

Sones said Arnold named the orphanage Casa de Fe – The House of Faith. In the 1980s Arnold, who’d been an army mechanic stationed in Monticello, and was a single mom, went on several mission trips and fell in love with missions, Sones said. She ended up in Quito, Ecuador, and then in Shell where the orphanage is located.

Sones said the orphanage began when a special needs child needed a home there and Arnold took her in; then other children followed.

“She felt like this was what God was telling her to do with her life,” Sones said. She said the missionaries at Case de Fe do not work under any missions board or organization, so they are responsible for funding the orphanage themselves.

“Our church supports her a lot,” Sones said. “But, every year this dessert banquet is our special fundraiser to support her.”

The silent auction is from 6 to 7 p.m. and features a variety of items donated by church members. Sones said they will accept items up until the last minute.

To give a financial donation or an item for the auction, call the church office at (601) 833-5118.