Page 5 - MOY Journal_2020

Missionary of the Year

Sis. Tonde Aikens Hewitt

(SMITH-THOMPSON A.M.E. ZION CHURCH)
SIS. TONDE RENEE AIKENS HEWITT was born to parents Helen and
Seymour Lloyd Hewitt. She is the second of five siblings. At the tender age
of seven she began to sense the love of God and the promptings of the Holy
Spirit to seek out Jesus the Christ and him crucified. Although she was
raised under the admonition of her mom who was and still is a Jehovah
witness, she sensed the tug of Jesus to call on Him for her salvation. From
the age of twelve, Sister Tonde always felt a special kind of love and
compassion to help others. Sister Tonde has in her past checked in and run
errands for her elderly neighbors. Sister Tonde has ministered to those
forgotten and forsaken in the nursing homes, prisons and drug rehabilitation
centers in Harlem, New York. Sister Tonde has prayed and took in strangers and family members in her
previous residences to help them till things got better, assisting all with the help of God’s grace. In 2020,
she helped with “Deborah2 Sisters”, visiting those with COVID-19 and delivering well care packages.
Also, she delivered to two of our current members Thanksgiving baskets. Sister Tonde does not consider
herself a missionary but an ambassador of Jesus the Christ. Her main mission is prayer. Her motto is,
“Without Christ there is no Life!! No prayer no power!!! Little prayer little power!!! Some prayer some
power!!! Much Prayer much power!!!” She lives to serve others because of Christ.

Debora Hynds-Smith
(CALDWELL TEMPLE A.M.E. ZION CHURCH)
“My life is like a garden, complete with flowers weeds dirt and thorns. I believe
the seeds that are planted early on will years later become the flowers, plants and
trees to later sustain you.” Whatever my garden has produced has affected my life
in some way and continually shapes my character in some way, my prayer is that
it is for the better.”
DEBORA HYNDS-SMITH was born in Honduras, CA. and lived with her
Grandmother her sister and extended family, on the Bay Island of Roatan.
Debora was reared by her grandmother. Debora believes, that she is the
product her larger “Island” family. The family’s strong Christian teaching
and beliefs has been foundational. She can vividly remember listening to
the preaching and teaching of various family members. She migrated to the
US with her grandmother and sister to be with her mother and other sister in The Bronx. Debora recalls,
from the time she can remember, she has been a regular attendant in church, whether it was in Honduras
or at the Caldwell A.M.E. Zion Church in The Bronx. Debora believes, it was as if her mother uprooted
her from one garden and repotted her in another! Debora is an active dedicated and devoted member
of the Caldwell A.M.E. Zion church and community. Although Debora has served in various roles and on
numerous committees, her favorite and the one she’s most passionate about is the Christian Education
department and the Missionary Department. Her membership here helped to shape her future. Debora
attended Junior Church, Sunday school and Friday Night “Fun Night”. This was a time of sheer fun and
laughter for all of the youth in the church community, wholesome fun and sugar gone wild! Debora
references her early life at Caldwell as a time of growth, exposure, transitions and influences. Debora
believes her Christian life was further developed under the influence of strong in the Faith “church
mothers and fathers”. Debora’s overall growth is to God for His faithfulness and mercy. Debora recalls
her years as a Sunday school student, which she still does, then later as teacher, now currently in the
role of Sunday school superintendent. Debora, along with other members of the Sunday school and
Christian Education Department, conducted Vacation Bible School for many years.

NYC District WHOMS  Saturday, May 29, 2021