Mike Sciacca It was a hectic Saturday...

Mike Sciacca

It was a hectic Saturday for Jessica Marr and Erika Plummer last

weekend, going from mixing it up in the water to mixing ingredients

with water.

The two Huntington Beach High students, both varsity water polo

players and starters, traveled to San Diego County with the Oilers to

participate in the Poway Tournament.

As soon as the tournament action was complete, the girls hopped

into their car and headed back to Huntington Beach, arriving late

afternoon to get ready to begin their next big endeavor -- a “Cookie

Ministry.”

The ministry, which the two high school seniors describe as a

“calling from God,” is to reach out to every family in Huntington

Beach by going door to door, dropping off a New Living Translation

Bible and some chocolate chip cookies.

Their drive began last Sunday, but the two did not do it alone.

They had the support and delivery services of friends and volunteers

from local schools and churches.

“It went really well,” said Marr, 17, of that first day’s delivery

service. “Some people just took the Bible because they didn’t want

the calories from the cookies; others took only the cookies because

they said they already had a Bible. Some houses took both. If someone

wasn’t home, we left the packages on their doorstep.”

A Bible, and anywhere from six to 10 cookies, were delivered to

each of the two housing tracts the crew visited in the vicinity of

Adams Avenue and Magnolia Street.

Marr, who went on a missionary trip to Africa two years ago, said

she initially cooked up the idea of the Cookie Ministry after

noticing how Plummer, her close friend, had always been baking

cookies and handed them out to friends around school.

The gesture always had a positive effect, she said.

“I took that idea to a local youth pastor, and he said he would

pray for me about this ministry,” said Marr, a member of Seabreeze

Community Church in Huntington Beach. “He got back to me and told me

to ‘go for it.’”

“From there, I e-mailed different youth pastors from different

churches in Huntington Beach. I went to one of the pastors’ monthly

meetings and got the word out. That was toward the end of July, and

now it has become a reality.”

Teamwork has fueled this ministry.

Beginning with a 10-member crew last Friday night, baking sessions

took place in local church kitchens.

On Saturday, the Plummer household was one of two homes to

volunteer use of their kitchen. A 40-member crew went about busily

baking the goods.

In all, Plummer said that about 10,000 cookies were baked that

weekend.

“I’ve been making cookies for such a long time, but never have I

baked so many at once,” Plummer, 16, said. “We had such a good time

and we feel this is such a worthy and important ministry.”

Ingredients for the cookies came from various donations, including

local food stores. They bought in bulk from Costco and spent $400 for

ingredients.

“The cost for chocolate chips and butter can really add up,” Marr

said.

The California Scholastic Federation at Huntington Beach High, to

which Plummer belongs, donated $150 toward the purchase of

ingredients, she said, and Sav-on Drugs store donated 12 bags of

chocolate chips.

One thousand New Living Translation Bibles, “How to Find God:

Living Water For Those Who Thirst,” New Testament -- some in Spanish,

were purchased through a donation from the youth money fund at First

Baptist Church, where Plummer is part of the congregation.

“We had so many people come forward to help, and that really is a

blessing,” Marr said, adding that they are determined to carry though

with the ministry to a city that boasts about 50,000 homes and

200,000 persons.

“We’ve only just begun. There’s still a lot of baking left to do,”

she said with a giggle.

Plummer said the Cookie Ministry plans to deliver packages again

sometime in January, noting that the baking and subsequent deliveries

takes up an entire weekend.

But the fortitude of Marr and Plummer have won people over.

“We are really impressed with their vision and what these two

young women are tying to do, and that is unite local churches, and

kids, together,” said Bill Staffieri, a youth pastor at First Baptist

Church of Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley, who purchased the Bibles

for the ministry. “To tell you the truth, initially, a lot of the

adults thought what Jessica and Erika wanted to do would be

impossible. But their belief in this ministry has captivated everyone

involved.

“This is something that is good for our neighborhoods and in terms

of reaching out to the community,” Staffieri said.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.