It’s September and it will soon be the first birthday of a very special young man in our life. We look over the tremendous impact he has had on us and we wonder how we ever survived without his sweet smile, kisses and adoring looks. I love this picture of my “boys” on the porch swing sharing secrets, swapping stories and no doubt Poppa Charlie is teaching Oscar about nature, cars and trucks or the value of having the right tools for any job.
The cooler weather brings out the color in the leaves and lots more volunteers. We are expecting some large groups in October to come from Florida, Michigan and Georgia who will spend several days with us. We are hoping to get some major projects completed while we have several professionals ( window installers, plumbers, and carpenters) with us.
Charlie is currently working on gathering items for a print shop in Ghana, locating medical furnishings and a solar power system for a clinic in NE Haiti, refurbishing office machines and sound equipment, and many other projects. My day is spent sorting medical items, gathering information for the ETS newsletters , doing publications, and communicating with volunteer groups. It’s not glamorous work and there are very little rewards except for the smiles and excitement of missionaries being able to get much needed supplies at little or no expense. We exist to stretch the missionary dollar.
Yesterday we had a visit by a member of Congress! Well, not from our capital in Washington, DC, but from the national legislature of a South American country! He had heard about our ministry in his country, and wanted to connect with our work to be able to better supply church leaders in his nation. We look forward to helping him get the resources he needs for his people.
Occasionally we get donations that head almost immediately to the dumpster. Today we received a box of clothing that was saturated with cigarette smoke. It was so strong that it was making the gym smell bad, as well as the clothing around it. I was forced to discard it. Part of our daily responsibilities here are in gently teaching people what is appropriate for ministry in the developing world, and what really needs to be just discarded or recycled.
Thank you for taking a peek into our daily life. We are able to do this ministry because of your faithful giving and prayers. Let us know how we can pray for you.
Grace and Mercy,
Charlie and Kathy
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