Dear Friends and Family,

As you might have guessed from the picture on the left ….it’s Strawberry time in Virginia and our favorite grand daughter Emma loves to pick them in the field. She’s offering to share with you. Becky and Jerry , (with Emma’s help? ) picked about 17 pounds of the delicious goodness so we have been having strawberry pancakes, muffins, cobbler, syrup and pie. (There is no such thing as diets during strawberry season!)

We have been enjoying having our Canadians here in Virginia. We were able to have the whole family together for a few days in New York. Oz is crawling, pulling up and cruising, Emma has lots of new words, loves to dance and giggle. We are blessed with family! Getting together is always special especially since we live so far apart.

Charlie and I are looking forward to a break from the hectic pace of ETS. We were blessed to have lots of volunteers this past month. We were able to finish many big projects with their help but it also kept us really busy trying to stay ahead to make sure they had everything they needed to accomplish the task. This is a group from Florida (Tomocca Christian Church) that stayed with us for four days. They are wearing ETS tee-shirts that we designed for the group.

Another updated edition of the Missionary Resource Directory just went to the printer. This edition has over 200 ministries and individuals listed in over 30 areas of goods and services. God never gives us a task without equipping us to complete it. Many thanks for hours of labor to Margaret and Jerry Baron who stayed an extra week to help us out with this publication as well as Marty, and Pat who searched out websites and information.

I apologize for being slow in corresponding with you. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We would not be able to do what God has called us to do without your help and most of all your prayers. Please know that we value our partnership with you and pray for you also.

Blessings,

Charlie and Kathy

Dear Friends and Family,

We have been doing a lot of traveling lately. We were able to be in New York over Mother’s Day and spend the day with our kids. The weather was perfect and we were able to visit “ The Cloisters” and “Wave Hill”. Both were beautiful and we took lots of pictures that you will be seeing in our news letters. I’m of the firm belief that a beautiful back drop makes everyone look better. Thank you for your prayers for son-in-law Tim. His hernia surgery went well and he healed quickly.

We loved our time in Savannah. We were able to see many of you and visited with three small groups, one group that had been to ETS in March, and several people who are planning a trip to ETS either this summer or this fall. I got to be everyone’s favorite lunch date and Sandy Wagoner saw to it that I got to do practically everything on my “Savannah To Do List”. If we weren’t able to get to see you please know that we really did try.

We have been enjoying our time with Becky, Jerry, and Emma. Emma has grown so much since we saw her last fall. She seems to be growing right before our eyes. She loved the swing, wading pool and red wagon that Poppa got for her. Her Mom loves to go berry picking in the strawberry fields close to our home. Emma has discovered that strawberries ripe from the field are a sweet treat. Her poor mom has been getting lots of berry stains from her clothing. This week they are visiting Auntie Suzy and Uncles Tim and Andy. We will be going back up to New York in the coming week. Being able to spend time with the entire family does not happen very often so we are excited to be able to get everyone together. Look for an updated family picture in our next prayer letter.

We have been able to send over 5000 pounds of
summer clothing and shoes to a ministry in Kenya. They will be received by Well of Hope International, which is an organization that was established to work with widows and their children in the Kiserian and Ngong areas of Kenya. Their goal is to spread the love of Jesus by helping the neediest widows, their children, and also those orphaned by AIDS. For a better description, please go to their website at wellofhopeinternational.org. With the civil unrest after the elections in November, they have seen their needs grow immensely. The clothes will be given to the widows and children in that area of Kenya - some of whom came from the Rift Valley during the turmoil.

Another container was sent to Ethiopia that was filled with bed springs, head boards and end pieces . The beds were for a Mennonite Bible Seminary in Addis Ababa . These were purchased at auction from James Madison University, and we had to remove hardware from 400 beds so they could be palletized and moved easier.

We appreciate your prayers and financial support as well as your affirmations. We truly enjoyed our time in Savannah and it was wonderful to personally connect with so many of you. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as our work is physically demanding and Charlie forgets he is not a young man any more.

Blessings,

Charlie and Kathy

June 2007

The picture above is of our newest love, Emma. We are totally smitten by her charms and enjoyed the three week visit of Emma and parents Becky and Jerry. We were able to travel to New York to visit Auntie Suzy and the Uncles as well as travel to Virginia Beach to meet great grandmother and great Aunt Barbara. Their visit went all too quickly and we are certainly missing them now.

On May 19th I (Kathy) was hit by a car in a parking lot while walking to our car. The car was going about 15 mph and flipped me over the hood on my back landing on all fours on the payment beside the car. I took the brunt of the impact on my left knee. The MRI revealed that I had a bone bruise, torn meniscus cartilage and torn ACL tendon. I have been on crutches since then.

I had surgery Tuesday June 26th for repairing the meniscus. The ACL tendon supports the knee when making sharp, quick turns such as a basketball player, downhill skier, or ice skater does. Since none of these activities are high on my “to do list” now that I have permanently crossed off “stunt woman”, repairing the ACL may not be necessary. I will also be going to physical therapy after the surgery to regain flexibility and range of motion. Recovery time for this surgery is about three weeks versus 3 months for the ACL repair. We would appreciate your prayers for the surgery and recovery .

Those of you with children know how hard it is to get everyone together for a family photo. This was the first time we have all been together in almost two years. So here we are…..(with Miss Emma taking center stage.) The picture was taken in a park near Suzy and Tim’s home in New York.

Thank you for your continual prayers and support. We rely heavily on your prayers.

Charlie and Kathy