November 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

October was a very busy time for us, and we spent much of it on the road visiting family members. My sister Bev flew in from Chicago and together with our mom we drove down to Alabama for a mini reunion with my other sister Bobbie. They have a beautiful home and it was a wonderful time to catch up on all the family news. Charlie and I were able to meet our nephew’s wife and sons and enjoy some down time together.

I just got back from spending a week with our new grandson Oscar and his mom, Suzy. Tim went to an out of town conference, so I came to lend a hand . I had forgotten just how much time a new baby takes and how tiring sleepless nights can be. I took over the 4 a.m. shift so Suzy could get some much needed sleep. Oscar is a total delight and he and I had many long conversations, play time and extended prayer times. My sister Bev arranged for me to fly stand-by, which was such a blessing. The cost was minimal and it certainly got me over my anxieties about traveling alone. I was actually able to fly out of our small terminal here in Weyers Cave.

Charlie spent the week working at ETS and hopefully missing me. I was delighted and thrilled to see that he had finished some home improvement projects in my absence. I should “run-away-from-home”

We continue to replace windows every Tuesday with the help of our volunteers. We had a large group of 18 from Bridgewater College volunteer several hours of “community service” as part of their semester requirements. We are hoping the college will be a good source for more volunteers.

We have been enjoying a beautiful fall in the Shenandoah Valley. The trees are ablaze with color. God is such a marvelous artist and His paint box is limitless. I love this picture of our Emma playing in the leaves. Don’t you just want to jump in the leaves and join her? We are so excited that Becky and Emma will be able to join us for Christmas in New York.

ETS has taken the challenge of printing a Missionary Resource Directory that lists goods and services of various ministries . We have categories such as medical, water purification, HIV/Aids materials, computers, literature, shipping and many more. As you might imagine, it is a huge task that is never ending. We are printing sample copies to take to Global Health Conference in Louisville, November 13-15th. We would apprciate your prayers for this ongoing project.

November is a time of thanksgiving and we thank God continually for your love and financial support. We are looking forward to having the family together for Christmas in New York. Thank you for partnering with us and allowing us to work with missionaries from all over the world.

Blessings,

Charlie and Kathy

Dear Friends and Family,

Oscar Elijah Bomgardner arrived by emergency C-Section September 20th at 11:55 P.M. He weighed in at 7 pounds 3 ounces and could be stretched to 21 inches. He has his daddy’s dark hair and dark eyes, his mom’s sweet bow lips and her small frame. He has a sweet disposition and even smiles in his sleep. ( It looks like he is responding to angels whispering in his ear, not that I’m biased in any way!)

We were privileged to see him less than an hour after his birth and got to spend a week or more kissing his cheeks , holding him, and admiring God’s handiwork close up. Thank you for your prayers for his safe arrival . The new family is doing well and learning to adjust to little sleep, and how to “read” their newborn. Oscar’s Diva (me) cooked up a storm and loaded down their freezer with comfort food and muffins for the new mom.

We were able to complete the container for Ethiopia with the help of a ” Late Church “ group from Savannah Christian Church. It was really hard work but the group was blessed to work side by side with Carl and Vera Hansen (missionaries who will be receiving it). The group took apart bunk beds, loaded furniture, library shelving, fixtures, and items needed for the new men’s dormitory. Those that were not loading the container were boxing up items that would go on it.

Charlie and I felt like we had our own kids here and instantly “adopted” all of them. We tried to immerse this group into the Ethiopian culture and we all enjoyed trying Ethiopian food at the “Blue Nile” restaurant in Harrisonburg. We also gave them a taste of Mennonite cooking and ice cream at one of our local ice cream spots.

It wasn’t all work. They also enjoyed going through a corn maze and “Pumpkin Chunkin” ! (Do we know how to have fun or what?) They also prayed over the container before it left the dock and went on our “Prayer Walk” of the building.

We were also thrilled to have a group from Thalia Lynn Baptist church in Virginia Beach, Virginia come spend the day with us . This group vacations in the area and dedicates one day to work at ETS. The women boxed used clothing while the men went through bunk bed hardware, counted the brackets, nuts , bolts and assembled them together, so when the bunks go out they will have the coordinating hardware.

We are always grateful for volunteers especially those that come in on a regular basis. We have been able to send out several hundreds of pounds of over the counter products and medicine donated by local businesses, to areas hard hit by hurricane flooding. All this work takes many hours of labor to complete and we would not be able to complete any of it without the help of our volunteers.

Two of our weekly volunteers have been working on replacing the windows in our building. There are 104 windows in this old school building and we were very fortunate to be able to purchase new ones for $385 each. The windows are 4 feet by 8 feet so they are a challenge to replace! We are also installing heat pumps in the office and book room. These changes should help us this winter, especially as fuel oil prices keep climbing. Pray for the funds we will need for these improvements, and for the volunteers we will need to complete the project.

Our world has been hit recently with weather crises and financial crises. In these difficult times, it is important for us to be sensitive to the needs of those who have been impacted by these events. Please continue to pray for those who are hurting, and for us, that we will be able to creatively respond in appropriate ways to meet their needs. We know that you are praying for us, our work and our family, and we are eternally grateful for that support!

Charlie and Kathy