1. This week I've received 3 letters which represent a common occurence at our church. One was from Musu Taylor-Lewis of Pregnancy Concerns. Musu mentioned to our church a while ago that Pregnancy Concerns was moving into a new location, but the building needed some work.
I didn't even know how the church responded until I visited Musu a while later. She happily showed me the new facility and told me guys from our church had done the wallboard work, electrical work, painting and flooring. Musu grinned from ear-to-ear as she thanked me for all the church had done. I was a surprised and very proud pastor.
2. A single widow in our church lives in a trailer that badly needed some repair work. Not knowing what to expect she called Linda at Northside to humbly request help. At the same time I'd been talking with Phil Ransom, who'd volunteered his expert services. We matched up Phil with Diane. Here's an excerpt from Diane's thank-you letter:
"Thank you" does not adequately express my appreciation for the help I received from Northside. Last June I phoned CMCH's (Canada Mortgage And Housing Association) RRAP (Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program) for help with 'floor repairs' and was told I was eligible for their help (max $15,000.00 for my location). I completed and returned their application (with copies of the required documents they needed) and received no response. I phoned to ensure they'd received my application (they had) but they then told me that they were 'out of funds now' and that I should reapply in March (2009).
I'm sorry for making this so long but I wanted you to have kind of an idea of why and just how much everyone's help has meant to me. Starting with our Prayer Group, Gloria & Marge's phone call to Linda, Pastor Barry's approval and ending with, not only the time and effort Phil put into working on my repairs, but the wonderful end result of all his labor. To start with, trying to find anyone willing to work on a mobile is a job in itself. Repair work on mobiles seems to be harder than on regular homes and on the smaller mobiles, some repair jobs are outright horrific. Mine was horrific.
The space Phil had to work in was a challenge in itself. But even more horrendous, and what I was really worried about, was the condition the underneath part of my home may be in - and the only way to find that out is for someone to actually crawl underneath the home to look at it. I've had many workmen who have done a lot of repair jobs after my place was flooded. The flood happened a year after Jimmy, my husband, died (Dec. 17, 1996), which was approx. a year after we bought this place. Phil is the 2nd person (since 1997) to actually crawl underneath it at least 3 times.
My bathroom was never elegant looking, but now, especially compared to what it was before Phil started working on it, is now really quite elegant looking. Phil did a wonderful job, I can't thank him and Northside enough, God does indeed 'work in mysterious ways' - my faith is constantly being renewed. Again, my sincere THANK YOU!
3. After that I received a thank-you note from Pastors Ponciano and Evelyn in Manila. The $8,000 that our children's church raised and gave to build an addition on the church built on a dump in Manila, has bene put to good use.
Thank you to Michelle Abdou for her love for the children she visited in 2007, and her inspiration and willingness to build the biggest building in their town. Here's the note from Pastor Evelyn:
Dear Pastor Barry,
I'm sending some photos for our church building construction. I have emailed Michelle and she was happy about the photos I've sent.
Next week we will be cementing the floor and hopefully by the last week of January we will hold our worship service in our new church already.
As you have seen the photos, the finished parts are the roofing made of iron bars and galvanized iron, the insulators to protect from the heat of the sun, the walls made of hollow blocks. The unfinished parts are the floor, the windows and the comfort room, the installation of electricity and water. After the flooring the construction will be stopped for a while and wait for God's provision for the unfinished parts. We thank the Lord for the people He used in providing the needs of our church. Once again thank you and God bless you. More Power!
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