July 6, 2006
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Today was our monthly clothes give away at our little country church. There were a lot of new faces that we haven’t seen before. The majority of the people who come for free clothing are Spanish speaking so I’m very thankful to be able to share the Gospel through Spanish tracts.
I pull a long ‘horse’ trailer full of tubs and bags of clothing, toys and blankets. Thankfully, the church is just around a few corners from my home so I don’t have to be skillful in maneuvering a big trailer. I can take up most of the country roads without bothering anyone since there is very little traffic.
We had 7 women and 4 teenage girls (and one baby) turn out to help sort clothing. Four of the 7 women are over 70 years old! Isn’t that amazing? And they work just as hard as the rest of us.
We set up work tables along the side of the trailer where it’s shaded from the sun. We put more tables and tarps out towards the front of the street so the people have plenty of room to sort. We have a sign placed on the street that says FREE CLOTHES in Spanish and English. The sign has made a big difference in the amount of people that stop. Before, I think they might have thought we were having a garage sale.
This is Miss Emma Lee inspecting a piece of clothing to make sure it’s acceptable. She is one of our hardest workers and has belonged to the church for more years than I can remember! I told her that I hope I have her strength when I’m her age. She said she wants to give her time in serving the Lord as long as she can.
This picture shows a few of our people sorting clothes along the side of the trailer. You can also see the people looking for clothes by the church.
This precious family lives next door to the church. We have been ministering to them for nearly 2 years. We are finally seeing some fruit for the Lord. They have allowed their two children (the boy and girl next to their Mom in the wheel chair) to attend our Sunday school and also Wednesday night vacation bible school. The children are the only ones in the family that speak English so we continue to pray for a Spanish speaking pastor to reach the family.
Here are a few of the adults who helped today. The ladies all bring a dish and we have a pot ‘blessing’ at the end of the day. Today we served spaghetti, garlic bread, fried squash, potato salad, watermelon and pears.
This is our youngest ‘worker’! Her face is red because she smeared watermelon and spaghetti all over it! She couldn’t understand why we were laughing at her!
Such a sweet doll!
Ministry day at our church is my favorite day of the week next to the Lord’s Day! I love our church and thank God continually upon every remembrance of it! I thank God for moving us to this little country town where we can serve God by serving His people.
Comments (23)
What a wonderful ministry! We live near a large Hispanic community and I always wish I could speak more than a few words or phrases…Have a great evening, dear friend…With much love and many prayers, Paula
Ahhhhhhh, so glad you pointed me back to see the pictures…I would have hated to have missed those!!!!!! What a precious group gathered today to share the love of our beloved Savior…I am reminded that “others will not care how much we know until they know how much we care!” Thanks for being HIS hands and feet today…Love and prayers, Paula
Hi Georgene, I’m Carolyn ~ I just came over via Paula’s site, and I’m so glad that I did! What a blessing! I just kept reading back to several posts. I love the beauty of your blog, and the ministry that you have among your neighbors. I noted that you (as I do) referred to your daughter-in-love!
Have a great day. In Christ Alone ~ Carolyn
Paula’s birthday isn’t until today – i.e.- Friday, July 7th… so you haven’t missed it! The book Triumph Through Tragedy is an autobiography of Robert P. Lightner, an author, Bible conference speaker, and Assoc. Professor of Systemic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary. It is a very thin book, thick with blessings!
My favorite types of literature (I’m a reader, from a family of readers) are historical fiction and biographies (esp. Christian); and also devotional books of all kinds (think Max Lucado, Phillip Keller, etc.). Oops, I got a bit carried away! 
~
Ahhhhhhhhh, thanks for the birthday greeting! And I love your new profile pic! I am so glad to get to “see” you…You are truly beautiful–inside and out! With much love and many prayers, Paula
Great Post! God bless you!
Cynthia
I looooove your background and your profile picture is just beautiful!
I would love to hear more about your monthly clothing give away…what an awesome idea!
xoxo Cat
A Blessing & delight to read your site. God Bless!
What a great ministry! Thanks for sharing!
It’s great to actually “see” you! You look MUCH younger than my mind had imagined. I guess when I hear you talk about your grandchildren, I imagine someone much older. LOL
I love the fact that you all are ministering to the people AROUND you instead of feeling the only mission work is across the ocean somewhere. If all the Christians were missionaries where they live, what a difference this world would be! Keep on keeping on! =)
God bless ~E
I feel inspired to go try the same thing at our church…lots of needy people in the area…so….it might help our outreach in the future….thanks
What a wonderful idea…thank you for the pictures also.
That is a wonderful ministry! I’ll add that family in need of a Spanish speaking pastor to my prayer list as well. God bless you!
What a beautiful ministry, Georgene. No doubt many people were touched by the love of Christ through your church.
TAYQ – I don’t see why not – we’ll have to coodinate my work schedule with Pam’s (and your availability). I have my schedule about two seeks ahead, so give me a couple of target days to look for.
Mrs B
I love the “Look and Feel” of your site, especially the new and surprising profile pic. I, too, expected you to look older than you do. My lands. You look so young and vibrant – too young to be a grandmother. The clothing project is such a neat idea. Bless you for reaching out to the community in so many different ways.
Bless your hearts- What a wonderul ministry- soft hugs- Marilyn Christine
What a blessing to be part of that ministry. It’s such a great feeling to have, when we are helping the needy. God bless you, and great job driving the horse trailor. Blessings, Monique
I enjoy your site very much. I have been inspired many times by the thoughts you’ve shared.
God bless your ministry!
My life is starting to settle down a bit….somewhat after a move!!! I am so glad you commented on my site, and I came back here to see this post!! You ARE a missionary worker already! Don’t let anyone tell you that you are only a wannabe! God gave you a ‘hand-picked’ ministry almost literally in your back yard.
On Wednesday, I took my son to the local playground/ball fields to play. Bordering the ball fields are railroad tracks, and across the tracks is a large farm. We are located in a very fertile part of the state, with large retail producing farms, grape vineyards, etc. I noticed that there were a group of migrant workers working in the fields. I’d be interested in hearing about your/and your church’s outreaches to the spanish speaking community, including the migrant workers.
I will also add the need for a spanish speaking pastor to my prayer list.
I also am going to go backtracking thru your posts and try and play ‘catch-up’.
God bless you and your church for being God’s hands and feet in a very practical way. I see people just like those you serve on a daily basis. I am the director of a Pregnancy Care ministry that is one of seven ministries of New Life Mission here in Hamilton, Ohio. New Life is all about ministering to those in need. Hamilton also has had a great influx of hispanics in the last five years. At the pregnancy center we have two bi-lingual counselors that see clients on Thursdays. The word has really spread through the community that this is a place where they can come for help. May God continue to bless all you do!
I’m right there with you in the feeling old department! I keep saying that I am trying to grow old gracefully but I’m not so sure it will happen. Lol We also have another daughter who just celebrated her 22nd birthday in May with me. I guess there is only one alternative to growing old and that is not to pleasant to think about, so I guess I will just struggle with aging. I have already out lived my father who died when he was 46. So, there is a hint as to my age! Lol So is your 26 year old son married? I’m still trying to find a good Christian man for our daughter. Ofcourse she keeps hoping I will stop trying because it never works out. Lol Everyone always thinks she is still in high school when in reality she is a 4th grade teacher. Her father and I keep telling her that one day she will appreciate looking younger than she is.
It was good to get caught up on your site after six days without Internet! I was up early this morning, so had time to read my Xanga friends sites.