Wingard Home has been plagued for the last month with lots of viruses, flu, and strep throat. We are quite sure that we are not the only ones who have been fighting this fall flu season. Many of the schools in the area have had the same thing going on. We are “seeing daylight” and are praising God for the victory. As I catch up on my paper and “cyber” work, you will notice the Christmas plans and projects being posted and just in time, I might add.
Thank-you for all of your prayers through our tough times. I will be getting a “total ministry update” to you all in the next few days.
November Projects include some of the following suggestions:
1) The House Next Door: We have recently obtained a two story house that adjoins the ministry property on the south side of the Chapel. The house must be cleaned out, stripping out the bad wood, sheetrock, etc and renovated according to code. There is a 10 foot wrought iron fence that has to be cut, dug-up and rerun on the opposite side of the house. Talents needed are electrical, carpentry, demolition, painting, sheet rock mudding, general clean-up, plumbing, HVAC, fencing, welding, tree removal, insulating, and flooring. There will also have to be some minor ground moving of the surrounding yard– filling in the low areas and pushing down the high places – landscaping. We would like to finish the house up with vinyl siding and a metal roof – talents in roofing & siding.
2) We have a small playground started, but would like to add to the chil dren’s area with lots of physical play options. The keyword with this pro- ject is “sturdy” to the point of being virtually indestructible. The project would involve planning, producing, and implementing the play areas. In the photo is what we have so far– our population has included up to 26 children at one time….so you can see why this is not sufficient.
3) We have an ongoing project in the men’s dorm that will include some carpentry, sheet rock mudding and sanding, and painting (cut-in & rolling) to finish up the men’s dorms and the family dorms. 4) We have an unfinished library in the commons area of the ministry. The completion of this area will require two different types of labor.a) Carpenter to raise the front entrance door, level the floor, and finish around the inside entrance
b) Flooring talents to lay the plywood, backer board, a wood floor
c) The other project talent in the library area, would be to gather some bean bags or juvenile type seating so the children are drawn to the library area. We want someone to take on the task of making the library area bright, inviting, and user friendly to children, teens and adults in the Home. This will involve talents in interior design & decorating, and organizational skills.
5) Tear Down & Replace a Barrier Wall: The old decaying crossties on the North side of the ministry propertyact as a barrier wall to keep the yard and fence from eroding into the street. This whole area needs to be redone (removing the rotten crossties and replacing them with landscape stones, concrete and rebar, or crossties in good shape)
6) Cook A Meal: We serve supper every night at the ministry. We prepare for 40 people and serve at 6 p.m. On Sunday, we serve at 5 p.m. and have church at 6. You can split up a pre-determined menu and cook things separately at your homes (like you would a “church social”); then all bring the meal to the ministry and serve the meal, eat with us, and clean up the kitchen afterward. -OR– Bring the things you prepared and leave them for us to serve. –OR– Bring the things you prepared, serve, eat with us, and then have a short chapel with us. The sky is the limit! You could even bring ingredients for whatever you plan to serve and come together as a group in our kitchen to prepare the meal.
7) Adopt A Dorm Room: We are almost ready to move the men back into the renovated men’s dorm and need groups who are interested in supplying bunkbeds (man size metal), mattresses, twin sheets and comforters, heavy-duty chests of drawers, footlockers for shoes (and other such items), and pillows. We will also need the same for two rooms in the women’s area (only in “feminine” color scheme) & no footlockers. If you want to throw in some color-coordinated towels & wash cloths– we will count our extra blessings.
Christmas: At Christmas, we do all sorts of “extra” stuff for the children and less-fortunate families of the tri-county area. We strive the reach the folks who are not able to get help from anyone else, because of their situation. I am enclosing a Christmas brochure with this mailing to give you an idea of how these projects would have a lasting effect on this area’s needs. 9) Anytime Volunteers: An inner city ministry like this has many, many different opportunities for you to help. We welcome you to set up time slots in your schedules that would be best for you and reserve that time with us. Whether it is an hour, or several hours: once or twice a week or once a month, you will be able to touch so many lives for the better during the time you spend here as a volunteer. The tasks include everything from minor “fix-up” to raking leaves: examples are washing dishes, organizing food pantry, sorting donations, painting, baby sitting, tutoring, reading books to children, cleaning, doing office work,……..and the list goes on and on.10) Take on an Apprentice or Student: If you have a talent or a trade that you could share, then share it with one of the folks here at the ministry. For instance, singing, playing an instrument, welding, knitting, drawing, painting, dance, etc. are all talents or trades that you could share.
11) Organic Garden: We really need someone to come and build and set up a compost area and oversee it. We always have a need for herbs, fruits and vegetables. A lots of time folks will give us fruit & veggies that have rot mixed in with the good. We could keep the good and place the bad in a compost heap.
12) Birthday Volunteers: Here at the ministry, we try to make birthdays a very special time (especially for the children). If we could have some volunteers to be on standby, we could present a list of all the birthdays for the upcoming month and then count on you to come and bring the party with you. That would mean, bring the cake, ice cream, treats, gifts, or whatever you will. Making folks feel special in times of trouble is a very necessary part of the healing process.
13) Do A Drive Or Scavenger Hunt for Supplies: All the things that we use to help folks with come from folks like yourselves. Some examples of fun and helpful drives include: cleaning supplies; canned food; cereals and breakfast foods; personal hygiene; men & women’s underwear & socks; laundry supplies; winter coats, hats, and gloves; feminine hygiene and beauty supplies; or bedding supplies.
14) Thanksgiving: The season of parties and get togethers is upon us and what better way to help someone and share your favorite family holiday recipe, than to sponsor Thanksgiving Dinner for the home. When you are baking all those special treats, entrees, and sides for your Thanksgiving table, just make an extra for the ministry’s Thanksgiving table. These folks won’t be going home or to grandma’s house for the holidays, because for most, this will be their home and family until they can get back on their feet.
THANK-YOU FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO EXPLORE THE OPTIONS HERE. CHARLOTTE 601-906-1976