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What do you do when you want to help someone in
need and your own resources are limited? Tell people. That’s what my husband
Alan and I did this year to help with a Christian outreach called Project Hope.
This outreach makes it possible for many of the needy families in and around
Wyoming County, West Virginia to have a Christmas they wouldn’t otherwise have.
Each year on the weekend before Christmas, Pastors
Lee Bowling and Grady May of the Miracle Revival Outreach Center host a special
Christmas service where they share the Christmas story, provide a traditional
Christmas meal and have toys for the kids. We found out about their program last
year, just before Christmas, when Virginia Earlywine, a member of our church,
stood up and asked for donations to help them out.
We did what we could to help last year, but felt
like it wasn’t near enough. We promised then that this year would be different.
Then the economy made things difficult for us all.
As much as we wanted to help, we were limited, very limited. The needs seemed so
great compared to what little we could do. We prayed about it: God, show us how
we can really help these folks.
The answer: Tell people. So we did. We told as many
people as we could. They, in turn, told others. This year the pastors offered
people the opportunity to be “ministering angels”. They could ‘adopt’ a child
for Christmas, kind of like the angel tree without the angel tree.
They had 42 children signed up and within one
week’s time, all 42 were accounted for! We were amazed! Even with the economy
the way it is, people gave. They gave money, clothes and toys.
The one family that touched me most was a man and
his two daughters. He was laid off several months ago and is still looking for
work. He wanted to do something to help so he donated clothes that his daughters
had outgrown. When I went to pick up the clothes, his daughters each gave me one
of their baby dolls to take as well. I asked if they were sure and they smiled
as they shook their heads. My throat began to tighten. I thought about O’Henry’s
short story, The Gift of the Magi, a story of sacrifice born out of love. I
cried all the way home.
Boxes and bags of clothes, blankets and other items
kept coming in. Alan and I had taken that week off from work and each night we’d
stay up until one or two in the morning sorting, boxing and packing to get ready
for the trip. There were so many donations we had to work outside under work
lights.
Virginia, her husband Joe and other members of her
family came to help. Others came by to lend a hand, too. It was a long, busy
week, but we managed to get it all done.
It ended up being more than our trailer could hold,
so Joe and Virginia rented a Penske truck to carry what we couldn’t.
Friday, December 18th, the day we’d all been
waiting for, greeted us with sleet and freezing rain. But it couldn’t dampen our
mood. Alan and I, along with Joe and Virginia, their son David and granddaughter
Samantha headed out of town eager to see the kid’s faces as they opened their
gifts. We arrived in Pineville without any problems; the roads were fine, just
wet. But the snow was really coming down and accumulating quickly.
We located the Methodist Church which had loaned
the use of their facilities due to size constraints at Pastor Bowling’s church.
We unloaded the truck and trailer, stopping to throw a snowball from time to
time. We were so excited to finally get there and get things set up for the next
night!
With everything unloaded and set up and the food
put away, it was time to figure out our game plan for Saturday. The lights
flickered a few times while we ate a bite for supper and sat there talking, but
Pastor Bowling said not to worry. He was confident we wouldn’t lose power.
Knowing there was quite a bit of food to prepare and other things to do to get
ready we knew we’d need to get an early start.
Worn out, but anxious, Alan and I said our
goodnights and went out to our trailer, which has living quarters in the front.
That was about ten o’clock. About fifteen minutes later, the power went out. By
Saturday morning there was twenty six inches of snow on the ground. So much snow
had fallen so quickly that trees had fallen on many of the power lines. So it
wasn’t just the church that didn’t have electricity, it was almost the whole
county. We weren’t able to prepare the meal and only one lady with her three
grandchildren was able to make it to the church.
With the help of candles and flashlights the kids
opened their gifts. Once again, we wanted to do something, anything, but felt
helpless. Then Alan asked Pastor Bowling if there were any kids we could get to.
There were a few. So we loaded their gifts into our four wheel drive Dodge
pickup and headed out.
We were only able to get to eight of them. Some had
power, most didn’t. But in every home, the smiles lit up the place.
Much to our dismay, we had to head back home on
Sunday. We hated to leave with things the way they were. All we could think
about was the kids. How long would it be before they could get their gifts? We
caught up with Pastor Bowling Christmas day and found out that they got the
lights back on Tuesday. We were glad to hear the power was restored so quickly
and that the program, originally scheduled for the 19th, was held that Wednesday
evening.
Pastor Bowling said they got the word out about the
service and dinner and that 109 people made it to the church. They had an
awesome service and everyone enjoyed the meal. The highlight of the night though
was when the kids received their gifts.
I wish we could have been there to see their smiles
and share their excitement! Thanks to all the donations, there were plenty of
toys for the kids who made it to the church that missed the deadline for
sign-up! Signed up or not, no one is turned away. Pastor Bowling shared with us
that one family told him they had never felt so much love and were anxious to
start going to church.
That’s what Project Hope is all about. Sharing the
good news of Jesus Christ, loving people the way Jesus would and giving them the
gift of hope. Pastor Bowling received a gift of hope this year as well. Melissa
White, pastor of the First Methodist Church of Pineville has graciously offered
the use of their facilities for Project Hope for as long as needed. What a
blessing! While the weekend didn’t go as we had planned, we did what we could
and are already looking forward to next year!
Through it all we all felt a joy this Christmas
like we’ve never felt before. There aren’t enough words to express our heartfelt
thanks to the many wonderful folks who helped to make this one of the best
Christmases ever, not just for the kids in West Virginia, but for us as well.
May God bless you all!
Note: Marie Waller is a local Southern Gospel singer. You can log onto
her website, www.mariewaller.org , for more about her, her ministry and
Project Hope. |
Just
Singin' for Jesus...
