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Director’s Update

May 23, 2009

Fellow Servants,

This has been an incredible week! On Sunday night, Carl and Orange First Church of the Nazarene (OFC) board members presented our partnership to the OFC congregation. Early accounts stated the presentation was very moving and an overwhelming success. Yesterday, I found out the presentation was videotaped. This morning I watched the DVD and was moved to tears! Let me know if you’d like a copy. Our partnership with OFC is blossoming in an amazing fashion. OFC members are approaching us about helping their neighbors who were flooded. We are blessed that Kairos Carpenters led us to Mason, Texas, and Mason, Texas, led us to OFC. Clearly we are on the journey God intended.

Wednesday, Faith Bontrager, Hap Whitestone and I drove two boxes trailers of food and office equipment and our beloved Prowler to Orange in a raggedy caravan. Before returning Friday, I had several meetings with different OFC members and Pastor Ray. We have an agreed plan with OFC for housing the volunteers and our office within the Fellowship Hall. The storage area build-out will convert to Sunday school classrooms when we leave.

On Friday morning, we presented our plans for building out a storage area in the church to the Orange City zoning and building officials. That was a cordial exchange of information but without any specific commitments. They’re going to consult with the fire marshal and get back to us. If the schedule holds, we’ll begin the bunkroom build-out around June 15^th. In the meantime, we’re going to do a removable build-out on the stage for volunteer bunking.

And two other exciting events happened on Friday— Eddie purchased our new moving van trailer, and Faith and Eddie Sherman led the dedication of 14 Chantilly Terrace! That was house dedication number 94. And thanks to a great effort by our May volunteers and the construction staff, we will finish all our houses before the end of May. And, yes, we now own a 48-foot moving van trailer. We’ll outfit it with shelves down each side for tool storage. Yankee Stadium now has wheels if you get my exaggeration! We are now much more mobile and don’t have to pay rental fees on those dark shipping containers. In addition, OFC is giving us the use of their tool shed on the church grounds! This could be the beginning of that tool crib organization that so many of you have dreamed of!! An OFC team member has even volunteered to manage and repair tools. I have visions of John Overholt finally sleeping peacefully at night.

This week we’ll move our office from Camp Gospel to Orange. And next weekend, our newly arrived AmeriCorps team will move to Texas. June will be devoted to our construction projects at OFC.

We are very much on track for our first Ike volunteer teams in July.

Blessings,

Bart