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From Waveland, MS October 31, 2007 |
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Greetings Friends!
I suppose you
have heard the story about the
farmer who bought the mule that
would not work. The man he bought
it from picked up a two by four and
hit the mule squarely between the
eyes, at which time the mule began
pulling the plow. He looked at the
farmer and said, "First you have to
get his attention." Well, in the
past few days, I have been asked
when I was going to send another
update. First from my wife, then
from my sister in Illinois and then
from our friends, the Bradleys, in
New Hampshire. (I guess Ellie
Bradley was the two by four because
I am typing the update.)
We trust this
finds you well and walking in the
strength of the Holy Spirit and the
light of His Word.
The Elgins
Recently some
friends told me that in the last
update, I sounded disheartened.
I am not disheartened, but do
have a heavy heart for the
people on the Gulf Coast and a
desire to help them with the
provision of God and the
hands of the volunteers
who come here. Physically I may
become weary at times, but I do
not become weary of well doing
for the Lord.
I am
finishing this update from
Washington DC. Martie's uncle
is in ICU and his wife, who does
not drive, is in need of help.
My brother in law, Chuck Huston,
and I are here for a few days to
help them. Some of you may
remember Chuck from Ocean
Springs and Christus Victor. He
ran the Red Cross shelter for
the first two weeks after the
storm. Martie is in Mississippi
where Robert and Sue Lumpkin are
helping her with the ministry.
Hopefully, we will be headed
back South by the
end of the week. We are
driving.
Martie will have
her second treatment from the
Orthopedist in Montgomery on
November 5th . Please pray
with us that this will bring relief
to her hip pain. She has not been
pain free for the past two years we
have been on the Gulf.
Pathfinder
Mission
Rick Warren, in the Purpose Driven
Life, wrote about how God "shapes"
us for ministry. He uses the word
"SHAPE" as an acrostic --
(S)piritual Gifts, (H)eart,
(A)bilities, (P)ersonality,
(E)xperiences to describe how God
does the shaping. All of these
aspects of our shaping come from
God. Martie and I often look back
over our lives with amazement seeing
how God has prepared us for what we
are doing today. Of course, at the
time we had no idea we would one day
be living and ministering in
Waveland. Even when I was in the
Elders meeting at Gateway the day
after Katrina made landfall in
Mississippi and we decided to do
"what we could" to help, did I have
an inkling of what God was going to
ask Martie and me to do there. As
time has passed, and the "lamp" has
cast its light a little further down
the path, we have greater
understanding of what God wants us
to do. Just a little over a year
ago, Martie and I understood that we
would not be going back to
Alabama, at least not in the
foreseeable future. (So
as not to limit what God will lead
us to do.)
Some of you are
aware that during the past 12 months
we have been praying about
establishing Pathfinder as a
non-profit organization, separate
from Gateway Baptist church. For
the past two years we have been
operating with the covering of our
home church, Gateway
Baptist. Gateway Baptist is a
remarkable local church. In spite of
it's modest size (then less
than 200 active members),
over the years, God has used her to
give birth to a number of ministries
throughout the U.S. But then, that
is God's intent of the local church, isn't
it? I think many have the
impression that all "good"
growth takes place within the local
congregation, but I believe that
another indicator of spiritual
health is when a local church is
growing outside of its borders. In
that respect, Pathfinder Mission is
another evidence of what God is
doing through Gateway. In May of
this year we incorporated Pathfinder
in Mississippi as a non-profit. In
August we received approval as a
501c3 non profit from the IRS. As of
the first of January we will begin
to receive all contributions
directly to Pathfinder Mission. For
those who are currently contributing
to Pathfinder whether
for our personal support, or support
of the ministry operations, I will
be sending a separate letter to you
explaining the transition.
Becoming a
separate ministry does not mean that
we have forsaken Gateway. It is a
lot like children leaving home to
make a life for themselves. We love
the people there and the ministry
they do. We will always have a
heart connection with them and
consider it to be our "home
place". We give thanks to God for
Gateway's love and support. If
were not for their heart for
missions and willingness to support
us financially, we would not be here
today. Henry Blackaby called
significant events in our spiritual
journey ... Spiritual Markers.
Remember how Israel would stack
stones when God acted in a
significant way on their behalf?
Our time at Gateway is one of those
stacks of stones. A reminder of
what God has done in our lives
through Gateway and the people He
used to influence the path we
travel.
Mission House
Our Goal is
to be in the house by the end of
November.
We have made great progress
thanks to the help of the
volunteers coming to the
camp. We passed the rough in
inspection while High Desert
Church was here and should be
finishing the sheetrock this
week. HVAC, painting and
cabinets are next.
This is how
God has provided for us since
the last update
Complete
siding $ 900.00 Paid for
and installed (less trim) We
mixed three 5 gallon buckets of
donated paint and have put the
first
coat on
Insulation $
1000.00 Paid for
Sheetrock $ 1200.00
Paid for
HVAC $ 2300.00
Paid for
Cabinets $ 44 00.00
Paid for
Propane Gas 4
burner stove $600.00 Donated
This is what
we need to finish the our work
Flooring $ 800.00
We are installing linoleum
throughout the house.
Interior
Doors $ 700.00
Electric 4
burner stove $600.00
1 refrigerator - Large
Capacity
$1000.00
Lighting
Fixtures and Ceiling Fans
$1000.00
1 Upright
Freezer $700.00
1 Commercial
Ice Maker ?????
Sinks and
Fixtures $600.00
Trim & casing
- $500.00
Rebuilding Ministry
We are
working on a number of homes ...
click here for details
It has been very encouraging to
see folks leaving their FEMA
trailers and moving back into
their homes. There has been
much progress but there is still
so much to do. It seems that
every week we are contacted by 1
or 2 residents asking for help.
In many cases they have received
a pod from us. We are working
with other Disaster Relief
Organizations (DRO) helping them
with volunteers as we are able.
The goal always being to get
people back in their homes and
not worrying about what DRO gets
the credit but ensuring that God
gets the glory.
People
Ministry
We are
continuing to teach bible
studies on Tuesdays and
Thursdays .. although they have
been suspended until I return
.... My brother, Rick, a pastor
in the Chicago area -
Naperville - recommended the
latest study, "10 Keys to
Understanding the Bible". It is
a survey of the Bible written by
another pastor in Chicago,
intended for folks who are not
familiar with the Bible. Some,
but not all,
of the people
who come to the studies have
shown a real hunger for the
Word, which is very encouraging.
My time here
has reminded me of how
vulnerable older folks are ...
not only financially but
physically and emotionally. It
has made me understand "loving
my neighbor as myself" in a new
light. I ask the question, if
that was me what would I need
and want .... that is what I
need to do for them. Of late,
volunteer groups have been
reaching out to the people
though visitation. I have asked
the volunteers to bring things
like home made preserves and
pies ... things that can't be
prepared in a FEMA trailer and
will remind the residents of
family, friends, and home.
Speaking of
volunteers ... God has led us to
a ministry that is much bigger
than we are and is using
volunteers as the means of
ministry. Martie and I made a
video which you can see if you
go to our web site .....
www.pathfindermission.org
..... click on "New Volunteer
Video". Then prayerfully
consider if God would have you
come and help us meet the needs
of the people in this area.
Oliver
Bayliss
I just
received an update form Oliver
Bayliss. Some of you may recall
Oliver from Shoreline Park. He
is from England and volunteered
with us for several weeks. Here
is an excerpt from his e-mail
The RAF is going very well thank you… I graduate as an officer next week and start ground school on December 3. Start flying training on 28 January. Hope you are well.
Oliver O T BAYLISS, Off Cdt, B Sqn, A Flt , OACTU, RAF CRANWELL
Prayer
Requests
Pray for our aunt
and uncle, Kitty and Bud. We are
not sure how Bud is going to do
physically or when he will be
released from the hospital. Kitty
is not well and not able to meet the
physical demands that will be placed
on her. There will be some tough
choices that have to be made in the
near future ... many of you reading
this have already been faced with
them. Every day I pray for wisdom
and discernment so I will give the
right advice and do the right
things.
Martie -- she
sees the Doctor next Monday for a
second treatment for her hip.
Skip --- My uncle
is on hospice with cancer.
Chuck -- My uncle
is in a nursing home recuperating
from a stroke and broken bones
caused by a fall when he had the
stroke. He is still on a feeding
tube.
Bonnie -- struggling
with depression.
Pray for Tim and
Rico -- for health and salvation
George and
Barbara -- for strength and health
to continue.
Mike and Susan -- for
health and the emotional and
physical strength to take care of
Susan's mom and their handicapped
son.
Marian --
for health,
she is being evaluated for possible
cancer.
Julia -- for
health.
Craig --
as he seeks the Lord and struggles
with drug and alcohol addiction.
For all that read
this update -- to
see the importance of listening for
God's voice and if He says go to
volunteer then that they will be
obedient and place their trust in
Him to make it possible.
For our ministry
here ... discipling [40 days of
purpose -- The Truth Project] ...
Saturday evening services .....
completion of the mission house ....
and that the Lord will continue to
provide for the financial needs of
this ministry, both personal support
and direct ministry costs.
By His Grace and for
His Glory
Charley Elgin
Pathfinder Mission
228.493.1081
Isaiah 58 Rebuilding Houses - Restoring Homes
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Pathfinder Mission, P.O. Box
3313, Bay |
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228-469-0507 |
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