Unclaimed Opportunities

     “So dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable .  Always work enthusiastically  for the Lord , for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”  1 Corinthians 15:58 

 

     “Unclaimed opportunities” is another way to say “help wanted”.  We always need help at ETS, more so now that we have lost several volunteers and one staff worker last year.

     Helping as a volunteer is not only a satisfying  experience, where you can make a difference for God’s Kingdom, it can help you in other ways:

• ·  It looks good on a resume , if you are looking for a full time job
• ·  It is a great way to learn new skills. 
• ·   It is a way to spend quality time with other believers, and meet missionaries from all over the world, while working on a project that will have lasting impact on people you may never meet.

     Do you live in the Shenandoah Valley ?   Do you have a couple of hours you could donate to ETS on a weekly basis?  Could you donate a day or half a day?  We are looking for local people who can commit  a few hours a week to:

• ·  help pick up or deliver equipment and supplies
• · sort and pack clothing, medical supplies, books and literature
• · office help, answering the telephone, greeting visitors, etc.
• · help manage inventory
• · (for those with appropriate skills) repair equipment and help maintain our building and vehicles

The ETS  Staff

Happy for Help

What do you call a group from Savannah Christian Church that drove 10 hours to come sort clothing and move items out of storage for us?  We call them family, as many of them keep coming back!  We were very blessed to have 11 people from Late Church to help us out over a long weekend.

     It’s nice to have strong guys and girls to help us sort out a storage unit so that we were able to get out of it entirely.  This storage unit costs $160 every month and the items stored in it had been stored for at least a year.  What a blessing to be able to use that revenue for other items that can be used in ministry. Many of the items in storage will be recycled for scrap metal and the other items were relocated to other storage units.

     The group stayed at the mission and enjoyed the area sights and  local food.  We tell people that those that come to work with us sleep really well at night.  Maybe we worked them too hard?  Thanks  Savannah Christian!  Same time next year? 

               
  The ETS Staff

Challenger Pioneer Girls

What would you do if you were eating at a Cracker Barrel restaurant and this group came in?

• (A) Think they must be escapees from the mental hospital
• (B) Immediately think that the circus must be in town.
• (C) Decide it must be a sorority initiation.
• (D) Think the Pioneer Girls have been playing in the clothing bins again.

If you said (D), give yourself 10 points. Every year for the last 10 years the Challenger Group of the Pioneer Girls from Silver Springs, Maryland have been coming to work at ETS. The girls arrive Friday night, work all day Saturday, go out to dinner in various "fashionable outfits" they have put together from our clothing bins. They leave for home Sunday, tired but with lots of work accomplished. We affectionately refer to them as our "cleaning tornadoes!"

This year the girls did a record number of clothing boxes, blankets and shoes. They boxed everything in sight and came up with a whopping number of 170 boxes. ( The most boxes ever done by a group in one day!) Thanks girls for all your help. We always look forward to your visits.

A mission experience a child can understand

We like to think that we have a specific job for our volunteers whenever we know we will have a group coming. We always have clothing to sort, box and weigh. Our clothing goes all over the world.

Six year old Meredith had a special job. Meredith and her mom loaded small boxes of bobbins, screwdrivers, needles, thread, a tape measure and a small bottle of oil. These boxes will accompany the 14 sewing machines going to a sewing center in Haiti.

The sewing machines are all hand cranked and many are 100 years old. They will be used to teach women to sew and provide a source of income for many families.

I was especially touched to see Meredith and her mom pray over all the boxes they prepared to go with the sewing machines. What a wonderful example teaching a child that prayer and actions do make a difference.