The Wingard Home Blog

 TO ALL WHO PRAY FOR & SUPPORT THIS MINISTRY:

I would like to report to you that our accountant has brought us up to compliance on the new laws governing 501-C-3’s and we have filed our 990 forms for ‘06/’07, ‘08, and ‘09. We had previously gotten an extension and now should be in great shape. We are blessed to have the fine folks at Stribling and Associates ( Mr. James Earnest and Mr. Jake Heard) working to help us keep our accounting up-to-date.

Not including day care and pre-school, we had 3 elementary, 4 middle, and 4 high school to start school on Monday. We sincerely thank all of you who gave school supplies and gift cards for uniforms so the children of Wingard Home could start school with proper clothing and adequate supplies. You are some real heroes to all these young ones here. I explained to one little girl here that Jesus just sent things through some nice people…..and she curtly replied right back to me, ” but they don’t even know us and they helped us anyway??”

Clearly! that child summed it all up for all of us, because that’s just what God said for us to do….to love our neighbor as ourselves!

Bills are due on several utility accounts so we are needing your help to get these paid…….

1)     through collective donations,

2)     prayer for folks who can help to be receptive to the needs of the homeless,

3)     or,  just by telling others about our needs and spreading the word.

ENTERGY….$2,170.28

PHONES……$  472.16

HOME DEPOT….(BUILDING SUPPLIES & MAINTENANCE & GROUNDS MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES) …..$2,472.79

We do have a smaller household needs list of things that we use every day. Please feel free to call my cell for questions or updates….601-906-1976

NEEDS LIST FOR WINGARD HOME

• TUNA
• RAMEN NOODLES
• MAC & CHEESE
• OIL FOR FRYING, SPRAY FOR PANS, & OLIVE OIL FOR DRESSINGS
• COFFEE CREAMER
• SUGAR
• COFFEE
• FIGS- IF ANYONE HAS EXTRA ON THEIR TREES
• HEALTHY DRINKS FOR THE CHILDREN AFTER SCHOOL
• SALAD DRESSINGS & BANANA PEPPER RINGS & BACON BITS & CROUTONS (THINGS THAT ENCOURAGE KIDS TO EAT HEALTHY SALADS)
•     CLEANING SUPPLIES……..ESPECIALLY BLEACH
•     DISHWASHING LIQUID (we wash dishes by hand)
•     PERSONAL CARE SUPPLIES
•     PRESSURE WASHER
•     ELECTRIC OR BATTERY HAND TOOLS….SOME OF OURS WERE STOLEN
•     SHOP VAC
•             
• A MINI VAN THAT RUNS WELL AND WILL CARRY WOMEN AND CHILDREN SAFELY
•            
•  MAIN HOUSE AIR SYSTEM MUST BE REPLACED—WE NEED THIS BADLY!!!!
•            
•  WE DESPERATELY NEED SOMEONE TO FIX THE COOLER UNIT AND THE FREEZER UNIT ON OUR WALK-IN COOLER AND FREEZER! THEY ARE STILL NOT WORKING SINCE KROGER DONATED THEM AND WE BADLY NEED OUR COOLER AND FREEZER.

Please remember that we are totally available to come to your church, club, or company meetings and speak about the ministry, our job in the community and how you can help. It is always easier to know HOW to help if you can ask direct questions and get immediate answers. Just call to arrange a time for us to come to you…..601-906-1976.

On our website is a “donate now” button where you can make secure online donations. You can also arrange on this service to have a monthly donation sent to this ministry and you don’t have to remember to fill out a check every month.

We are extremely grateful for any help you feel led to provide. We are right here …..24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and will continue to serve, assist, and house the homeless and needy until God tells us different.

I am Charlotte Wingard and I am running with the King!

Thanks go out to all of you awesome prayer warriors who have been praying for our Kroger pick-up (see last post) ……we have our Kroger back. We were two long weeks without the everyday bread, dairy products, grocery dry goods and the meat that we had come to depend on from our Kroger pick-up four times a week.

However, God moved in a mighty way and delivered the pick-up back to us and now we pick-up 6 times a week and it is just AWESOME, OVER AND ABOVE….MULTIPLIED! WITH OUR CUP RUNNING OVER! God is not a half-way God and He is not a God of lack and He has never left the rightous forsaken nor begging bread ( or dairy, or groceries, or meat!) We are so grateful and blessed to have the finest grocery store on the planet in our corner. Kroger really cares about the community they serve and they prove it by being involved.

Please know that we still need your prayers as we are already in out “slow” time of the year as far as financial support. We have in the neighborhood of 6 thousand dollars worth of utility and operating expense payments due for June and there is about a thousand dollars in the ministry account at this writing. I do not say this to whine or beg…..I want you to be informed so you are in line for an opportunity to be a blessing and not to miss out on being able to lend a helping hand to folks in need. We are asking for tools to do this job. You can easily go to our “donate- now” button on our site and help right now. We appreciate your help and will continue to do the work here as long as God has those tools in place through good folks like YOU!

Please visit Charlotte or Roy on Facebook, too! We are excited about the opportunities to make new friends and have you keep up with the everyday goings on here at Wingard from a little bit more personal viewpoint.

Please send me a friend request to    http://www.facebook.com/charlottewingard

OR  http://www.facebook.com/rwingard

That’s what we’re talkin’ ’bout, COWBOY!!

A couple of months ago, Wingard Home was presented the awesome opportunity to purchase Horse Haven (in Jackson at the corner of McCluer and Henderson Road). This is SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY because the price is far below appraisal and the place is fully functional and already set up as a dude ranch. It is 44 acres of country “heaven” inside the city limits and falls under a “special use” ruling that allows for the riding, roping, rodeos, and farm animals. This will allow us unlimited ministry opportunities and possibilities for helping all types of children and teens. We are so excited, too, that this property is only minutes from the downtown area where our main ministry campus is located.

The deal is for all 44 acres @ $6,795.45  per acre which comes to $ 299,000.00! Now! Just the land alone is worth more than that…….but, the land has 4 ponds, a flowing brook, 3 barns, riding arena (lighted with announcers stand & concession area & bleachers), round pen, wash racks, large party room, and a three bedroom house in good condition!

Our vision for the Trinity Acres Ranch (as we have already given it a name) is MINISTRY!

PHOTOS OF THE RANCH AS IT IS RIGHT NOW!

Please tell everyone you know who wants to invest in the life and well-being of a child. We have about a month to produce enough money to purchase the property…….NO! we are not going to apply for one of those “easy” government grants! We do not accept monies from city, state, or federal programs. We do accept private donations, private foundation’s gifts, and support from groups, individuals, corporations, and churches. God’s got an army out there and we just have to believe and have F A I T H. We are going to “stick our foot in the water” and stand in awe as God “parts the Red Sea!”

http://www.mc.edu/about/offices/public_relations/news/?story=1314

Click on the link above to see the wonderful story about our recent Christmas trip to Mississippi College!

Next Monday, November 2, our Christmas assistance flyers will begin to go out to strageic areas all over central Mississippi. Our prayer- that we would be led by the Holy Spirit to the families MOST in-need this Christmas Season. We love to be able to help the children of families who are really trying to help themselves, but just need a helping hand this year.

We also have a brochure that explains the Christmas Programs and details the ways you can help. We are truly excited about the many opportunities for  blessings this year and invite you to join us as we minister this Christmas.christmas-brochure-09.pdf

I must tell you about an awesome printing company in the metro area (located in Flowood,Ms): Harvey Dallas Printing Co. ! If you ever want to get a job done and get it done right, then they are the company for you! I am so impressed by their professional attitude…..and they are “techno awesome” !

They did an awesome job for this ministry…..thousands of Christmas Festival Flyers will go out to the Rankin County Schools this week in order to reach the families there who need assistance…….and Harvey Dallas made that possible. Check them out at the link below. I think when you find something wonderful, you should share it:

www.harveydallasprinting.com

 To All Supporters & Prayer Warriors:

Some of you have asked me for an update on the “house next door” and other projects and goings-on in the ministry. The summer has been so busy and with back-to-back projects and programs and people needing help - more than ever in our entire 21 years in ministry, we have not been in the office very much. We are so blessed to have you all praying and supporting and I personally ask you to forgive my slow response time in some areas.

The house next door is still there and depreciating by the week as vagrants and drug addicts filter in and out of the broken windows. We were able to gather 16,000 dollars (it was 19 thousand, but one lady who gave 3 thousand told us to put the money where most needed, so we moved it from the “house next door” fund to the “pay the high utility bills” fund). Mark Samsell refuses to take what we have gathered for the house, so we are holding the other until God tells us what to do. If Mark sells the house to someone else in the meanwhile, then we will return the 16 thousand to all you good folks who gave toward the purchase.

During the summer, Mr. A Joseph donated 4 single-dwelling houses to the ministry. They all have minor fix-up issues but are in the Farrish Street Historic District. Three of them are beside the Bethlehem Center and the other one is on Cohea Street, right around the corner. Pray for us to find and follow God’s purpose for these houses. We offered them to Mark Samsell as an even trade for the “house next door” but he wants all four houses and the 19 thousand dollars…..God laid a definite NO! on my heart for that deal. 

Last month, a three bedroom house was donated to the ministry. It is a single family dwelling in the McDowell/ Terry Rd. area near I-55. The house needs some assorted repairs and a lot of cleaning and painting. It would be a beautiful starter house for someone or a great ministry house. It is a project waiting to happen and a grand opportunity for a blessing.

 On and off all year, we have had the Crossgates Baptist church (Hands of Hope Ministry) coming over as they could and working on our men’s / family dormitory. They are very-much-sought-after so we are more than blessed that God assigned them here for this project. They are truly miracle-workers!! 

Some of you have asked about a way to give monthly to ministry so you would not have to remember to write a check every month. It never occurred to me to tell you that our web site has a ” donate now” button on it and on that service, you can choose to have groundspring automatically deduct whatever you choose to give each month. I copied the statement below from our website and present it to you so you will know. Our web address is    www.wingardhome.org     & then click on the “donate now” command.

    ”If you select “I want to make a recurring donation”, you will be registering to make a credit card donation every month, 3 months, or year. After you complete this initial donation, future donations will be made automatically. For example, if you choose to make a recurring monthly donation of $10.00, your next donation of $10.00 will be automatically charged to your account one month from today.

    You will receive an email receipt for each recurring donation with a link to the site where you can login and change your donation options (amount, frequency, billing information, etc.) at any time. Of course, you will also be able to cancel your recurring donation at any point in the future.”

 Thank-you! is not enough of a word to express our gratitude so we will continue to serve God through this ministry and ask Him to thank-you for us. We are humbled and totally blessed by your faithful support, your prayers, and your encouraging words.

Charlotte Wingard

I received a phone call this morning from a dear friend, “John Wayne” Blough in Brandon, MS. If any of you have read materials on our web site, you will know that Wayne and his family helped us with our son, Marcus. By help, I mean that I started taking Marcus out to Hilltop Painted Acres in Brandon, MS when he was only 11 to be trained in the “ways of the cowboys”. Wayne and his family are Christian folk and taught Marcus from the Bible, using the Word of God as a teaching tool for riding, caring for the horses, and roping. Our son was at an age in his life where he refused instruction from us, his parents- even though we are both ministers! But, he would receive from his cowboy friend and now, his life is changed forever because God used Wayne Blough and his C.O.W.B.O.Y.S. ministry to mentor Marcus. I tell you that to tell you this……..

Sometimes, we get so busy with “life” taking care of the stuff like working a job to provide a living for our family and getting through the “rearing children” and paying for their needs, that we put our “callings from God” on the back burner. Sometmes, we just can’t see a way to do what we are called to do and take care of our family too. That is basically what Wayne was telling me this morning, but God has spoken to him in the past few days- spoken in a “burning bush- thunder and lightening” sort of way. Wayne has a non-profit called the C.O.W.B.O.Y.S. inc and God has definitely given him a detailed plan on putting this back as a priority in his life.

Wayne has a burden in his heart for homeless and abused children……God has a plan……BRING BACK HILLTOP PAINTED ACRES!!!! Wayne and his family are sitting on the “promised land” and Hilltop Painted Acres WILL be again……because God said so!!! Get on board and be a part of the miracle that God is performing in Brandon Mississippi. Do it because it is the right thing to do and because it is for the children. We know his program works, because Wayne has always welcomed and helped the homeless children from our ministry; and, of course, he helped Marcus.

Click on this link to photo show

Please! If you are in the Jackson, MS area anywhere and hear of, know of, or HAVE job openings where you are, please e-mail or call me. We need your help in getting these folks who live at Wingard Home employed. They are clean, sober, and well dressed individuals who have fallen into dire straits and are quite capable of working to get themselves out of homelessness if they could just have a chance. This is your opportunity to bless someone and help them get back on their feet.

What is that old saying??? ” Don’t just give someone a fish, but, instead, teach them HOW to fish……in doing this, you have really done them the greatest of service. We do not teach our folks how to get on public welfare, food stamps, and government “giveaways”; but, instead, we give them job counseling and assist them in getting interviews for good jobs. Then, we teach them how to save and spend money when they do start working. All they need is a chance to get employed.

My e-mail is wwjdcaw@aol.com

My phone # is 601-906-1976 ……..please help!

Serving with great expectations,

Charlotte Wingard

Thank-you’s go out once more to the Morgan Foundation ……this time, for the money to provide our main house on West Street with a fine metal roof. We had so many leaks that we did not have enought pots to catch the water: and now we have NO LEAKS !!!!  Don Sebren of Sebren’s Home Improvements gave us an awesome price on the roof and since we know him personally (he is also the youth pastor at Castlewoods Baptist Church) we KNOW that he is a man of integrity and sound Christian values. I always love doing business with one of God’s people.

Mr. Joel Price, of Southeastern Wood Products Co. brought a crew of his men and fixed the sagging ceilings in the main house of the West Street property. Thank God for Mr. Joel and his heart for the Lord. I tell you the truth, when his men told him about the severity of the situation at the house and let him know it was going to be a lot more trouble than expected to get it fixed, they had already told me that they did not think he was going to go for the fix-up project after that. Mr. Joel simply looked at them, once he heard their report, and said, “What do I think? Well, I think it is a wonderful opportunity to be a blessing!” What a man of God!!

We have so many projects going on here at the Ministry….and they are all going on at the same time, it seems. There are numerous opportunities for you to come over and use your talents to keep this place maintenanced. Joe Drake, from Pine Lake Baptist Church has also done extensive work on the entire property, as have Paul Atkins, and Darryl Thurman. God’s got an army, folks…..please remember these men in your prayers.

 We are still gathering money for the house next door and need you all to pray for the owners so that their hearts would soften toward this ministry. At present, we have gathered approximately 19,000 of the 39,000 they are asking. We are believing God that they will cut that price down some more.

More later and some photos of the roof will soon be on the blog.

The house next door, still sits next door and still belongs to Mark Samsell. We have received 15,000 of the 39 being asked for it and have also checked to make sure the city is ok with the fix-up possibilities-and they are. We are waiting on God to give us further instructions in the matter.

Are you praying for us? Are you praying that Mark Samsell’s heart will be made tender to the plight of the homeless and to the needs of the ministry in this matter? Are you praying that God’s will be done in this business matter? Are you really, really praying? We need you to join with us as partners in prayer agreeing that God will be glorified in this matter and in all that this ministry does for the homeless and hurting who come here for healing and help.

 JOBS…….

We have some really good people here right now and they are seeking employment. If you can assist someone with a job, that would be an awesome thing that you have done…..to give someone a chance to begin to make their way in this world by working and being accountable. I will list a few and something about them in this post and pray for you that God will move in your heart to give one of these folks an opportuity to work and make a living for themselves. Listed below are a list of the folks we have who are looking for a JOB AND THEIR AREA OF EXPERTISE:

BRITTNEY GIBBS/ CASHIER, FOOD SERVICE, FAST LEARNER, 19 YEARS OLD

BRIAN LAWSON/ FORK LIFT DRIVER/STAND UP OR SIT DOWN/ WILL DO FACTORY WORK

MARY MCFARLAND/ LOTS OF FACTORY WORK IN SUPERVISOR & INSPECTOR POSITIONS/ GREAT RESUME  !!!!

RACHEL CASSATT/ LOTS OF FOOD INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE/CASHIER/VERY PEOPLE ORIENTED

DARRYL THURMAN/ HOUSE PAINTING SUB-CONTRACTOR LOOKING FOR JOBS TO DO OR TO BID ON

PAUL ATKINS/ HOME REPAIR AND FIX-UP SUB-CONTRACTOR/GODLY MAN WHO LOVES JESUS MAKES A GREAT WORKER WHO CAN BE TRUSTED.

BOTH PAUL AND DARRYL HAVE  DONE SOME BEAUTIFUL WORK FOR THE MINISTRY AND ARE VERY REASONABLE IN THEIR BIDS……….YOU SHOULD GIVE THEM A TRY!

I am really praying that these folks all find a way to honestly support themselves and their families…….Paul has children, Darryl has children, Brian is expecting a child in September, & Rachel has three children. Spread the word, call me if you need to…..601-906-1976

Loving Jesus and Running to Win!

Charlotte Wingard, House Director & Women’s Pastor

This house you see in the photos is next door to our 1279 N. West St. ministry - it was a two story rent-a-room boarding-type house (1265 N. West St.) which has always been filled to the roof with crack deals, dope-smoking parties, prostitution, drunks, gun fights, and several killings.

We have prayed for the landlord to clean it up many times, but the landlord chose NOT to change it. We, now, have the opportunity, however, to purchase the building and land and we feel that this is exactly what God has ordained to happen to the house. We are claiming that house for God’s work; NO longer will it house the enemy!

The owner has finally agreed to sell and said that we can purchase the property for 39,000 dollars. If you break that down, all we need is 39 people to give a thousand dollars- tax deductible for you or your business, and a God-send for the ministry.

Please pray about this and get some feet on those prayers! If you can’t help, tell someone else about it, and maybe they can help–the “gift of gab” is one of those talents that God gives to some! ……use it to HIS glory.

I will keep you updated, you are encouraged to e-mail me and I can give you updates or answer your questions about it. My e-mail is     wwjdcaw@aol.com

Above are three picture of the house-I have had a contractor look at the house and the fire damage to the north room on the second story is very fixable.

We are so very excited to tell you the good news! Our cry for help has been heard and you are calling and responding to the needs here at Wingard Home. Praise God for you!

 This is not a one time shot, though; God wants you involved and you know that. We have met some awesome people in the past week……the timing was perfect for all of us. God used this dilema and was glorified in it as he turned everything around to bring us “out of the valley” and back up the mountainside.

One of the wonderful friends we have made during this “storm” is Amanda Wells, an incredible Mississippi writer who came to do an article on the Home. She has a blog called “Shamelessly Southern” where you can find a link to her article on Wingard. The beautiful photos were taken by Melanie Thortis, a very talented young photographer, who knew just how to capture the spirit of the Home and our people. All things have indeed worked together for good….and you know that we certainly love the Lord in the good times and the bad.

We have also received a call from the owner of Mac’sCove . This magnificent clothing wholesale fashion designer is also a fine Christian woman who was looking for a way to do what she loves and glorify God “in the mix”. Desire was there- God’s perfect timing- we had a need- and God put us together. Please follow the link to her web site and see how Natasha McLaurin is helping the homeless at Wingard.

I have so many “praise reports” that I don’t know tell you all. I know that God is in control……and that is exactly the way I want it to stay.

We will be sending out the brochure by snail mail within the next few days. There will be two flyers included with the brochure so be watching.

If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be added, please email me and give me your address. If you would like to be added to get email notices, please email and ask to be added.

Around the house…. there are new families moving in and we seem to have a house full of boys, little boys. We are running short on things like twin comforters for the beds, good twin mattresses, and twin sheets. We also need some pillows.
We need one bunk bed for the women’s dorm- it needs to be a double on the bottom and twin on the top.

Please be in prayer for all the folks here at the ministry….they desperately need the power of God in their lives. They have a chance now to make some positive changes in their lives and to take the Word of God into their lives and learn how to live in it’s power. I tell you the truth, they have that opportunity because of folks (like you) supporting this ministry so we are able to take them in and help them. Thank-you for all you do.

We are loving Jesus and feeding the sheep,

Charlotte Wingard   wwjdcaw@aol.com

 I wanted all of you to know that the water bills are paid…..Praise the Lord!

We have also been able to pay the Atmos Gas bills today and also the Allied Waste.

PLEASE DON”T STOP PRAYING !! The other bills on the list MUST be paid also.

The Word says that God has never left the righteous forsaken nor begging for bread!! I refuse to beg anything. I am asking for you to be a blessing to homeless, needy, & battered folks….the ones who are trying to change their lives by doing something positive—not the ones who stand on the street intersections collecting YOUR hard-earned dollars in the name of “charity”and running a con on everybody OR lay up in a motel and drink beer while they watch dirty movies (all at your church’s expense).  Hey! It’s time to get serious about this problem and step un to the bat to do something about it!

We house lots of people here at Wingard: people who are NOT on welfare, NOT begging money from your churches, Not drinking and drugging. Our people are about getting their lives straightened out, working hard, saving their money, and learning how to live by the Word of God. Don’t you want to support something that really works and is producing good results….ask around; our record speaks for itself.

Below is the remainder of the previous list I sent……the ones that are paid are in purple…the ones still pending are in black.

• Entergy (due 8-1)……$50.66 & $49.73
• Entergy (due 7-21) ……$577.65,  $386.70,   $1,036.49,  &  $287.66
• City Services (water bills) ……$211.66 *due for cut off on 7-17   &   $367.20 (due on 7-18)
• Cellular South (due 7-27) ……$507.36
• Atmos Gas (due 7-14) ……$189.02, $16.62, $35.75, & $26.51
• Sam’s Club (where we get gas for the pick-up truck) $1,604.95  (due on 8-1)
• Aregood Technologies (past due) $192.49
• Allied Waste (due7-16) …… $101.16
• Bank of America (past due) ……$2,280.69  development of Natchez Trace Children’s Ranch

Add the figures….we are still needing around $6400.00 ………..

Expecting a Miracle and FIRED-UP for Jesus,

Charlotte Wingard

We would love to invite you to enjoy, to be informed, and to be challenged to action by this photo tour of our Ministry: the link below will take you to all our photo shows- then click on the “Welcome To Wingard Home” Icon.

We are very open to your suggestions and ideas….so please e-mail us at ….. wwjdcaw@aol.com 

and let us know what you think.

“Welcome to Wingard Home”

Bless you all in Jesus Name,

I feel as if the summer is flying too quickly and I certainly know that the “school season” is upon us. We have a whole new group of children this year. They must be equipped for the task ahead of them. Since we never know who we will serve from one week to the next, general supplies and gift cards (for clothing and uniforms) are best for us.  

This is your “opportunity time” to do something good for someone in need. Take it and run with it!!

There are homeless children here who need to go to school and have supplies just like every other child. They don’t need or want to be or look “different” from the other children. We at Wingard Home depend on God to work through you to help us meet the needs of these children and teens.

After school begins, we will need certain color notebooks and certain this and that —the teachers have their own special requests and there are workbook fees and athletic fees and such. You are in an awesome position to have a positive impact on the future of a child this year.

Our Spring grant from the Morgan Foundation has been a blessing all summer, but is gone now. The summer has been a hard one and the needs of families and battered women have been many times greater. We have seen some miracles out of these times and, I am certain, we will see many more. The good work must continue. If you ever wanted to reach out to someone in dire straits, homeless, battered, abandoned, or threatened, then, this is your time to “show out” for Jesus.

 WE MAX OUT AT 42 PEOPLE! TO ADOPT ONE OF THE BILLS LISTED BELOW FOR THE MONTH, YOU WILL BE HELPING US HOUSE ALL THESE FOLKS………WANNA BE A BLESSIN’ ?? NOW IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY!

• Entergy (due 8-1)……$50.66 & $49.73
• Entergy (due 7-21) ……$577.65,  $386.70,   $1,036.49,  &  $287.66
• City Services (water bills) ……$211.66 *due for cut off on 7-17   &   $367.20 (due on 7-18)
• Cellular South (due 7-27) ……$507.36
• Atmos Gas (due 7-14) ……$189.02, $16.62, $35.75, & $26.51
• Sam’s Club (where we get gas for the pick-up truck) $1,604.95  (due on 8-1)
• Aregood Technologies (past due) $192.49
• Allied Waste (due7-16) …… $101.16
• Bank of America (past due) ……$2,280.69  development of Natchez Trace Children’s Ranch

 We present these to you for your prayerful consideration and for your help: a large part or a small part-any help will be a blessing and will, indeed, bless many!……We must move quickly, though, because these must be paid now.

May God bless you and keep you healthy, sober minded, prospering you above all measure physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Charlotte Wingard

We have had quite a month here at Wingard Home. There is not a lot of “strange” goings -on, but we always have a report to make. Lives are being changed for the better and souls are being saved from hell! In one of the parables Jesus told about the shepherd who left the 99 sheep in the flock and went out after that 1 sheep who had gone astray………one soul saved from hell is certainly worth our time and resources.

We are blessed to have opportunities to tell you about the ministry we have here and so blessed to have opportunities to serve God each day through the resources and tools you provide. God called us to serve here day and night every day ministering to people who have given up on productive lives…….God may have chosen you to help in some other way. We all have talents and resources that differ and God wants to pour Himself out over this wicked world by using your life as a vessel for His mighty healing power…….are you with us? Let’s Do It!!

For the whole Jackson area, the month started out with, with some really bad weather and a lot of destruction….especially in north Jackson. We had no damage to speak of; except that we were without electricity for about 5 days. We are so blessed to have a generator from the Katrina days.

On April 25 and 26, we were supposed to have more thunderstorms and more rain. We were also supposed to a group of nursing graduates come over to do some “outside projects”. They came….and the rain stayed away, praise God for the awesome group who came and for all the projects they completed. John-Israel was on hand with his camera to capture the day in photos. The week before we had about four nursing grads come to work organizing our library, but we have no photos of that project to share. All three groups just amazed us with their eagerness to serve and their joyful spitits. We have a wonderful photoshow about that day to share with you…..just click on the following link and choose the Sunny Day Projects photo show from the selection. While you are there, you can view any of our photo shows.

Sunny Day Projects

On Saturday morning, 4/26/08, Crossgates Hands of Hope was due to come and build a playground in conjunction with the Crossgates Ladies Ministry, who designed and funded the project. The storms moved in early that morning, and, as it began to rain, all the volunteers began showing up…..truck after truck after car load! They moved inside an area where we plan to build the family dorms and began to do the necessary demolition work on that project until the rain slacked up…..and it did slack up! Prayer and God’s grace, my friends. God sent Crossgates there to do a job and He never leaves nor forsakes us…..that rain JUST HAD TO GO! I can’t even describe the miracles that happened after that so I will invite you to judge for yourselves by clicking on the following photo show link and choose the photoshow that says: God Bless the Day that Crossgates Came Over to Play!

Crossgates

If you would love to be a part of this ministry support system, know this, Crossgates Hands of Hope is coming back to construct family dorms. They need all sorts of building supplies. If you feel led to help with this, e-mail me and I can e-mail you back a list of supplies needed OR you could purchase and send us a gift card to Lowes or Home Depot and we will get them to the purchasing person with Hands of Hope at Crossgates.

I am Charlotte Wingard             wwjdcaw@aol.com

God richly bless you!

Looks like Spring is right around the corner……and then the next day, it seems a mile away. We are excited about all the work being done at the ministry. Alot of the projects right now are “born of necessity” but the work is still progressing. The men’s dorm roof is patched in a whole lot of places and we are ready to receive a metal roof…..we just need to find a doner.

We were so blessed to have Will McNeese and a “beautiful” group of hard-working young people come from Belhaven College to work in our construction mess in the men’s dorm. This past weekend, we were blessed again; because youth pastor, Justin Nalls brought two groups of young folks from the Birmingham, Alabama area churches. They not only worked their hearts out on Saturday afternoon, but they also delivered the message for us on Sunday morning in song and testimony. What a wonderful group of talented young folks doing something positive in this world. We hear so much about teens doing bad things, we know that there are a lot of good teens in this world who bless mankind every day…..we need to hear more about them.

Easter is coming up this weekend and we will be doing our giant “egg hunt” for the homeless children we have at the ministry. We are also going to have the opportunity to teach them about the resurrection and why it was so important that Jesus did not just die….but He had to come back from the dead- and He came back in victory! We have to take every situation, circumstance, and occasion to tell someone about Jesus and how very much He loves them.

Please be in prayer for us as we minister and teach in this inner city mission field. We don’t just give folks a sandwich and a Bible…..we invite the homelesss to come in and live with us sharing our life, our family, and the Love of Christ with them per example and fruit. Every single day is a new opportunity to meet the challenges and adventures of the day with the Word, the Love, and Testimony.  Join us, come see how God can put your talents to work and bless you beyond anything you can imagine. I check my e-mail every day and respond so e-mail me and let’s get together.

wwjdcaw@aol.com

Somewhere out there is someone who is supposed to help us get that warehouse we need so badly. We are waiting on God and praying that the person or foundation that God has chosen will “get on board” and not miss their blessing. We don’t just want a building….we NEED a building to continue to be a good steward over the furniture and appliances that God sents every day through donations. These donations NEED to be organized, clean, and safe from the outdoor elements that will mold and destroy them. Please pray, pass the need around, tell your neighbor, friend , and relative…..it may not be you, but instead, may be someone you know.

In our renovating of the women’s and men’s dorm and in the adding of the two family areas above the men’s dorm, we need certain things to accomplish this. The labor and construction expertise will come from the awesome folks at Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon who have agreed to tackle the job. However, we need supplies! This would be you folks who want to help, but have not time or talents for this particular task. We need money to buy supplies  OR connections to building suppliers who will donate  OR gift cards to one of the building supply companies  OR bring building supplies that are left over from one of your projects! All we are waiting on is supplies…..we are ready to move on this. I turn families down almost every day because I don’t have a place for them……while all that space sits there unfinished and not liveable. Come on and let’s get the job done!! Be blessed!!

There are many projects available for willing hands and hearts, so give us a call or a visit and get involved. If you can’t come by, you are very welcome to support all or parts of the Wingard projects by clicking on the “donate now” button on our web site and participate with financial help. I am working on a virtual tour of the ministry so you can get an idea of all the needs and maybe you will have some ideas that we have not seen……sometimes, in our case, “you can’t see the forest for the trees!”

I have been working on the books and trying to get all the thank-yous and receipts out from Christmas and from 2007 so please forgive my slow responses. If you need any sort of receipt from us and have not received it YET, please call me and let me know so I won’t miss anyone.

And, I really liked this blogging idea. I seemed to have it going strong…..and then Christmas 2007 came….and went….and then New Year Celebrations and all those resolutions- but no blogs from ME.

Isn’t that the way it is with a lot of our “really good habits and routines”( like Sunday church, Wednesday night church, going to the gym, volunteering at our favorite charity….and the list goes on and on) ? If we miss one, then it makes it so easy to miss another and another until we are looking at weeks, even months, gone and we don’t even remember when we started slacking. Going back is hard for most of us, because so many other things have squeezed themselves  into our schedules….but the going back is necessary and much-needed; because, those are really good habits.

I don’t believe in making “resolutions” and empty promises to myself or to God. I do, however, believe in repenting and then bringing forth fruits to meet repentance. I vowed to keep you all informed about the goings-on of the home and our family, but I have not done well. This blogging is really easy and I am blessed to be able to just write and post……..knowledge is so awesome to have at our fingertips.

Many times, folks have told me that they are willing to help….if they just knew what we needed. I am on the Job with this Blog…….rededicated to communicating with you. Thank-you for your prayers, your love, your support, and your friendship.

Serving with a glad heart,

Charlotte Wingard, ”blogger extraordinaire” !!