We are very excited to tell you about an opportunity we have been offered to purchase a warehouse for the ministry! I know that many of you have been faithfully praying about this need with us. This is an answer to those prayers, we believe.

Mr. Jeff Dukes has offered the ministry a warehouse at 350 and 360 Culbertson Avenue in Jackson (exactly 3 miles from our main ministry campus). He has it for sale for $150,000 but has offered it to us for $125,000, because of what we do in the Jackson area.

It is a dry, secure, 17,500 square foot warehouse with about 200 shelving units already set up in it. This would be perfect storage for our furniture, appliances, house wares, and all the other donations we try to make available to give to the homeless and needy.

CAN WE PARTNER TOGETHER AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN? We are here to serve the homeless, needy, the battered, and abandoned….. so this warehouse is a potential tool for us to help serve more efficiently and effectively. LET US HEAR FROM YOU!

We need 125,000 dollars to pay for the building outright or pledges that will equal 2,000 dollars a month for the next five years. We are a tax-deductible Mississippi licensed and registered not-for-profit charity.

We do not accept federal, state, county, or city monies.

WE DO accept donations from private foundations, corporate foundations, church groups, or private individuals.

* We ask for your prayerful consideration.

* We value any advice or opinions you might want to share.

* We invite you to pass this message on to others who might help.

* We need you to pray for us as we seek ways and means to better serve our precious Savior!

We are thanking YOU because your continuing support allows us the opportunity to live Jesus and present the plan of salvation to our people. Additionally, it allows us to teach people how to get on their feet the right way: by working hard at a job and learing to save their money and how to spend wisely.  We firmly believe that God does NOT endorse public welfare for those people who are able to work a job. We push good, solid work ethic, additional education (beause we should never stop learning new things), and Biblical budgeting plans.

May you and yours have an awesome year in Christ and we pray that the blessings of almighty God will shower down on you so that your cup runs over and onto all those around you.

SPECIAL NEEDS….For some of the needy children we are interviewing for Christmas gifts.

Maleigha will be 7 on the day of the festival (Dec. 23) so we need to get a Tinkerbell themed birthday cake for her to receive at the festival.

A little 11 year old boy said that one of his three wishes is that his momma could get her hair done. we need someone to give us a gift voucher to get her hair don…e. Her name is Melissa.

Eleven year old Tyler wants more than anything to have a signed #7  jersey from Ben Rothinsberger (I may have misspelled his name) of the Pittsburg Steelers….anybody know where I can get one of these for him to get for Christmas?

Several of our families with multiple children have wanted game systems for Christmas. We were thinking….if you know someone who is getting a new updated game system for Christmas, maybe they could donate their old system and we will get them to some needy families for Christmas.

Friday, December 23

4-6 pm

MBA building (across the street from the NEJ Soccer Fields & right past McLeod Elementary)

2240 Westbrook Road

Jackson, Mississippi

We are truly excited about the opportunities to minister to some awesome needy children this year…..between 250-300 needy children and their parent or guardian. What a blessing to be a part of this event! Please join us! come sponsor a game booth, a space jump, or fun activity for the children….dream it up! design it! gather prizes for it! set it up on the 23rd! and man it with your group!…..God will do all the hard stuff. Call today to reserve your booth space and register you activity.

The children to sponsor for Christmas are written on little “lamb” cards and can be found on the tree at the Flowood Walmart and the Christmas tree at the Brent’s Drugs in Fondren.

On most days Wingard Home is FULL..full of people who are homeless, displaced, battered, or abandoned. We are full, too, of the love of Jesus Christ and His Word flows freely here; as we meet each set of problems with answers, Godly answers, for the spirit and the flesh. We are so excited about what is happening in people’s lives as they heal and step back out into the world; defying the bondage that homelessness had shackled them with. Praise an awesome and Holy God!!

This is quite an opportune time for you to be a part of the blessings going forth and to take part in what God has set up here.

 Even though the demand has elevated, the support base for the bills and utilities has dwindled to a dangerous low.

 I feel sure that there are many of you who are wanting to help, but are waiting for the opportunity and direction.

 If this is the case with you, then let me say how important it is for this ministry to keep our utilities on and current and to keep our vehicles running!

THIS IS YOUR TIME TO BLESS 42 HOMELESS FOLKS A DAY EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR SIMPLY BY HELPING US KEEP THE HOMES OPEN, THE UTILITIES PAID AND THE VEHICLES RUNNING AND IN GOOD REPAIR.

I prayerfully submit the following list of our bills for the month of MAY (some are past due) and the gas is due for cut off after today!

ATMOS…………………………………………………$ 337.21  

ALLIED WASTE…………………………………….$ 135.84

TOSHIBA COPIER…………………………………$ 252.78

KIA (SMALL CAR TRANSPORT)……………$ 619.52

U.S. BANK (SMALL PU TRUCK)……………$ 382.18

CITY SERVICES (WATER)……………………..$ 817.77

AT&T (PHONE LAND LINES)……………….$ 200.98

CELLULAR SOUTH………………………………..$ 547.53

ENTERGY……………………………………………..$1,282.93

GAS FOR 4 MINISTRY VEHICLES (small & large truck, small car, and mini van)

                       ……………………………….appx. $ 2,000.00 month

Please pray and seek God on your part in this matter and please let me tell you that we are so appreciative of your help, if it is one dollar or one thousand…..every thing counts toward getting the job done.

Some of the homeless men who live here are working on the unfinished family dorm. We have a short list of some material they need to go farther with the work. The following are items needed:

        8    2 x 10 x 14’s

        14  sheets of sheet rock  3/8’s inch

        1 big box of star deck screws  3 1/2 ” long

If you can help with any of these items, please give us a call and we can make those arrangements.

We approach the sending of this e-mail in FAITH……walking this out by faith and not by sight. God bless you in a mighty way and give you peace, prosperity, and passion for helping those who are struggling and less fortunate. We are a light in a dark world.

* IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FORWARD THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS OR REPOST, PLEASE DO SO AND BE BLESSED FOR IT.  

Our passion as inner city missionaries is to show Jesus to the people we serve through our actions, our words, and the way we live our own lives.  We serve as a part of the body of Christ….not as lone soldiers. Thank-you to all of you who have supported, donated to, volunteered at,  and prayed for this ministry in the past year. You are awesome and we pray God blesses you accordingly.

Our Christmas Festival for the needy children is fast approaching (Saturday, Dec. 11) ! We have over 50 children who have not been adopted for Christmas this year and may not have gifts for the festival.

We are asking for your help to get these children sponsored. The reason some people are giving for not helping these children is that a lot of them asked for a bike….or that they want clothing for winter (ex. too many clothing items listed on one line of the lamb card) …….JESUS HAVE MERCY ON US ALL!!! 

My plea to you is to help us get the word out to folks who would like to bless a needy child for Christmas. Forward this to all your friends…..we can all do a little something if it is merely spreading the word. 

One dear friend of the ministry went to the tree at the Flowood Walmart and took some lambs to sponsor for her business. She called me because she had questions about their wishes. Once I explained to her about the children she understood the need. Please don’t pre-judge these children’s wishes….call if you need to ASK  questions.

FOR INSTANCE:  We interviewed a young teen girl who wants to be a fashion designer and has been altering her own clothing by hand…so she asked for a sewing machine for Christmas…….we interviewed the daddy( there is no Mother in his life)  of a little boy who does not play inside much, but loves tools and likes doing thing with building stuff……he asked for a small size set of real tools for one of his Christmas wishes. We interviewed two little brothers who have been sleeping on mats on the floor….they wanted a bed for Christmas.

A BIKE IS CLOUT, MOBILITY, & GOOD EXERCISE!!!….WHAT AN AWESOME RETURN ON YOUR DOLLARS…… YOU CAN PURCHASE MP 3 PLAYERS W/ VIDEO FOR $20.00…… THE JOY ON THE CHILDREN’S FACES, WELL, THAT IS PRICELESS!

PLEASE HELP US GET THE WORD OUT…….THESE CHILDREN NEED SPONSORS BEFORE THE 11th!

IF YOU WANT TO SPONSOR AND DON’T WANT TO SHOP, GET YOUR MONEY TO US……. WE HAVE VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL GO OUT AND FIND THEIR WISHES! 

We also need more activity booths for the festival…..this is an awesome ministry tool to reach families in dire straits, to minister God’s love to them: to invite them to church: to actually see and meet the very children you have sponsored for Christmas gifts. Call today and get a spot for a booth on Saturday, the 11th.

If you go to our web site and click on the newsletter link, then go to the 2010 Christmas Newsletter link, it will take you to the Christmas Brochure for this festival.

We are believing God for the miracles of the season to glorify Him and only Him and to provide for and propel this ministry into 2011 where we will continue serving! AMEN!

This time of year, I should be telling you all about Christmas plans & projects for the Ministry, but I have a greater agenda, at this point. We are delinquently in need of getting the last of the “summer slump” bills paid and out of the way so we can move forward into the end-of-the-year activities.

The hardest part of ministry, to us, is handling the financial day-to-day needs. Many of you tell us that we are doing an awesome job of spreading the gospel and helping the homeless and needy in Jackson….well, if you think we are doing a good & worthy job, why are you not supporting it?

If you are supporting this ministry financially, then we sincerely thank you! We are certainly not whining or complaining, we just want you all to know that “every good work” has to have good support….we don’t need you to pat us on the back and tell us what a good job we are doing, we need you to be “Aaron in the battle” - get in this battle with us by supporting those of us who are on the front lines.

    We are dedicated and available to do this work 24/7 and love what we do because we are chosen, equipped & anointed for this job. We do not take government money or assistance for what we do here because God said He would support this….through His people! WE ARE HERE ! WHERE ARE YOU?

If we are doing something wrong, I pray God reveals that to us! We would ask for your prayers, too! We just want to help people and spread the Gospel to those in need….but it takes the whole body of Christ to do the job right…..hands and feet need a body to support it and strong bones and muscles with a healthy heart beating and lungs taking in air.

We are the hands and feet out here in the mission field and we need you to join with us to support this inner city ministry, so we can continue to do the work.

Entergy: $1,856.68

Cellular South: $ 345.75

Truck notes: $ 473.06 and $ 382.18

Stribling & Associates:  $ 4,287.50

Progressive Insurance: $ 591.85

I just present these needs to you for you kind and heart-felt consideration. These bills are due or past due. Each month, this ministry has expenses, basic expenses, that must be paid or we cannot operate! We house a lot of people here who are working hard to go by rules and get back on their feet. Doesn’t it make sense to support a cause that is working and getting results?

We continue serving and praying while we are waiting on God for direction in this ministry……now, is GOD WAITING ON YOU?… please don’t miss your blessing.

I will leave you with a scripture, because God’s Word is all we have to cling to in every situation……

 7 If there be among you a poor man of one of your brothers within any of your gates in your land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your poor brother: 8 But you shall open your hand wide to him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wants. 9 Beware that there be not a thought in your wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and your eye be evil against your poor brother, and you give him nothing; and he cry to the LORD against you, and it be sin to you. 10 You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him: because that for this thing the LORD your God shall bless you in all your works, and in all that you put your hand to. 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command you, saying, You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor, and to your needy, in your land.

Deuteronomy 15: 7-11 

Running with the King,

Roy & Charlotte Wingard & Family

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!

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

This adds up to 126 meals a day….give or take a few.

Not only are we able to feed the ministry, but we are also able to share our excess from Kroger with the daycare who is so kind to our young working mothers. We are also able to trade excess bread from Kroger for produce from local farmers in the spring and summer…..when we so desperately need  fruits & vegetables. We have been the best stewards we know how to and have used every usable part of the products we picked up from Kroger.

TODAY, we were told that we can no longer pick up from the Kroger on County Line in Ridgeland (or any other Kroger) because the regional manager gave our store to the organization that picks up at all the other Krogers in this area.

Now, we are seeking guidance on what to do because we will no longer have the bread, meat, milk, cheese, (and all the other wonderful things found in the dairy section of the store), the bakery products, the post-seasonal items, chips, snack cakes, and all the other things that we picked up every week day at the back door of our one wonderful Kroger store.

No one told us that we did anything wrong…..we just cannot pick-up because a mega-organization in this city thought they had to have our one little store to be complete, I guess!

Mississippi Food Network does not fit into our budget, because we do not have X-amount of dollars to spend on food and products every week and their inventory cost a certain amount per pound. We just do not know what to do at this point except pray and believe God for miracles.

I am making you all aware of the problem, so you can believe with us, pray for us, and, if you know any connections or have any ideas, please contact us so we have some direction. One of my main witnesses tools in this ministry is the fact that God feeds this home through people who care….we don’t need or want food stamps (EBT) cards here. The folks who live here see God supplying needs every day in this ministry. Kroger has been so good to us through that one little store for all these years and we do not know why Chuck Head made the decision or why Gleaners wanted one more store when they had so many, but God is in charge and…….

 I’ll just run with the King if you don’t mind!

601-906-1976

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!”

We are blessed and have such a spirit of graditude for all of you who lifted us up in your prayers, all of you who visited Roy in the hospital, all of you who lended a hand to me when the work got to be more than I could handle, all of you who contributed to the ministry account to help with the added expenses, all of you who continued to support the ministry even when your times got hard, too….’cause you knew you were serving God by being faithful.

We are doing fine….and the ministry is doing fine! In the Word is a verse that says   “Yea! though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You are with me!….” God is so faithful!

You will be shortly hearing of all the awesome things going on here at the Wingard Home (God’s little Spiritual Hospital on West Street) . For the next couple of weeks I will be working very hard to get out all the tax deductible receipts from 2009 so folks can get their taxes filed out. I am already running behind on this so I pray that all of you will be patient for a few more days and call me if you need something from me on this and have not received it yet. My office phone is 601-355-9589 and my cell is 601-906-1976.

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!

CAUSE AND EFFECT:

Most of you have probably already heard about Roy’s horrible accident on November 3rd. As we are entering an incredibly busy time of the year for this ministry, suddenly we are thrust into a spiral of ambulance, trauma unit, hospital stays and two surgeries so far. We are now waiting on the all-clear for the third surgery. We are blessed to have had Christian friends and supporters who have been praying without ceasing. Miracles! are what we are seeing!

OPPORTUNITY TO HELP:

As we go through the just-before-December slump every year, we have to do a little shaking of the bushes to raise the extra support. This year, because of Roy’s accident I have not been “at full capacity” to make folks aware…….that we are getting seriously behind.

 We have close to $ 5,250.00 in bills for the month of November and only  $1,000 in the bank.

To quote a friend of ours from a local church ” there are goods folks out here who are willing and able to help, but you have to let them know where the need is!”

ON TASK: 

As far as the ministry is concerned, we are still running as usual- taking people in, making pick-ups, counseling, doing the interviews for the Christmas Festival and having Chapel four times a week! Supper is prepared every day for 40 people. We have on-going projects and are still in need of volunteers. We are full-steam-ahead with the big Christmas Festival for the hundreds of needy children.

WE ARE BLESSED:

Roy has round-the-clock care here at the ministry because of God bringing us an awesome nurse named Joe and a volunteer ministry intern named Amanda who is working in the kitchen and food pantry. Our children have been wonderful helpers through this whole ordeal and I, personally, am leaning on Jesus and one of my favorite scriptures- “Not by might, not by power, but, by my Spirit, says the Lord.” I have no idea how anyone could survive the trauma this family has been through the past two weeks without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ……I could NOT do this without God in our life!!

We love you all and thank-you for your prayers and support in the past: we pray you choose to continue.

Love in Christ,

Charlotte Wingard and family 

Thank-you for your support and  your prayers,

Charlotte, Wingard Children, and all of Wingard Home

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

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

Please don’t forget that this is certainly a team effort and we need you now more than ever before. The first thing we need is a prayer covering…….please prayer warriors, lift this ministry, the city of Jackson, and this missionary family up in prayer without ceasing.

The second thing we need is your talents, your time, and your professional expertise. In other words, come spend a little volunteer time at the Home and ministry campus.  Let God use you to bless the homeless, battered, and displaced by helping this ministry serve them better and more effectively.  It will take all of us working together to get this house up to code and ready to use for the Kingdom.

The third thing we need is for you to pray about what God would have you do to contribute to the funds for the fence (which is step 1) and for materials and supplies to get the house fixed back up. If God has been tugging on your heart to get involved and you are looking for a place to contribute, then check us out and do what God says do.

We took photos on Saturday and will take more for you to see as the work continues…….we will be glad to give you a tour around the place if you want to come visit. We will be excited to have you visit and you will, without a doubt, catch the vision while you are here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117668&id=530478890&l=47ba727b8d

This link above will take you to the photo section of my face book so you can view the photos from the house next door.

Be blessed, Charlotte

Thank-you for all of your prayers through our tough times. I will be getting a “total ministry update” to you all in the next few days.

November Projects include some of the following suggestions: 

1) The House Next Door: We have recently obtained a two story house that adjoins the ministry property on the south side of the Chapel. The house must be cleaned out, stripping out the bad wood, sheetrock, etc and renovated according to code. There is a 10 foot wrought iron fence that has to be cut, dug-up and rerun on the opposite side of the house. Talents needed are electrical, carpentry, demolition, painting, sheet rock mudding, general clean-up, plumbing, HVAC, fencing, welding, tree removal, insulating, and flooring. There will also have to be some minor ground moving of the surrounding yard– filling in the low areas and pushing down the high places – landscaping. We would like to finish the house up with vinyl siding and a metal roof – talents in roofing & siding.

2) We have a small playground started, but would like to add to the chil dren’s area with lots of physical play options. The keyword with this pro- ject is “sturdy” to the point of being virtually indestructible. The project would involve planning, producing, and implementing the play areas. In the photo is what we have so far– our population has included up to 26 children at one time….so you can see why this is not sufficient.

3) We have an ongoing project in the men’s dorm that will include some carpentry, sheet rock mudding and sanding, and painting (cut-in & rolling) to finish up the men’s dorms and the family dorms. 4) We have an unfinished library in the commons area of the ministry. The completion of this area will require two different types of labor.a) Carpenter to raise the front entrance door, level the floor, and finish around the inside entrance

b) Flooring talents to lay the plywood, backer board, a wood floor

c) The other project talent in the library area, would be to gather some bean bags or juvenile type seating so the children are drawn to the library area. We want someone to take on the task of making the library area bright, inviting, and user friendly to children, teens and adults in the Home. This will involve talents in interior design & decorating, and organizational skills.

5) Tear Down & Replace a Barrier Wall: The old decaying crossties on the North side of the ministry propertyact as a barrier wall to keep the yard and fence from eroding into the street. This whole area needs to be redone (removing the rotten crossties and replacing them with landscape stones, concrete and rebar, or crossties in good shape)

6) Cook A Meal: We serve supper every night at the ministry. We prepare for 40 people and serve at 6 p.m. On Sunday, we serve at 5 p.m. and have church at 6. You can split up a pre-determined menu and cook things separately at your homes (like you would a “church social”); then all bring the meal to the ministry and serve the meal, eat with us, and clean up the kitchen afterward. -OR– Bring the things you prepared and leave them for us to serve. –OR– Bring the things you prepared, serve, eat with us, and then have a short chapel with us. The sky is the limit! You could even bring ingredients for whatever you plan to serve and come together as a group in our kitchen to prepare the meal.

7) Adopt A Dorm Room: We are almost ready to move the men back into the renovated men’s dorm and need groups who are interested in supplying bunkbeds (man size metal), mattresses, twin sheets and comforters, heavy-duty chests of drawers, footlockers for shoes (and other such items), and pillows. We will also need the same for two rooms in the women’s area (only in “feminine” color scheme) & no footlockers. If you want to throw in some color-coordinated towels & wash cloths– we will count our extra blessings.

Christmas: At Christmas, we do all sorts of “extra” stuff for the children and less-fortunate families of the tri-county area. We strive the reach the folks who are not able to get help from anyone else, because of their situation. I am enclosing a Christmas brochure with this mailing to give you an idea of how these projects would have a lasting effect on this area’s needs. 9) Anytime Volunteers: An inner city ministry like this has many, many different opportunities for you to help. We welcome you to set up time slots in your schedules that would be best for you and reserve that time with us. Whether it is an hour, or several hours: once or twice a week or once a month, you will be able to touch so many lives for the better during the time you spend here as a volunteer. The tasks include everything from minor “fix-up” to raking leaves: examples are washing dishes, organizing food pantry, sorting donations, painting, baby sitting, tutoring, reading books to children, cleaning, doing office work,……..and the list goes on and on.10) Take on an Apprentice or Student: If you have a talent or a trade that you could share, then share it with one of the folks here at the ministry. For instance, singing, playing an instrument, welding, knitting, drawing, painting, dance, etc. are all talents or trades that you could share.

11) Organic Garden: We really need someone to come and build and set up a compost area and oversee it. We always have a need for herbs, fruits and vegetables. A lots of time folks will give us fruit & veggies that have rot mixed in with the good. We could keep the good and place the bad in a compost heap.

12) Birthday Volunteers: Here at the ministry, we try to make birthdays a very special time (especially for the children). If we could have some volunteers to be on standby, we could present a list of all the birthdays for the upcoming month and then count on you to come and bring the party with you. That would mean, bring the cake, ice cream, treats, gifts, or whatever you will. Making folks feel special in times of trouble is a very necessary part of the healing process.

13) Do A Drive Or Scavenger Hunt for Supplies: All the things that we use to help folks with come from folks like yourselves. Some examples of fun and helpful drives include: cleaning supplies; canned food; cereals and breakfast foods; personal hygiene; men & women’s underwear & socks; laundry supplies; winter coats, hats, and gloves; feminine hygiene and beauty supplies; or bedding supplies.

14) Thanksgiving: The season of parties and get togethers is upon us and what better way to help someone and share your favorite family holiday recipe, than to sponsor Thanksgiving Dinner for the home. When you are baking all those special treats, entrees, and sides for your Thanksgiving table, just make an extra for the ministry’s Thanksgiving table. These folks won’t be going home or to grandma’s house for the holidays, because for most, this will be their home and family until they can get back on their feet.

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