500 Miles Away From Home

Tomorrow I will be heading up to North Mississippi, which means that tonight was the last time I would see the volunteers that are currently here for the week. It brings me sadness that I will likely never see my brothers and sisters from Pennsylvania again. Some of them may return, but who knows. Hope Missions has been awesome for us. They plan another trip in March. I think L. T. will be back, and perhaps some others who will be returning. I look forward to those missions. Every group has had its own personality and brings a different set of gifts along. They will fly out Saturday morning. They are a long way from home, but I hope they felt at home with us. In addition, David from California is heading out this weekend. What a blessing he has been to our work. David has been a quiet but strong worker. He doesn't want any fanfare but he has my admiration. He hopes to come back in June and perhaps bring his grandson. I hope he does. It is a bittersweet goodbye to these new friends, for sure. We felt like he was home-folks while he was here. The group from the Smith Street Church of Christ in Fulton, KY are doing a great job. So are the brothers from LaGrange, Georgia who are doing some painting. I think they're having too much fun! I wish I had pictures of everyone, but time is just too tight to get them all. Stan and Sue went home to Oklahoma. They were great servants. There are others here as well, and I do not intend to leave anyone out. These folks all deserve your prayers as they head home in the next few days. A worried mother from out West called me today. She insisted that she used to attend our church a long time ago, but by her questions I knew she wasn't talking about Central. Still, I listened to her talk. Her step daughter has just been moved into a FEMA camper in Pascagoula. Her name is Cheryl. Cheryl has cancer in both lungs and in her throat. She had most of what she needed, but she had no food. So I took her a couple of bags of groceries, not really knowing what I would find when I got into her camper. On her third kind of chemotherapy, Cheryl is basically an invalid. She says when she walks her legs feel like she weighs a ton. She vomits a lot because of the chemicals she is taking. She needs a motorized wheelchair in order to be mobile. Cheryl has six to nine months to live. I guess that means that she will spend the rest of her days in that aluminum can called a camper. Her dad really wants to come and see her, but he's 1600 miles away from home in Arizona. And he is dealing with his own war against cancer. I suspect that these two could be an immense comfort to one another, if they could only be together. But years of life have them living in different parts of the country. I hope we will be able to share the love of Jesus with Cheryl in the coming days. Congratulations to Robbie for 60 days clean and sober. Also congratulations to Heather for 47 days clean and sober. That's awesome! Unfortunately two of our friends we had hoped would be delivered from drugs have returned to that world. Please pray for these two precious children of God. We all hurt for them. Pray for us as Maggy and I travel far away from home this weekend. Away from home away from home Cold and tired and all alone Yes I'm five hundred miles away from home