Hi from Hyaets!

We are headed north, exhausted, exhilarated and extremely blessed by our Hyaets experience! Today was the climax of our trip, Sharing Day with the Hyaets community, and we shared all of the donations, hot dogs, moonwalk jumpers, medical screenings and information on the Hyaets ministry possible in the three hours we fellowshipped together. Fearless Leader was our griller; Beth, Patty and Sigsby provided blood pressure and blood sugar screenings; Lorene, Meriam and Sue donned gloves and provided food service, and Joanie, Jason, Helms, and Christine and Michael Kellett, the third Hyaets couple, provided counseling and encouragement to the hundred or so folk who visited our sharing time. By 4 p.m. we had moved the last table, said the last thank you and sung the Doxology before boarding our trusty van and moving out to Richmond.

Each day of our mission we began with a devotional time led by Helms, reminding of us of our spiritual journey and God’s purpose in our lives. As we reflect on our time in Charlotte, I would like to ask the van occupants (I’m blogging en route) to input a few words about their response to our experience;

Sigsby: excited about how the neighborhood folk are dedicated to the ministry of our hosts, encouraged by the control the young ministers have in the neighborhood, and the degree of respect shown by the neighborhood people to the young minister.

Meriam: learned at the hot dog booth that we don’t understand how people in that environment, making work like Hyaets necessary, we need to go make trips such as this so we can come to better understanding, and mission trip work is not always fun.

Lorene: amazed at the way the young teenagers relate to the ministerial couples, how much they respect the ministers, and how appreciative were the folks who came to Sharing Day today.

Wilton: how dedicated the young ministers are to their ministry and to the neighborhood; the aptitudes and attitudes of the ministers in relating to the community; God is truly blessing their efforts.

Sue: the challenges faced daily by the Hyaets ministers in their housing environments, monetary constraints and the community influences with which they contend.

Fearless Leader: grateful to God for the can-do attitude and willingness to work demonstrated by the Hyaets mission team.

This is fond farewell to this mission effort – we will launder our Sharing Day t-shirts and put them away until next year, but our memories, our new friendships and our fresh understanding of others’ challenges under God’s leadership will remain with us forever.

Love and blessings,

Sue

Hi from Hyaets!

This was truly a good Friday! Fearless Leader, Chauffeur Wilton and Doc Sigsby spent this morning ferrying junk collected yesterday from the shed to the county dump – the fee was waived because the van belonged to the church! The rest of us emptied the second shed and categorized its contents for tomorrow’s big Jubilee Share Day. Lorene, Meriam and Patty cleaned and reorganized the shed. Gondola girls Beth and Sue, used a gurney found in the shed yesterday and transferred Share Day sales items from the shed to the site of tomorrow’s celebration. We were really exhausted by noon, but a good dose of chips, chocolate and Cheer-Wine revived us and we were ready to work and/or play with John Tyson after lunch break.

Hyaets publishes a bi-monthly newsletter, and efforts this afternoon focused on the assembly and mailing of that publication. The three wise guys made one more dump run and turned in the trailer, and by five we were all at the motel for fresh deodorant and a trip to downtown Charlotte for uptown soul food at Mert’s – delish – and a tour, courtesy of host Greg, of old town Charlotte.

We are all so overwhelmed by the level of devotion of the Hyaets couples, their commitment to this impoverished community, and our own inability to grasp living at this level. Thank you, Lord, for such dedication to your service and for our opportunity to share in a very inadequate way in its fulfillment. Pray for a successful Sharing Day tomorrow and safe passage for 8 tired-but-inspired mission team members as we return home to you. God bless.

Love you,

Sue

Here we are at Hyaets, safe and sound with the Lord’s protection and Wilton’s chauffuership. We have good beds at the motel, good company in the van and the car, and good hosts in Greg and Helms, not to mention good “lovin’ “ with six-week-old John Tyson!

Last night, after dining sumptuously at Shoney’s, we met John Tyson, Greg and Helms, toured their newly refurbished home and the beautiful rec center across the street. Back at their house, we made cookies, made cookies and made cookies, plus fliers to distribute with the cookies to the neighborhood this morning. Our neighborhood walk promoted the Jubilee Sharing Day across the street on Saturday.

After a bountiful lunch, we are baking more cookies and heading out to clean out the sheds behind the house in preparation for the Sharing Day. Beth is our champion cookie cooker and Bert, our Fearless Leader, makes us tow the line with strict discipline and Patty and Meriam are our Wal-Mart shoppers. The weather is gorgeous, the Spirit is here, and we’ll ask for your prayers as our service continues.

Love you!

Sue