I have several bibles in various locations. I have a few I keep at work, some at home and several versions on shelves in either location. Some were gifts from friends or family, some are old, some are new. Some Bibles I’ve had for 30 years while some I’ve received only recently. I have many versions, various sizes, shapes, and formats. Within the last couple of years, I am finding the Bible on my phone the most convenient. I appreciate the online version on my computer for research and version comparison. Some are dusty and almost never get opened. Some are old and fragile and I worry about tearing the pages every time I open the cover. I cherish each of them for their own uniqueness and character. I love the feel of my Grandpa Davids’ pocket KJV; its well worn leather binding fits into my hands perfectly. I received it only recently since his passing a few months ago but every time I open it I think of him and the legacy he left in our family, both directly to us boys and through my mother. I smile at the coffee stained pages of the bible my father gave me out of his collection when I was 11 or so. I think I am the one who filled out the presentation time and date in my scrawling boyish handwriting. I’m not sure where I came by the New Living Translation version that sits on my desk but I’ve only in the last year or so come to appreciate the eloquence and flow of the wording in that version. Don’t get me wrong, much to my discredit I am no Bible scholar. I do not study as often as I should despite an abundance of source material. Nor do I wish to debate the merits of preference one version over another. A wise man was asked, “Which version of the Bible is the right version?” to which he replied, “the version that you will READ”. Let the professors argue, we must live it first. This evening I opened a study Bible that I haven’t opened in quite some time. The page just inside the cracked leather cover is dated in a flowing fountain pen script: Oct. 1, 1934. It was presented, presumably as a Christmas gift, to my great grandfather De Leon Abell on Dec 25, 1936 from his sister G. Almyra Abell. He was 35 at the time. His daughter (my dad’s mother) Martha was 9. As I leafed through the yellowing pages, a handwritten note fell out. On it was written, in my grandfather’s broken cursive, 8 wise sayings or quotes. The last one says, “Many people who will not read the Bible will read a Christians life”. My father from his earliest age read it in his grandfather’s life, heard it from his mother’s lips, and lived it into his son’s lives. Speaking for my brothers, we are eternally grateful for a legacy of God’s word lived in the lives of our parents, passed down from the Godly generations before them.
Fall is slowly making its way into winter here and as temperatures drop, the signs of the season become all too familiar. Pine boughs, warm kitchens, blustering wind, fallen leaves lightly covered with snow, and all too often stress. Colossians 3:15 says: And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. (NLT) This is historically our busiest time here at the shelter. We currently have 8 people staying with us, 3 families and 2 single men. We are tying up a lot of loose ends around here getting ready for winter. We have remodeled one of our transitional housing apartments with new paint, carpet, and a few minor fixtures just in time to make room for a family whose house burnt. God’s timing, as always, is perfect. This last year has also been one of the busiest here at the shelter. We provided more nights of shelter this last year, 1,839 Aug. 2012 – July 2013 serving 38 residents, than the year before, 1,490 Aug. 2011-July 2012 serving 32 residents. We consistently receive an average of 8-10 calls per month. Our case manger, Gene, is doing an excellent job and is very busy keeping the residents organized and productive. He has been a great addition to our staff. Kathy is still the rock holding down our office operations, handling most of the daily shelter needs, maintaining the food pantry database, handling donations, and phone calls, volunteering an incredible 30-40 hours per week for the last 3 years! We wouldn’t know what to do without her and are blessed to have her here with us. Margaret takes over for Kathy three days a week in the afternoons and shares in Friday’s food pantry volunteer rotation. All of our staff does a wonderful job accepting and sorting donations, answering the phones, transporting residents to appointments, and volunteering their time in the food pantry to help keep the shelter running smoothly, I absolutely could not do it without them. Please join with us in praise and prayer about this upcoming years funding. After lots of prayer and debate, we have elected NOT to participate in this years’ Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) program. It was a difficult decision and it will cost the shelter over $9,000 in funding this year, but we didn’t agree with the direction that HUD (the federal funding source behind the ESG program) was taking our shelter program. Most of the issue was that HUD is requiring that we limit the people we serve based on guidelines and requirements that were designed and suited towards an urban population. It forced us into a scenario where we would have had to deny access to the Emergency Shelter program, for certain people, despite our having empty beds. If we accept even a dollar from that program, we have to adhere to all their guidelines and stipulations on how we spend EVERY dollar we receive, no matter the funding source. We continue to apply for other state and local grants and trust the Lord to provide for the ministry HE desires. Please keep in prayer our staff, community service volunteers, and our residents as we are presented with the opportunity to help share the Gospel and meet the needs of the families in our area.
THANK YOU to all who have donated time or supplies this past year, no donation is too large or too small. We couldn’t do what we do here without YOUR help. If there is a specific area that you feel led to make a donation towards, whether that’s cleaning supplies, work clothes for the residents, transportation costs, or food, let me know and we’ll make sure it gets used for that purpose. We are truly blessed to be doing HIS work with your help.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support!
In His Service, Micah Dewing Shelter Director
“You are the only Bible some people will ever read”