Home Mission Relief

Geoff, Jill and Andrea
Geoff, Jill and AndreaGeoff, Jill and AndreaGeoff, Jill and Andrea
Geoff, Jill and Andrea
"True worship...to take care of...widows..." - James 1:27

Very often while overseas, we have, in addition to being involved in evangelism and outreach, identified a "practical" need the missionaries have, and attempted to meet that need. (In Thailand, for instance, the church needed a sound system, so instead of bringing our own from the US, we bought one there, used it for the outreach, then left it for the missionaries to use every Sunday and for future outreaches.) It had not previously occurred to us that something similar could be done within the US. Here's the story...

Andrea Glenn of Andrea Glenn Concert Ministry has a powerful ministry through music, speaking and worship leading. A gifted songwriter and communicator, Andrea has been in full time ministry, first through Celebrant Singers where we worked on the same team together, and then through her own mission, Andrea Glenn Concert Ministries, Inc, for over 20 years. Honestly, there is not a person in ministry we love and respect more than Andrea and we have actively supported her work for many years.

It took no thought then, when Geoff got the call from Andrea in April of 2007, to jump at the chance to respond. She needed help moving from her home in Bakersfield to go live with her Mom and sister in Fairfield, CA (about four hours drive). Her mom, Sarah, has been in need of constant medical care for several years and has been well cared for by Andrea's sister, Cynthia, a registered nurse of 32 years, and who lives with her Mom. Things got difficult for them, however, when in March, Cynthia was diagnosed with lung cancer. Faced with the reality of major surgery and months of recovery for Cynthia, it became clear to Andrea that God was opening an opportunity for her to come home and give back to the sister she dearly loves and the mother who sent her off with her blessing into full time missions work 26 years earlier.

So, Geoff and Trevor, with enlisted contractor friend Randy Kunkleman, hooked up the Full Sail trailer, loaded up her belongings in Bakersfield and headed for Fairfield. After unloading her stuff, they stood in the little house where her Mom and sister (and now Andrea) live and talked with them about how they were doing and what was ahead. They shared how Sarah has not been able to lift her legs high enough to get in and out of the bathtub for quite some time, and had to actually to go to a hotel to shower. And that was very difficult because she couldn't navigate the steep steps to get in and out of their front door. They weren't complaining; they were just stating facts. They felt the heaviness one feels from just dealing with so many obstacles. Geoff looked at Randy and it was clear they were already thinking the same thing.

An idea began to hatch. How was this any different for providing missionaries' needs overseas? Geoff and Randy talked and quickly concluded that the entire bathroom would need to go (original 1961), along with the windows in both the bathroom and Cynthia's room, and an access ramp out a new front door with security gate was desperately needed. It was decided then and there that an APB needed to be put out and, just as was expected, immediately people began responding with financial gifts. Even Lowe's gave 25% off of materials for the project, which greatly stretched those dollars.

Within 3 weeks, $6500 was raised, a bathroom was gutted and totally remodeled, windows were replaced, security door was installed and handicap ramp and safety rail were built. Andrea left us a voice mail message upon seeing the completed project: "I just had to stop and thank you from my heart for lending Geoff to our family. He is and you are by extension and your whole ministry are ministering to my family in ways you will never really, fully know. I just needed to let you know how grateful I am for all you've done...From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Project update - November 2008!

We still have just a few things left to finish to wrap up the project. There is one window left to replace (already purchased), two exterior doors with security locks and a roll up garage door. Our budget for remaining repairs is $2,000. Once the funds are raised we will coordinate volunteers to travel to Fairfield and finish the job. We believe if we bring the right tradesman volunteers, this could be all done in one day.

If you would like to donate to the 'HOME MISSION RELIEF FUND', please click on the green "Donate" button below, and your gift will go toward this project. Thank you for your kind support.