| Dear Mission Family,
In writing the January ministry update each year I usually feel a great deal of conflict within my being. I am not a person who finds much satisfaction by measuring the things I have been able to accomplish. I think the Apostle Paul was in a similar boat. This first Christian church planter traveled the countryside encouraging people to gather together and live out a New Life, but most of his letters, like mine, are filled with lessons which come out of experience. Still, I am sensitive to the fact that folks who support us, both financially and prayerfully, deserve to hear an accounting of how their investment was used. So what follows is a brief summary of our efforts in 2011.
- We have been able to help more than 4,000 people through our Community Closet ministry. More than simply a clothing give-away, this outreach has afforded us the opportunity to meet a most needy people at a point where they feel helpless. Many tons of new and used clothing warmed the bodies and hearts of impoverished families. This is a daily pursuit with some seasonal emphasis on items like winter coats and school supplies. A tender element is the help we’ve been able to give to young mothers, many still in their high school years, with items like car seats, diapers and other supplies. This past year we also expanded the outreach to include providing surplus building materials for home repairs.
- The hosting of mission teams from around the country has continued to provide us opportunity to penetrate deeper into the pockets of poverty which exist in the surrounding hills. We undertook eight large-scale home repair projects this past summer, providing everything from new floors to entire building additions. Additionally, a dozen smaller projects became the focus of the small groups who came to spend a day or two with us. Our mission philosophy is somewhat nontraditional. Rather than finding projects to satisfy the demands of the mission teams, we look for opportunity to establish relationship with needy folks, and then see what might be done to care for housing needs.
- As the nation’s economy has struggled, so have all of the families we’ve helped. Last year we provided more than $30,000 of benevolence assistance, to some very needy folks, for everything from lumber to food to medical and utility bills. The demand can often be overwhelming, as in the last two months of 2011 alone when we responded to four house fires with total loss of possessions.
- The doors to our mission home were seldom closed, as we operated the facility for the benefit of mission teams and humanitarian groups throughout the year. The building served as the base of operation for numerous Christmas parties, retreats and other events undertaken by loving people outside of our immediate ministry family. This is our Father’s House… we just take care of it.
- As I earlier stated, much of what we do is not truly measurable. We continue to provide pastoral counseling to those we encounter, many times extending what is often termed ‘sacramental ministry’ in the form of Holy Communion, Baptisms, Bible teaching, and meditative retreats.
- In keeping with our calling to be in ‘relational ministry’, we often find ourselves involved in efforts which are outside of direct pastoral intervention. We are active members, and participants, in the McCreary County Chamber of Commerce, staying abreast of the vital need for employment in this rather poor community. And as an organization who brings hundreds of ‘tourists’ to our county, we’re often asked to provide insight into issues surrounding tourism in this area, an important part of boosting a sagging economy.
Retreating back to my opening comments, the real focus of our work is something most difficult to measure. We often speak of “relationship” associated with financial metaphors; investing, valuing, protecting, and sadly, relational bankruptcy. But how do you really measure a relationship? It becomes more a state of the human will; willingness to enter into, desire to sustain, sacrifice made, reciprocally experienced. I don’t think that relational context can be reflected on a balance sheet. It must be “experienced” by two or more people (see Matt. 18:20). Your continued support of Hills and Hollers Ministries has allowed us to meet some very broken people at their point of need, and to share in some level of relationship as the Love of God becomes the Truly Tangible Presence… something so vast it is beyond ever being measured.
A short personal note in closing. Over the years many people have encouraged me to capture the experiences surrounding our calling and ministry and present them to a larger audience by way of a publication. I believe I’ve captured the essence of this journey in a book-length parable entitled “Along the Road”. God willing, this book should be available in a few months through Westbow Press. I’ll let you know when it’s released.
The word ‘thanks’ is easy for most people to say. We’re usually taught the concept from the moment we can comprehend anything outside of ourselves. But feeling this most relational response to the presence of another person in your life must move from a social pleasantry to a heartfelt offering. That’s how Rita and I feel over you! Please know that we value our relationship with you above all earthly accomplishments. Let’s not try to measure it. Let’s simply embrace it… for the Love of Jesus! Peace and Love to Y’all!
Jim and Rita Cmolik
|
