This report from Melinda Staples, our Project Manager, is a direct result of YOUR giving to FtH’s Christmas Outreach effort this year. We were able to purchase gifts, food, Bibles, and visit people in great need. The stories are hard to read and the situations are incomprehensible for most of us, but they are reality for thousands of families in Kentucky. Pray for the people you read about, that God would provide their needs and that they would receive the greatest gift: salvation in Jesus Christ.
I returned late Tuesday night from a great trip to visit our partners at the Maytown Center in Langley, Kentucky. I arrived late Sunday afternoon and began helping out with the annual community Christmas party. Each year, a group from Georgia comes and provides a wonderful Christmas dinner and Christmas program. This year, more than 100 people from the community came to eat, watch a play, hear the Christmas story, sing songs, and receive small gifts. It was great fun seeing old friends.
On Monday morning, we departed early and met up with the local high school resource director. She guided us as we delivered gifts and food to several families. Unfortunately we could not find one family. The resource director had just found out the day before that they had moved away and no one knew where they had gone.
When a child or family disappears like this, it is extremely sad. We don’t know why they disappear, but some speculations include money issues, drugs, and family dynamics. The end result is usually the children getting lost somewhere along the line. Many of the children may not be able to attend school, and without support from school resource directors or from ministries like Maytown Center, the children WILL go without food, shoes, clothes, and medical help. The gifts and food that were intended for this family were given to another family whose house burned down last week.
Later that afternoon we said goodbye to the high school resource director and met up with the middle school resource director. We again encountered a family that had disappeared. They had been living in a tent near one of the many large creeks that flow through the hollers. The family included two girls (an eight-year-old and a twelve-year-old) and their parents. Not finding them near the creek, we went to the local post office, which always offers wonderful assistance when looking for someone who lives or once lived in the community. The post office was told that the family had moved away. Again, it is uncertain why this family left. Perhaps one reason was the rising creek, or the cold, wet, and snowy weather that had set in. We just pray that the children and family are safe and are in a location where the children can receive help, perhaps from a kind school resource director or ministry.
Delivering Christmas gifts is a new and eye-opening experience every year. The people we meet and the homes we visit are always fascinating to me, though it is so far from my (our) everyday life. The majority of the homes are very dark inside, with numerous gas heating elements stationed throughout the main room. If they have a gas stove, all of the burners are on high, with the flames rising several inches to help heat the room.
With the exception of a couple, all of the homes were filled with cigarette smoke, with adults and older youth smoking. It truly takes your breath away. One young mother was eight months pregnant and smoking heavily, while two small children sat on the chair. She shared with us that her oldest son (six years old) was having respiratory problems and needed medical help. My thoughts turned to her unborn child. What medical help will he or she need?
We visited two young boys living with their grandparents in a government housing project. They did not know their parents. The grandmother met us at the door and shared that her husband was dying of cancer in the back room. It was obvious that this grandmother was having tremendous emotional problems. She was very unresponsive, showing no emotion about the situation. The young boys were excited to see us, but it appeared that they did not understand what was going on with their grandparents.
Visiting the last family was especially difficult. There were three little children and their mother and father. We were greeted by the mother and two of the children, ages seven and two. The middle child, three years old, just sat and stared off, never uttering a word while we were there. The father was unseen and we were told that he had a broken jaw. The mother had a broken foot and with an extremely dirty cast—the pink cast was almost black. She also had a broken thumb, but could not go to the doctor. Her glasses were broken and taped in several places. The children were dressed in torn and dirty clothes. If a room could be lifeless, this was it. They were thrilled to receive the food; however, there was no refrigerator to store the ham that we brought. The mother was happy about the Bible she received—it was her first! Like in all the homes we visited, we shared about the true meaning of Christmas and prayed with the family.
Sometimes delivering gifts and food can be very tricky. The roads are always muddy and slick, and the steep hills can cause you to slide. You just pray that the truck doesn’t get stuck in the mud and that you can turn it around once it goes down one of those narrow roads. There are times when you have to go over narrow wooden bridges. The best way to handle those is to shut your eyes and press the gas in hopes of getting over it quicker.
Approaching the homes can also be challenging. You really must notify them somehow that you will be visiting them so they can be expecting you. One house we visited had several dogs chained up and others running loose in the yard. We were told not to go near the chained ones, but that the loose ones were gentle. So we had to walk between the three chained dogs to get to the house. Barking, large-toothed dogs staring at you can be unnerving!
Going down one of the dirt roads, we saw a man holding a large chicken. I rolled down my window and asked him where he was going with his chicken, and he replied that he was taking him next door for mama to fix chicken and dumplings. I would have loved to stay and eat with him, but there was another meal around the bend. As I waved goodbye to chicken man and drove on, I encountered four men shaving a pig and preparing him to cook. There was a great selection on the menu that day!
Please pray for the people in eastern Kentucky who are in great need, and for Maytown Center, the school resource directors, and all the lives they touch in the Name of Jesus!
Melinda Staples | Project Manager