Partners on Mission

Greetings!

Martie and I trust that this e-mail finds you well with the Lord. I know that many of you continue to pray for this ministry. You know, sometimes people will say, almost apologetically, "I sorry I can't come to Mississippi and I am not able to support the work financially, but I do pray for you". I quickly remind them (and you), that prayer should not be something we do when "we" can't do anything else ... it should be the first thing we do before "we" do anything else. (James 5:16) This is not a business .... we are not a construction company ... we are involved in a spiritual work which, by its nature, requires the application of spiritual "tools" or weapons (Galatians 6:18) So please ... pray for the people we minister to, pray for us ... pray for a Spiritual Harvest not just through Pathfinder ... God is at work all across the Coast through many ministries .... pray for an Awakening ....

I want to update you on several things ... Progress on the Gulf Coast .... Continued Need for Volunteers ... Progress with the Ministry. Sorry if this seems a bit lengthy ...

Progress on the Gulf Coast

The first stage in a disaster recovery is called - Relief --- That stage has passed and the has Church done well. During Relief progress is very visible ... news worthy ... and there is instant gratification for those both giving and receiving assistance ... meaning that I can hand someone some food, water, clothes, medicine, gut their home, or give them a pod and it's done. I accomplished what I set out to do.

Now we are in the Recovery stage.... Recovery on the Gulf Coast is much like what is happening in Iraq right now. It's difficult to see change. It is hard to see the enemy .... The people back home are not so certain that they want to continue to invest recourses ... people or money to continue to support the effort. I am concerned that many may have or are ready to "check the box" that says "Katrina relief - we did our part".

For them the crisis is over and order has been restored. It seems that all you see on the news is mostly about New Orleans (they have huge problems to solve there)... but the devastation of the storm has scared the landscape, ruined lives, crushed hopes, and, created a great angst among the people far beyond New Orleans. (We were called to a home a few weeks ago. A woman down the street from a couple we minister to had shot herself in the head. Her daughter was in the next room. The daughter was with the couple while the police and paramedics did what they do in situations like that. The couple didn't know what to do so they called us.) Another man burnt his "new" house to the ground and held the fire department off with a gun while it burned. It seems that the house had failed inspection and it was more than the man could take ... He was arrested .... I just met with a 64 year old widow who has muscular dystrophy ... she has run out of money and needs help to finish her home so she can move in. She is wheel chair bound and her house is 7 feet above ground .... ugh! Her "ex" daughter in law brought her in. Lord help her!

People are in a "silent" struggle to get back in their homes ... the struggle is now largely un-sung by the media ...but this is the course of things in this country, the attention of the nation has shifted to other issues (many are just as important as what we do here, I might add). Bay Saint Louis just reopened its tourism office ... not focusing on the recovery but on what Hancock County has to offer tourists. ( You really have to have a good imagination if you look beyond casinos for tourist attractions.) Businesses want to move on .... get past Katrina. The Tourism Director said "ding dong the witch is dead" referring to Katrina recovery. Maybe for her "the Katrina witch is dead" but not for the thousands of people who still live in trailers.

The apartment complex on Waveland Ave just re-opened . Although the rent is doubled, at least there is an alternative to living in a FEMA trailer for those who don't own a home. Martie and I saw a light on in one of the apartments the other evening as we drove by and we got excited ... just one more indicator of recovery.

Tow lanes of the Bay Saint Louis to Pass Christian bridge re-opened. It was very symbolic for the people and reduced traffic on I-10 by about 30%.

Need for Volunteers

I want to say a few things about the continued need for volunteers.

In a recent BLOG on "How to Reclaim the Church’s Place in your Community", Rick Warren said, "A ... way of bringing the Church into the center of the community is through doing what Christians least often do and unbelievers most expect us to do, care for the disadvantaged, the sick, the poor, the lame, the hurt, the underprivileged, the aged, the mentally ill and on and on. It is only through our actions that the church will reclaim its rightful standing in this world … by compassion. We will never preach our way back to the sinner. We will never politic our way back to the sinner. It is interesting that politicians have been very frank about the limitations of politics while Christians are getting more and more into politics. That’s not the way you change society. You change it by changing hearts, and you change hearts through service."

That is exactly what volunteers have been doing for the past 23 months. We continue to be amazed, and thankful, at the commitment of the many who have come to the Gulf Coast to serve. We realize that there are many "worthy causes" that tugging at your attention and calling for your involvement. What we want to challenge you to do is to listen for the Holy Spirit to say, "This is the way walk in it". (Isaiah 30:21) What is more important than coming to the Gulf Coast as a volunteer is walking in obedience to God's revealed will. We believe the most volunteers have come here, and continue to come, because the Lord sent them. OK, I know that I am a pretty cool guy and Martie is a wonderful woman, but we are not the reason so many have gone to such great expense, in terms of money and time (and sometimes health), to help the people on the Gulf Coast. It is because the Lord spoke to your heart and said "This is right ... go in My name to serve the people" Don't you think it is awesome that the God of heaven would ask us to participate in His work? Wow!

High Desert Church volunteers were at the camp last week. West End Baptist Church & Beth Salem will be here this week. This weekend 45 adults and youth from High Desert stopped by to attend the service at Little Zion and then enjoy a South Mississippi Shrimp Boil ... I have posted a couple of pictures on the web site -- http://www.pathfindermission.org/volunteers.html -- of the "feed". They really enjoyed themselves. They are serving in Biloxi for a week.

Progress with the Ministry

The Mission house is moving along. As you know we closed on the house -- and are now remodeling it. You can see the progress on our web site --- http://www.pathfindermission.org/HousePurchase.htm --- August will be a difficult month for progress ... not many volunteers ... We were asked if we could receive contributions in kind ... for example ... wiring, etc for the house. The answer is YES! We need insulation, sheetrock, plumbing fixtures, interior doors, linoleum, vinyl siding, toilets, sinks, a commercial stove (electric), commercial ovens (electric) and refrigerators.

We had our first board meeting in Montgomery, AL at the Faith Broadcasting office on the 17th of July. It went very well. While we were there we had 2 radio interviews with Bob Crittenden. You can listen to the interviews by going to our home page and clicking on the links under our calendar. http://www.pathfindermission.org/

West End will help us get our computer lab set back up. We will be starting computer classes again in a month or two.

We sent out an update on the mission house and said that the next important thing was to work on the roof. The next day Bowmar Baptist Church came and brought a roofer ... God Provides!

Charley and Martie

Many of you know that Martie had a problem with a staff infection a few weeks ago. Her leg is completely healed. PTL! We have a number of Doctor and Dentist appointment the second week of August so we will be in the Montgomery area from 6 August through 16 August. We want to use part of that time to seek out the Lord, but if anyone would like us to stop by their church to share about our ministry please let Martie know -- pathfindermsn@bellsouth.net -- or call her at 228-493-1272. Since we don't have anyone to watch the camp during that time, and no volunteers scheduled, the camp will be closed.

Supporting the Ministry

As I wrote earlier, please continue to pray for the ministry ..... not only for our effectiveness but for God's Spirit to move among the people here. Pray also for physical, spiritual, emotional, and financial well being for

George & Barbara Barnes

Lee & Karen Cunningham

Gordon & Patricia Howard

Sam Mee & Marie Foy

Mike & Susan Hanley

Timothy Phillips

Bonnie Schertler

Continue to pray for our health.

Pray that the Lord will continue to provide for the financial needs of the ministry and for our personal support. God provides, but He provides through His sons and daughters. Please pray about if and how He would have you support our work here.

We are debt free so our personal needs are pretty simple. Most of our living expenses revolve around food, vehicle repairs, taxes, insurance, & medical expenses.

By His Grace and For His Glory

Charley

Charley & Martie Elgin

Pathfinder Mission

Waveland, Mississippi

^{http://www.pathfindermission.org}

^{(228) 493-1081

Isa 58:12…. you shall raise up the foundations
of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.}

	Greetings! Martie and I trust that this e-mail finds you well with the Lord. I know that many of you continue to pray for this ministry. You know, sometimes people will say, almost apologetically, "I sorry I can't come to Mississippi and I am not able to support the work financially, but I do pray for you". I quickly remind them (and you), that prayer should not be something we do when "we" can't do anything else ... it should be the first thing we do before "we" do anything else. (James 5:16) This is not a business .... we are not a construction company ... we are involved in a spiritual work which, by its nature, requires the application of spiritual "tools" or weapons (Galatians 6:18) So please ... pray for the people we minister to, pray for us ... pray for a Spiritual Harvest not just through Pathfinder ... God is at work all across the Coast through many ministries .... pray for an Awakening .... I want to update you on several things ... Progress on the Gulf Coast .... Continued Need for Volunteers ... Progress with the Ministry. Sorry if this seems a bit lengthy ... Progress on the Gulf Coast The first stage in a disaster recovery is called - Relief --- That stage has passed and the has Church done well. During Relief progress is very visible ... news worthy ... and there is instant gratification for those both giving and receiving assistance ... meaning that I can hand someone some food, water, clothes, medicine, gut their home, or give them a pod and it's done. I accomplished what I set out to do. Now we are in the Recovery stage.... Recovery on the Gulf Coast is much like what is happening in Iraq right now. It's difficult to see change. It is hard to see the enemy .... The people back home are not so certain that they want to continue to invest recourses ... people or money to continue to support the effort. I am concerned that many may have or are ready to "check the box" that says "Katrina relief - we did our part". For them the crisis is over and order has been restored. It seems that all you see on the news is mostly about New Orleans (they have huge problems to solve there)... but the devastation of the storm has scared the landscape, ruined lives, crushed hopes, and, created a great angst among the people far beyond New Orleans. (We were called to a home a few weeks ago. A woman down the street from a couple we minister to had shot herself in the head. Her daughter was in the next room. The daughter was with the couple while the police and paramedics did what they do in situations like that. The couple didn't know what to do so they called us.) Another man burnt his "new" house to the ground and held the fire department off with a gun while it burned. It seems that the house had failed inspection and it was more than the man could take ... He was arrested .... I just met with a 64 year old widow who has muscular dystrophy ... she has run out of money and needs help to finish her home so she can move in. She is wheel chair bound and her house is 7 feet above ground .... ugh! Her "ex" daughter in law brought her in. Lord help her! People are in a "silent" struggle to get back in their homes ... the struggle is now largely un-sung by the media ...but this is the course of things in this country, the attention of the nation has shifted to other issues (many are just as important as what we do here, I might add). Bay Saint Louis just reopened its tourism office ... not focusing on the recovery but on what Hancock County has to offer tourists. ( You really have to have a good imagination if you look beyond casinos for tourist attractions.) Businesses want to move on .... get past Katrina. The Tourism Director said "ding dong the witch is dead" referring to Katrina recovery. Maybe for her "the Katrina witch is dead" but not for the thousands of people who still live in trailers. The apartment complex on Waveland Ave just re-opened . Although the rent is doubled, at least there is an alternative to living in a FEMA trailer for those who don't own a home. Martie and I saw a light on in one of the apartments the other evening as we drove by and we got excited ... just one more indicator of recovery. Tow lanes of the Bay Saint Louis to Pass Christian bridge re-opened. It was very symbolic for the people and reduced traffic on I-10 by about 30%. Need for Volunteers I want to say a few things about the continued need for volunteers. In a recent BLOG on "How to Reclaim the Church’s Place in your Community", Rick Warren said, "A ... way of bringing the Church into the center of the community is through doing what Christians least often do and unbelievers most expect us to do, care for the disadvantaged, the sick, the poor, the lame, the hurt, the underprivileged, the aged, the mentally ill and on and on. It is only through our actions that the church will reclaim its rightful standing in this world … by compassion. We will never preach our way back to the sinner. We will never politic our way back to the sinner. It is interesting that politicians have been very frank about the limitations of politics while Christians are getting more and more into politics. That’s not the way you change society. You change it by changing hearts, and you change hearts through service." That is exactly what volunteers have been doing for the past 23 months. We continue to be amazed, and thankful, at the commitment of the many who have come to the Gulf Coast to serve. We realize that there are many "worthy causes" that tugging at your attention and calling for your involvement. What we want to challenge you to do is to listen for the Holy Spirit to say, "This is the way walk in it". (Isaiah 30:21) What is more important than coming to the Gulf Coast as a volunteer is walking in obedience to God's revealed will. We believe the most volunteers have come here, and continue to come, because the Lord sent them. OK, I know that I am a pretty cool guy and Martie is a wonderful woman, but we are not the reason so many have gone to such great expense, in terms of money and time (and sometimes health), to help the people on the Gulf Coast. It is because the Lord spoke to your heart and said "This is right ... go in My name to serve the people" Don't you think it is awesome that the God of heaven would ask us to participate in His work? Wow! High Desert Church volunteers were at the camp last week. West End Baptist Church & Beth Salem will be here this week. This weekend 45 adults and youth from High Desert stopped by to attend the service at Little Zion and then enjoy a South Mississippi Shrimp Boil ... I have posted a couple of pictures on the web site -- http://www.pathfindermission.org/volunteers.html -- of the "feed". They really enjoyed themselves. They are serving in Biloxi for a week. Progress with the Ministry The Mission house is moving along. As you know we closed on the house -- and are now remodeling it. You can see the progress on our web site --- http://www.pathfindermission.org/HousePurchase.htm --- August will be a difficult month for progress ... not many volunteers ... We were asked if we could receive contributions in kind ... for example ... wiring, etc for the house. The answer is YES! We need insulation, sheetrock, plumbing fixtures, interior doors, linoleum, vinyl siding, toilets, sinks, a commercial stove (electric), commercial ovens (electric) and refrigerators. We had our first board meeting in Montgomery, AL at the Faith Broadcasting office on the 17th of July. It went very well. While we were there we had 2 radio interviews with Bob Crittenden. You can listen to the interviews by going to our home page and clicking on the links under our calendar. http://www.pathfindermission.org/ West End will help us get our computer lab set back up. We will be starting computer classes again in a month or two. We sent out an update on the mission house and said that the next important thing was to work on the roof. The next day Bowmar Baptist Church came and brought a roofer ... God Provides! Charley and Martie Many of you know that Martie had a problem with a staff infection a few weeks ago. Her leg is completely healed. PTL! We have a number of Doctor and Dentist appointment the second week of August so we will be in the Montgomery area from 6 August through 16 August. We want to use part of that time to seek out the Lord, but if anyone would like us to stop by their church to share about our ministry please let Martie know -- pathfindermsn@bellsouth.net -- or call her at 228-493-1272. Since we don't have anyone to watch the camp during that time, and no volunteers scheduled, the camp will be closed. Supporting the Ministry As I wrote earlier, please continue to pray for the ministry ..... not only for our effectiveness but for God's Spirit to move among the people here. Pray also for physical, spiritual, emotional, and financial well being for George & Barbara Barnes Lee & Karen Cunningham Gordon & Patricia Howard Sam Mee & Marie Foy Mike & Susan Hanley Timothy Phillips Bonnie Schertler Continue to pray for our health. Pray that the Lord will continue to provide for the financial needs of the ministry and for our personal support. God provides, but He provides through His sons and daughters. Please pray about if and how He would have you support our work here. We are debt free so our personal needs are pretty simple. Most of our living expenses revolve around food, vehicle repairs, taxes, insurance, & medical expenses. By His Grace and For His Glory Charley Charley & Martie Elgin Pathfinder Mission Waveland, Mississippi ^{http://www.pathfindermission.org} ^{(228) 493-1081 Isa 58:12…. you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.}

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