Update on Books We’ve Sent to Appalachia – May 1, 2013

We have mailed 2 boxes of books (49 books total) to Appalachian Regional Ministry in Hurricane, WV so far and I just received news from the director, Bill Barker, about how the books are being used.    (And if you are not a member of our church, but would like to participate in this program, please leave a comment below and I’ll be glad to share Bill’s contact information so you can send books too!)

I wanted to share his email with you to let you know how much the books are appreciated.

The books you have sent were delivered last week to HarborLight Baptist Chapel, Oceana, WV.  This is a mission church that works with +/-60 children and a number of adults.  Jim and Grace Davis were delighted to get the books.  Jim is a retired newspaper manager in the printing department.  The last company he worked prior to retirement was a small company, in his words, called USA Today.  He and Grace are from Orangeburg, SC and know the value of quality reading material.  They asked me to express their deepest appreciation for the books.

We will be mailing another box this month!  Thanks to all of you who have donated books.  Keep them coming!

Books for Appalachia News – April 12, 2013

We just mailed our second box of books to Bill Barker, Director, Appalachian Regional Ministry in Hurricane, WV.  We sent 24 books, so that makes a total of 49 books we’ve sent so far.  We are excited to be able to share in this ministry and send great Christian books to those who may not have the opportunities that we have.

Here are a few of the books we sent today:

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Safe at Home by Richard Doster

The Name by Franklin Graham

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Just Mailed Our First Box of Books!

We are so excited!  We have collected a lot of books so far and had several donations to help with shipping costs. I just took our first box of 25 books to the post office.  The box has a little bit of everything in it…books by Max Lucado, Franklin Graham, Billy Graham, Bruce Wikinson, Lynn Austin’s Refiner’s Fire Series, Dee Henderson’s Uncommon Hero’s Series and some children’s books, etc.  They are all in great condition and we are just thrilled to be able to send these books to the NAMB Appalachian Regional Ministry in Hurricane, WV.

We hope to be able to send a box of books each month for as long as the donations come in.  We thank those who have donated books and money and look forward to getting the word out to others in the church about this ministry.  Let’s keep it going strong!

 

 

Letter from Carmen About “Books for Appalachia”

Dear Friends,

I am really excited about “Books for Appalachia”, a new Media Center Ministry project.

Making books available to readers is one of the joys of being a librarian.  In addition to checking books out to our patrons at WFBC, we have sent books to prisons, to missionaries, Chaplains, and to armed services personnel.  Since our church will be involved in the “Backpacks for Appalachia” project, Debbie began to wonder whether they might also need Christian books.  She contacted Bill Barker, the Director of The Appalachian Regional Ministries at NAMB, and guess what?  They do need Christian books.  Therefore, we decided to put the word out requesting that people donate new or gently used books to send to them.  If you don’t have any books you can donate a few dollars to help with postage.

Those of you who are in the Book Club and have read Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin know that there is a long history of educational assistance to  Appalachia and other depressed areas.  During the Great Depression the WPA hired Packhorse Librarians to distribute books to people in the hills of Kentucky.  Other librarians were hired in Louisiana and they traveled by boat to remote areas in the Mississippi Delta to get books to those who needed them.

Recently, members of our Book Club read Wonderland Creek, a book about the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.  We feel blessed that we have books in abundance and can share some of them with others who do not have access to Christian literature.  Just think: you don’t have to get on a horse or get in a boat.  All you have to do is bring the books and donations to the media center and we’ll do the rest.

We are interested in your comments and ideas.  You can give feedback on the blog, on our Facebook (Winterville First Baptist Church Media Center) page or come see us in the Media Center to share our excitement.

Aways in His love,

Carmen

Books for Appalachia

We are excited about this new mission opportunity to collect new and gently used books to send to Bill Barker, Director of The Appalachian Regional Ministries. You can drop your donations off at the Media Center during our normal hours. Suggestions are: Bibles for all ages, board books for young children, chapter books for grade school children and teens, fiction and non-fiction for adults. Please make sure all these books meet with our Christian beliefs. We will look at all donations to make sure they are worthy of our giving to these precious people in Appalachia.  We hope to be able to send a box of books to Mr. Barker every month or two. Monetary donations of any amount will be appreciated to help with our shipping costs.  We thank you in advance for your generosity in helping this mission. You can visit the NAMB Appalachian Regional Ministries website to read about the region and their needs and the wonderful work they are accomplishing for our Lord.