THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS IN PA

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With all the construction projects over the past two years, Cowman’s budget has been continually stretched to the max. We’ve done some great fundraisers and seen some generous gifts come our way in that time. Even so, we often find ourselves in the position where we are stretching dollars to barely cover concrete, steel, paint, light fixtures and labor, with precious little remaining to actually furnish the new spaces. So when my cousin Jennifer put me in contact with the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at her church back in June, with the prospect of Cowman becoming their summer VBS mission project, I was elated. Grace UMC of Coal Center, Pennsylvania wanted to know what Cowman could really use and Melissa and I suggested it would be great (and necessary) to have enough chairs to cover our five new classrooms for this school year. In late July, we had the privilege of attending Grace UMC on the morning of their VBS closing service and were delighted to hear they had already raised $1,500 and would continue gathering donations until Labor Day! Church programs involving kids can often be incredibly cute (and funny!) and this one at Grace did not disappoint! There were some big personalities on that platform…

All told, Grace raised $2,400 for Cowman – enough to buy and ship 42 sturdy chairs. (Sometimes people assume that everything is dirt cheap in Haiti. And mangoes and avocados are, but anything that is not grown or manufactured in country tends to be quite expensive after shipping costs and customs taxes are added into the mix.)We started the school year with a couple dozen borrowed chairs but yesterday, after the day’s final bell, the 42 chairs arrived!