RAMBLINGS WITH RUSS

JUNE 2010

Llamas, and goats and a pig oh my, ducks and geese and chicks by the flock, bees and rabbit trios! Heifer Project International is an agricultural outreach that sends high quality animals to farmers around the world to improve the livestock and economic future for those farmers. The farmer has to promise to raise and breed the animals and then give the first born to a neighbor who will do the same. With the leadership of Debbie McNeil the May first Garage sale has sent a check to Heifer Project which will pay for the animals that I have listed above. Your contributions, your hard work, your purchases will make a huge difference for seven families around the world. And that difference will help the seven communities who benefit from having these new healthy animals along with the mentoring aid from the Heifer area missionaries. On Armed Forces Sunday May 16th you and your Administrative Council together collected a special offering and donated enough money from undesignated memorial funds to send 100 copies of the New Testament to our service personnel on small easy to listen to Bible Sticks. These two examples of your generosity toward other people are inspirational and very heart warming. Tina Sayers and Vicki Hankins have a vision that they would like to share with you. I hope you will pray about this vision and form a foundation of strength that will see this vision through to new life for our community We propose a Performing Arts Center for the South Bay area to be housed in our Fellowship Hall for performances and classrooms for individual coaching. This will be part time in the beginning first year, operating after school and during the school breaks for holidays and according to the published elementary school schedule. The purpose is to provide supplemental music, dancing, acting and theater performance experience for all elementary school children, starting with those in our own congregation and expanding to all south bay as we increase our outreach. A work schedule will be set to accommodate the elementary school schedule and also our own Good Neighbor Center and shelter programs so that no program will be inconvenienced. has voted to support this vision and is looking forward to a report of progress at our July meeting.

Blessings, Russ Locke