March 2009

Dear Friends,

The Dream Team is a committee formed by the Directors to discuss the future goals for the ministry. "The Dream Team" met last month to discuss the future of Open Door Christian Ministries and how we can get things rolling in the right direction. We discussed unit two and the need for opening new sources of revenue, support, and resources for getting more applicants. 

Most of you may know that Extreme Makeover Home Addition recently built a home in Jamesville for the Dixon family. Open Door Christian Ministries benefited from this in two ways. First, we were able to take the kids to the site and observe the building construction. That was a lot of fun watching what appeared to be the most organized chaos you ever saw. The kids talked about it all month. Second, the catering crew donated left over food items to the home through the Food Bank of the Albemarle. We received bottled water, soft drinks, potato chips, apple, oranges, bananas, paper towels and cups, peanuts, and assorted odds and ends. It took us four trips to bring it all home! It was quite an unexpected blessing. 

There are many unsung heroes at Open Door Christian Ministries. People who donate their time to make the place a little better. Billy and Cindy Spruill are a couple of our heroes. Billy does a lot of maintenance around the place. He paints and cuts the lawn. And he is willing to do whatever he is asked to do. Recently the brakes on the van were in bad shape and he and his father, Clyde Spruill, fixed a broken line and replaced the shoes and pads. It saved Open Door a bunch of cash and made the van safe for the kids again. Cindy is always going beyond the call of duty too. Recently, while giving us a much needed break, she also canned some apple sauce from the apples we received from Home Makeover. Another hero is Robert Ambrose who cut the garden up for us with his tractor and harrow disc. Billy Hill is also one of our heroes. Billy came over with his boom truck and fixed our pole lights and trimmed the tall tree back by the barn. Thanks to all our unsung heroes!

With Spring in full bloom we have taken advantage of some nice days (between the rain) to get the garden going. So far we have put in some cabbage, brussels sprouts, carrots, radishes, lettuce, and more. We will be putting in our onion sets soon and starting the battle to beat the weeds. So far we have had good rains but the cold has been hard on a few of our plants.

Summer is just around the corner too. We have begun plans to get the pool back in shape. It has to be topped off with water, vacuumed, and treated. The process takes a few weeks and by then the water temperature should be coming around. The pool deck is in need of a few repairs as well. The pool makes a great treat for the kids during the hot weather. It is also fun for groups to come and join us for a picnic and a swim. 

All this talk of warm weather brings us to VBS. Last year we were able to visit several of the churches and present the work of Open Door. We would love to come to your church and share the work of Open Door Christian Ministries with your children. Get your VBS on our calendar right away so we can plan to be with you. Some of the projects that you may be able to help us with include getting our own used 5'-7' garden harrow disk, used 2 row bedder, a ladder, and a log splitter. These tools will help us produce more of our own garden fresh produce and cut our food cost. 

We did a lot of promotion last month for the advisory board. Unfortunately only one person showed up. The board has decided to end the advisory board meeting. But we still want the churches and individual supporters to have access to information and to contribute to the workings of the ministry. The Directors have decided at this time to open the board meeting to everyone. The directors will listen to concerns and address ideas and comments from those who come and will go into a closed executive session for sensitive matters that need addressed. The next board meeting is here at the house on May 1st at 6:00 p.m. (supper provided).

I am now down to 23 pounds of making my goal weight. I weighed in this week at 184 pounds. It is hard to believe that I started this journey at almost 300 pounds. Please pray continue to pray for me. Thanks.

Thank you again for your support.

God Bless You,

Loren Harold Lung

houseparent