WKRN Channel 2 in Nashville joined other media outlets in promoting Operation Dad 2008. After listen to the video below please read a personal message from Tom Haddon, our Involvment Minister (featured in the video) whose message is listed below.
5/17/08 Good morning,
We have one week to go - This is sorting and packing week. We have enough money to ship just over 4000 packages! That’s 2/3 of the way there.
Need:
Individuals: We need shipping on 2,000 more packages. Can you go to your friends and neighbors today asking them to contribute $ 5.00 to ship one box. The $ 5.00 covers the cost of the bag (small backpak with nothing in it) and the cost to ship it. For every $ 5.00 that you raise, that’s one more bag going to Afghanistan. Individual donations, for tax purposes, are treated like a donation to any qualified ‘church’.
Business:
If you own a business or know someone who does, can you ask for a corportate donation? Remember - every $ 100.00 sends 20 packages. Remind them that we will be sending out tax receipts to them the first part of June. Corporate donations are tax deductible.
Together, with our community, we can get over the hump. I thank you all for what you have already done. Let’s work together to make this happen for our men and women.
Operation Dad needs 25,000 drops of rain. One drop won’t accomplish much, but enough drops can turn a desert into an Oasis. We need 25,000 people to give 1 dollar by May 21st. It will cost a little over 5 dollars to send each package. (Yes we have checked with the Post Office and they won’t, and we have checked with the Military and they don’t have a plane).
Side Note! 500 of the 6000 packages being prepared with be for the ladies in the 506th Combat Brigade.
Here is the Fox Channel 17 report from last night.
Most of the local TV Stations and a few of the radio stations are spreading the word about Operation Dad. Here is just a couple reports. One from local TV Report from WSMV Channel 4. and the other The Steve Gill Radio show with our own Tom Haddon and LaVern Vivio known on many radio stations in Nashville as U-Turn Lavern traffic reporter.
Sara Tucholsky is a senior at Western Oregon University. This is her last season playing college ball. She’s never been a power hitter. In fact, she’d never hit a home run. That is, until a game against Central Washington University.
Her first ever homer brought in two teammates. But in her excitement, she missed first base. As she turned back, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). She couldn’t round the bases under her own power.
So, what happened? You’ll have to watch the video. I guarantee, it will bring a smile to your face.
Mom went home almost eight years ago. Heaven is sweeter because she is there and so is my desire to go there for the same reason. The following is a blog I wrote a couple years ago.
Mom will be gone four years this coming July. The peace I feel today is because of the assurance I have that she went to be with the Lord. It would be pure selfishness to wish here back here on this old earth. Mom died of brain cancer. Her death came a year after the diagnosis. All of her children and many of her grand children were with her during the last days and hours of her life. We all were able to spend alone time with her and tell her what was on our hearts. Many have to face the death of a loved one without warning. We are thankful we knew she was dieing.
Mom could only speak barely above a whisper. She had had surgery on her vocal cords a number of years ago and I actually forgot what her voice sounded like before the surgery. Soft or loud, it mattered not – it was mom’s voice. In my younger days mom was very firm and could even be hard at times, but the years mellowed her like fine wine. Her life was hard after my dad died at the young age of forty-eight. There was little or no insurance money, so she had to go back to work after being out of the work force for a long time. It was hard, very hard, but she did it. She did marry again, and while there were many good things about her second mate, there were many things that were not. She never talked to us about it, but we knew all was not well. Toward the end, she talked a lot about seeing our dad again. We buried her beside dad and know it was a great reunion when she got home.
No one can ever take the place of your mom. You only get one and no one will ever be able to fill her shoes. I am so thankful for my mom. I never questioned her love for me. I miss her quite rough whisper when she would say, “I love you”. I also miss that sparkle in her eyes when she would say it too. The words of a Gaither Vocal Band song come to mind as I think of Mom on this Mother’s Day.
The Goal: To pack and ship 6000 backpacks filled with personal items such as phone cards, encouraging notes, small toys etc to the members of the 506th Brigade Combat Team home based from Ft Campbell, KY. in time for them to receive them before Father’s Day.
The Deadline: Everything needs to be collected by May 21st in order to be packed and shipped in time to arrive by June 15th.
The Need: HELP!!! We need donations, we need letters of support and cards of encouragement. We need people to pack and assemble the bags. We need businesses, churches, schools, day cares and clubs to help sponsor the shipping and provide the donations. We also need additional locations to become drop off points for donations to assist those who can’t get to Madison to donate.
Click here for more information on how you can help make this a very special Father’s Day for our troops! www.OperationDAD2008.com
Two weeks ago I was appointed a Shepherd for the Madison Church. Since I began my ministry back in 1967 I have worked with Shepherds in numerous churches. Sometimes as a member of a congregation, sometimes as a member and the preaching minister and sometimes with leaders who were supporting works that Barb and I were involved in. I have through the years preached many sermons and taught numerous lessons on Pastors, Elders, Shepherds, and Bishops as they are called in the New Testament. As I accept the responsibility of a Shepherd, I am given an opportunity to practice what I have preached.
