COALITION FOR APPALACHIAN MINISTRY Volume Three

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Coalition for

Appalachian Ministry

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VOLUME THREE OCTOBER, 2014

Notes from the Cabin by Therica BreazealeThis past quarter of 2014 has been a real whirlwind, and I’m thankful for it. Summer was busy at the shop with both purchases and donations. And, we rounded out this quarter with our annual Outdoor Craft Fair. The weather was beautiful, and we were blessed with hundreds of visitors. The statistics and details come later in this newsletter. You know, numbers and statistics are helpful gauges of success, but it’s impossible to measure the real value of a ministry like CAM. There are so many people that are touched by it….some of whom we probably don’t even know. Volunteering or donating to a ministry like ours is a bit like tossing a small stone into a lake. The ripples continue to form far beyond where we can actually see. Thank you for helping me toss those small stones

into the very big lake that is Appalachia.

On that same note, I cannot say Thank You enough to everyone that sends a donation to CAM, they are so badly needed. I am as grateful for a $25.00 donation as I would be for a $250.00 donation, because it all comes from your hearts and because of that, it is a great Blessing. Little is much if the LORD is in it.

“Like” CAM on FacebookAs of September 10, 2014 we have 219 Facebook “likes” working toward goal of 300 by year’s end. If you haven’t done so, please “like” us on Facebook. And share the CAM Facebook page with your friends.

You Just Keep On GivingAs usual, CAM received help from several churches and organizations this quarter. Often church members come to CAM Cabin Crafts with loaded vehicles to do two things – shop in the Craft Shop and deliver items for the mission projects or crafters. This past quarter we were visited by the following:

Farragut Presbyterian Church Ladies from Farragut, TN and Pleasant Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church from Greene County both visited in July and brought cloth, yarn, polyfill, clothing, shoes, and more for the crafters and the mission projects.

Jerusalem Cumberland Presbyterian Church folks came and delivered backpacks with school supplies. It was so nice to see everyone and visit for a while.

New DonationsSo thankful for the donationsby these folks:

Catherine Arendt, CTMr. & Mrs. Robert Evans, TNLynne Cipro, NCCindy Talaber, Coopersburg, PASharon Adams, Sevierville, TNBarbara Penn, Townsend, TNSharon Coffin, Wears Valley, TNRoy & Jewel Roberts, Maryville, TNNew Providence Presbyterian Church, Maryville, TN Pam Osborne, Maryville, TN.

Special Thanks!

COALITION FOR APPALACHIAN MINISTRY

Special thanks goes to the Women on Missions group from the First Baptist Church, McCaysville, GAfor once again helping CAM out with a yearly Love Offering Donation.

Special thanks also to Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church, Augusta, GA for their Love Offering to CAM again this year.Sarah Ezell and her crew from Beech Cumberland Presbyterian and Hendersonville Cumberland Presbyterian Church once again brought several vehicles loaded downwith items for Mission Projects: Items included school supplies for several schools, paper products that the shelters and the senior ladies at Wesley House sure do need, baby things for the Women’s Enrichment Center, and the list goes on.

Featured Crafters and VolunteersEvery quarter we present a person whose crafts are sold at CAM Cabin Crafts. This newsletter we are introducing two crafters, husband and wife, who are also our featured volunteers.

Fred and Jodee Brandhuber of McCaysville, GA and their Little Red Truck have become well known in the Del Rio area of rural Smoky Mountains and the North Georgia area. I have known Fred & Jodee for several years now. I met them in the craft shop one day and they have become the dearest friends to me. They truly have a heart for ministry work. They take care of making the deliveries for me to the Del Rio School, to the Fannin Co.Homeless Shelter in Georgia, and to a couple of other Mission Project Sites in Georgia. They are the most hard-working folks I know in ministry work. They give of their time, money, physical strength, and most of all their heart. They are a good Christian people.

Fred & Jodee are also two of our Talented crafters. Fred builds bird houses and Jodee’s most popular items are her stove towels, memo pad holders, and potholders.

The picture at the top of the next column shows Fred and Jodee next to the Little Red Truck.

Just look at the beautiful birdhouses. What bird wouldn’t be proud to live in one of these?

These towels are handy for the stove, refrigerator handle, or bathroom towel rack.

And check out these memo pads holders. Just waiting for that list of things to do. These items would make terrific Christmas gifts and mail orders for crafts are always welcome.

Jodee’s clever memo pad holders.

What Do Our Customers and Volunteers Say about CAM Cabin Crafts and the Newsletter?

The second quarter newsletter got off to a great start, with well over 150 folks receiving it by email and many more picking it up in the shop. Thanks to Linda and Tony for all their help in putting the newsletter together.

Here are some comments about the newsletter, the craft shop, and the ministry.

“Your newsletter is wonderful!” Barbara Smith, Blue Ridge, GA

“WOW is all I can think of to say!!!, this really did blow me away!It’s awesome” Sheila B. Maryville, TN

“We are happy to help out the ministry as we feel we have some type of connection vs. Good Will or the Salvation Army. We know our items are getting used and going to families that really need them. We get updates from you and feel that we are giving to people who are truly in need. We try to send items that are needed by the families.”Vickie and Tom Carter, Newark, DE

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COALITION FOR APPALACHIAN MINISTRY

“We loved your shop!, we miss these kinds of mom & pop stores!! David & Dawn Plyer, Birmingham, AL

“I love this place. We stop by every time we come to Townsend” Gayle Dyess, Franklin, TN

HEARTWARMER

When I thought about the Heart warmer story for this quarter my thoughts turned to CAM’S Ministry. This year we celebrate 50 years of ministry work and over the years the mission of the ministry has changed several times.Admittedly, some changes have been made not by choice but by finances and staffing, both of which we have very little of at this time. One thing that has never changed has been our care and concern for the Appalachian people.

Appalachian folks are very dear to my heart as I am one and proud to be one. There are stereotypes that people associate with “Appalachia” most of which I will not mention here. However, I guess the two most common are these: poor and ignorant. It’s true, a lot are poor but a lot are NOT ignorant. Two things that we in Appalachia DO have is heart and faith. This leads me back to the purpose of CAM’S Ministry. Because it, too, doesn’t have much money or staff, but has a lot of heart and faith. Without those CAM probably would not have lasted this long; without those I might not be working here. The heart of CAM is the people, those whom we help and the people who help CAM.

I admit that I have stressful times in my work, times when I have so much work to do and not enough time. BUT, all I have to do when I feel those overwhelming moments is to remember that I am a truly blessed person. I am BLESSED when a crafter

thanks me for placing their crafts in the shop.

I am BLESSED when I get school

supplies to schools and the teachers tell me how thankful they are for the supplies.

I am BLESSED when a crafter cries when I tell her I have cloth for her or gasps in shock when I tell her she can have the thread that came in.

I am BLESSED when a child giggles from happiness over getting some “new” used clothing for school.

I am BLESSED when a local family gets a box of food and a little girl in that family is so happy that she found a can of Sardines in the box she asks if that was her Christmas present.

Now here’s the kicker. I didn’t do anything but let YOU folks know that these things were needed and YOU went to work, collected the needed items, and got them to me so that I could pass them on.

So I want YOU folks that help the ministry out, in whatever way that you do, to know that it is not in vain. Sometimes the smallest thing, like a can of Sardines, can mean so much to someone. YOU that give and those that receive are the HEART of CAM and I along with the volunteers that help me out have the FAITH that GOD will supply and he does. I AM BLESSED.

CAM CABIN CRAFTSWe have 142 Active Crafters and 89 Non-Active (haven’t gotten anything in over a year). Eight of the 13 Appalachian states are represented: AL, GA, KY, NC, OH, SC, TN, and VA.

Our Blog page is up and running so check it out for crafts, folklore tips, recipes, and more. We have had visitors to the blog from many states including California and Florida and as far away as Finland! Image that!! You can find CAM CABIN CRAFTS at Word Press.com.

November and December will be upon us very soon and I wanted to remind churches and women’s ministry groups that arrangements can be made to send crafts for your Alternative Gift Markets and other special events. But please contact us soon in order for us to be able to send anything this year. If you are in close proximity to Townsend it

may be possible for me to come to the event also. If not I can ship the goods to you.

CAM CABIN HOURS OF OPERATION

March 1st thru December 31st

2014. Tuesday 10 – 6 Wednesday 10- 5 Thursday 10-6 Friday 12 – 6 Saturday 10-6. Closed Sunday and Monday.

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If you know when you are planning to come to the shop, call me a day or so in advance of your arrival and I will be sure to be here. It is only me on a regular basis, so some days i t will be hard to catch me open. Th i s i s t r ue especially in the mornings because that is when I run errands for the ministry.

FALL CRAFT SALE, CAM’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Well folks I survived another Fall Mission Board Meeting and the annual Outdoor craft fair. The Lord gave us beautiful weather for the 2 day event and we had lots of visitors. New crafters to the event got toknow some of my established crafters, and everyone had a good time.The event was a lot like a family get together and I’m already thinking about things for next year.If you didn’t make it this year, perhaps you can come in 2015. Mark your calendars for the 3rd weekend in September, Friday and Saturday, September 18th and 19th, 2015.

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COALITION FOR APPALACHIAN MINISTRY

If you can come by during that time I guarantee you will be glad you did.

Now to look at the numbers and events. We had 21 crafters here, live music on Saturday. I could not tellyou the exact number of visitors who stopped by but it was A LOT, well into the 100's I would say.We had two quilters, Rhonda C. & Lynne C., two ladies who make jewelry, and a crafter that drew pictures in charcoal. There were two men who sold hand-made musical instruments.

One of these was a “Canjo”, a one-stringed instrument on which you can actually play musical notes. The base is a can like a soup can or a vegetable can. The other crafter made wood flutes from driftwood, tree limbs and wood pallets.

But that’s not all! There were birdhouses, fall and Christmas wreaths, sun catchers,homemade jellies, jams, apple butter, pumpkin butter, homemade baked goods, cookie jars made out of flower pots, Christmas ornaments and much more. Sales were very good for the two days, exceeding last year’s sales by more than $500.00.  

How You Can HelpAs usual, there are many needs to fill here at CAM. Please help wherever you can – we always appreciate anything you can do. I am also going to be careful to differentiate between Mission needs and Crafter needs.

MISSION NEEDS

For the schools: School supplies (all kinds) Pencils Glue sticks Pens Paper Notebooks Dry erase markers Kleenex for class rooms Chlorox wipes Hand sanitizers Backpacks (clear and Mesh)

Socks Tennis shoes for high school

boys (men’s sizes 10- 14) URGENT

For the shelters and my seniors: Toilet paper Paper towels Napkins Laundry supplies Dish washing liquid Trash bags (30 gal. size) Light bulbs (60w).

CRAFTER NEEDS Old Blue Jeans Legs of the jeans needed most. Old Bandanna handkerchiefs Yarn Polyfill Buttons (all kinds) Old jewelry; its ok if it is broken

they will still be able to use parts of it.

PRAYER REQUESTSOne very powerful way to help the CAM family is to pray. Please pray for Charlie Smith, Blue Ridge, GA. Charlie is the husband of one of the ladies I work with for the Women’s Crisis Center in GA.

FRIENDS OF CAM MEMBERSHIPOur fundraising campaign “Friends of CAM Membership” is underway now and I hope to reach a goal of 250 memberships by end of the year. Please take part in this and help the ministry by becoming a CAM Member: Mission Member--$25.00 Heart Member--$50.00 Heritage Member --$100.00 Visionary Member --$300.00 Care And Minister Member --

$500.00

These are all yearly memberships and they each have a benefit. The details of memberships were in the last newsletter, but you can contact me if you are interested. Contact me

at thericabcam@aol.com , 865 448 5940, or 865 315 4044 to become a FRIEND OF CAM MEMBER.

Our goal for the year is ambitious, but we’ve got a good start. See if you know any of our members.

MISSION MEMBERSSara Klisz—Knoxville, TNCarolyn King—Townsend, TNAnn Miller—IllinoisEllen Rice—IndianaCindy Talabar—Coopersburg, PA

HEART MEMBERSSusie Thompson—Arlington, TX

HERITRAGE MEMBERSJewel Roberts—Maryville, TNBarbara Smith—Blue Ridge, GAMikie Lancaster—Knoxville, TNGary & Marty North—Knoxville, TNFaith United Church of Christ Mission Team—Center Valley, PAChuck, Karen, Cindy, Cathy, Jen, Diane, Marian

VISIONARY MEMBERSusan Cooper, Townsend, TN

This makes 12 Memberships on our way to the goal of 250 by end of year.

BIBLE TRIVIA QUESTIONLast newsletter the question was: What four creatures did god send as plagues upon the Egyptians?

Here’s the answer: Frogs Lice Flies Locust

Remember, we were going to announce the winner? Well, there was one, but unfortunately I’ve forgotten who it was – so how about this? If you answered the question correctly, let me know. Just email me: thericabcam@aol.com.

Next newsletter I’ll be sure to write down the name of the winner and share it with everyone!

Now for the next question:

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COALITION FOR APPALACHIAN MINISTRY

What is the name of the disciple that replaced Judas?

*Remember the first person that answers this correctly will receive a small prize and your name in the next newsletter.

Send your answer for the trivia question to me by email. thericabcam@aol.com

Favorite Verse: Send me an email with your favorite bible verse and I will pick one to feature in our next newsletter with your name, state, and verse.

The favorite this time came from Macy Leatherwood, Sevierville, TN. ROMANS 5:8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (KJV)

Again, send me your favorite verse by email: thericabcam@aol.com.

In ClosingThank you so much for being part of the effort here in Appalachia. I give thanks for you and for our opportunity every day.

Blessings to everyone.Therica BreazealeAdministrator

CONTACT USTherica BreazealeAdministratorCoalition for Appalachian Ministry(CAM) CAM Cabin Crafts1329 Wears Valley RoadTownsend, TN 37882 th er i c a b c a m @ ao l . c om

Phones:865 448 5940865 315 4044

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