A letter from Pix Mahler in Virginia
May 15, 2009
Dear Friends,
Have you ever gone to the mailbox and found a little something that just lifts your spirits? Maybe it was a note from a friend, saying, “I am thinking of you” or a surprise little gift. My answer to that is, “Yes, it has happened to me lately.”
These bracelets arrived unexpectedly in Pix Mahler's mailbox one day.
In the last few weeks I have come back from the mailbox carrying envelopes with return addresses I did not recognize. On my walk back to the house I wondered who might be sending me something? In one case, when I open the envelope, out tumbled numerous green 3x5 cards plastered with stick-ons and names written in child-like block letters. Later in the month, a larger envelope arrived with yet another mysterious return address. This one contained string and bead bracelets made by older youth who were participants in a presbytery-wide youth gathering of over 400 youth and their leaders.
With some sleuthing, I discovered where each of these “gifts’ had come from and who was the coordinator of the efforts. I wrote to the children’s teacher and sent pictures of Haitian children of the same age as those who had made the cards. I wanted the children to see other children who had the same smiles and bright eyes as they but who live far away from them.
Students at St. Barnabas Agricultural School in Terrier Rouge, Haiti.
With some additional sleuthing, I discovered where the youth gathering had been and who had been the coordinator of “Group 6.” With some help from the youth director of Grace Presbytery, I was able to address my thanks to the coordinator of Group 6. I asked that she share my thanks with Group 6 and let them know I would give the bracelets to students at St. Barnabas Agricultural School in Terrier Rouge, Haiti. I would tell the students where the bracelets came from and who had made them.
Neither the children nor the youth group knew the person to whom they were sending their items. I very much doubt that they expected a reply or recognition of their “gifts.” These connections are one of many blessings I experience as a PC(USA) missionary and partnership facilitator for Haiti.
On my refrigerator I have a little magnet with a saying attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson: “Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.” I have taken that sentiment to heart. That’s why I took the time to find out where the gifts that lifted my spirits came from and send my thanks. That is also why I am expressing my thanks to each of you reading this letter. Thank you! You took the time to find out what is going on in mission work of the PC(USA) and, in this particular instance, Haiti. I know there are many who read the Mission Yearbook of Prayer & Study on a regular basis and who use it as part of their daily devotional material, lifting the people and ministries in prayer.
In the third letter of John, John writes to Gaius and encourages the church to continue to “look after the missionary brethren.” One of the many ways you may continue to “look after the brethren” is to share your words of support. As much as the church wants to hear from missionaries and receive newsletters, so too do mission personnel like to hear from you. It is one way to give help, to give encouragement, and to “lift the spirits.”
John’s closing statement to Gaius is appropriate in light of the upcoming World Mission Challenge as over 40 mission personnel prepare to itinerate throughout the PC(USA) in October. John says, “I hope to see you soon, and we will talk together face to face. Peace be to you.” 3 John 14-15 (RSV).
Yours,
Pix
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 286
