Hello friends and family,
This might be the last Don Tschirhart story I have to publish. The rest of the media I have from dad/Don are all duplicates/copies. I could use an algorithm to search the CD’s and Floppy Disks . . . Yeah! Floppy’s . . . for titles or story-lines that haven’t been used.
It may also be the last story that dad ever wrote, which saddens me. But, this story also fills me with hope. Dad , I think, had a sweet spot for missionaries. Don’t we all! Someone making great and small sacrifices to help others less fortunate is a story we can all admire. And, many of us aspire to do just that within the boundaries of our social and financial limits.
I hope you enjoy this story and are maybe, inspired by the Wilkinson’s. There are many other families and individuals doing the same type of work though, not necessarily moving permanently to the Missions.
I am working out in my mind how to go about publishing dad’s/Don’s stories in book form. His original idea was to just publish the stories as they are, without comment or contextual thoughts. There is a short Bio that Dad wrote but, I think, to be readable to those who did not know dad/Don the book will need something more. Definitely a Forward. Perhaps comments and anecdotes from those who did know him? I don’t want to clutter the basic idea of “A Retired Reporter Looks At Life” but, I believe the book needs something more besides articles he wrote for publication as a weekly column in a County newspaper to make it a dynamic reading experience; A good book to read while sitting next to the fireplace on a cold, Winter’s night.
Ideas, suggestions, criticism would be appreciated. All thoughts will be appreciated.
Thanks for reading another Don Tschirhart story.
Love to all,
David T
p.s. Comments are very much appreciated.You can write comments and like or dislike below each story.
A River Of Grace Surrounds Them and anecdotes
By Don Tschirhart
Excerpted from the unpublished book “It’s a Wonderful World II: A Retired Reporter Looks At Life“
A River Of Grace Surrounds Them
You have to be someone special to move from a semi-luxurious American life to one with great impoverishment to help your fellow-men and women.
Sally Wilkinson of Lapeer, her husband, Thaddeus, of Americus, Ga., and son, Josiah, 6, fit that description. Indeed, you may want to say they are exceptional.
Sally, a Lapeer East High School graduate, is the daughter of Kay and Don Morris, retired Lapeer East teachers. Sally and Thad now live on St. Vincent Island, one of several islands that make up the Grenadines group in the eastern Caribbean Sea.
The 150-square-mile island, about the size of four Michigan counties, is composed of volcanic rock and the heavily wooded, 4,000-foot Mount Soufriere. It is a self-governing state that is part of the British commonwealth.
The couple have been full-time missionaries for four years and work and teach at Shepherd’s House orphanage. They wrote that they have faced hurricanes, sickness, theft, attacks of various kinds, loneliness, homesickness, breakdowns, infestations and the difficult struggle of being far from home when a loved one is sick and in need.
And yet, they say, “A River of Grace” flows around them, adding, “It has been a joy to see lives saved, hearts and homes delivered from suffering and hundreds brought to Christ.
“The landslide that destroyed our orphanage became a blessing when God gave us a larger and better equipped building. And so the abandoned and orphaned children of St. Vincent island were rescued and brought into a safe, loving, Christian home.”
The Wilkinsons’ Christmas has been different the last few years. It obviously doesn’t snow in the Windward Islands and being so far away from home they shed some tears as they prayed during Christmas morning church services.
Sally’s dad, Don, says he and his wife, Kay, are “very proud” of their daughter and son-in-law and the “good work” they are doing in a foreign environment.
Thad and Sally said they would like people in the County Press distribution area — no matter their religious affiliation — to know that they can also become a part of helping the poverty-stricken people on St. Vincent.
They have made a list of unique gift ideas that can change the lives of the inhabitants including the 36 children in their orphanage. Most of the suggested gifts will make poor families independent and not live with handouts.
Because they are affiliated with international aid agencies, the couple said many of these gifts will be secured at a reduced cost and in some cases they would only pay freight charges multiplying the effect of each dollar.
For instance, what about a starter brood of chicks that can be reared as hens to lay eggs for a family, with leftovers to sell at the market. Cost $25. For $75 a family can buy a pig, a precious commodity in St. Vincent, or rabbits for $30 which can have up to 40 offspring a year to provide meat. Nanny and dairy goats can be purchased for $45 to $65 to supply food, milk, cheese and butter that can be sold at market. A gift of coffee plants at $45 and pineapple plants at $35 can make an unemployed or underemployed mother or father independent.
How about helping kids. Two pairs of shoes costs $15 to be delivered six months apart to an orphaned or abandoned child whose shoes have been the soles of their bare feet. A gift of $17 will give a child school text books and supplies for an entire year. A local carpenter can put together bunk beds for $100. For $30 an abandoned or orphaned child can receive a complete course of immunizations and vitamins. A blanket costs $12, too expensive for most of the poor families to buy.
An infant can receive baby formula for six months for $35, and for $45 the Wilkinsons can buy a bulk order of diapers that will provide for a child for a year.
We in Lapeer County take luxuries for granted. For many of St. Vincent’s residents, poverty is taken for granted.
Thanks to the Wilkinsons and so many other volunteer missionaries and medical teams some of the necessities of life are going where they are needed.
Anyone interested in donating the listed gifts or would like a gift catalog, send a check or write to interHope, 1837 South Federal Highway, No. 150, Stuart, Florida 34994.
Don Tschirhart
