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| April 7, 2008 JCRM had a fund raiser at Freedom Church in Festus. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, worship, and great gospel music by Hearts of Fire and Sounds of Joy. Mike & Louise asked me to spend a few minutes and talk about Cans for Christ and all (you all) have accomplished. This is a transcript. Enjoy and be proud for all the blessings you've given through your unselfish giving!!! CANS FOR CHRIST Mike and Louise asked me to take a few minutes and talk about something family, friends, neighbors, and even perfect strangers have joined with us in a project we call, "Cans for Christ". Each of us has a talent and ability we can use to serve the Lord. It could be something as simple as collecting aluminum cans. I remember thinking one day, about how much I was blessed as a man to have the family and friends I had and all the other good things I have in my life, and thinking "I wish there were some way I could give back". well, after back surgery, I was out walking one day, for exercise, and quickly saw that I was walking past an awful lot of aluminum cans. The next time out, I took and started picking up the cans. I’d recycle them and take the money and buy fishing lures, or whatever I wanted. It was kind of neat - like getting stuff for free. Not long after that, I was installed as the postmaster of Pevely, and met Mike Sardo when he came in to get his mail one day. After he left, I felt the Lord clearly speak to my heart and tell me, I needed to be giving the can money to the Mission there in Pevely Soon after, I called Mike and told him what the Lord had laid on my heart, and that I felt I was to call this endeavor "Cans for Christ", and so it began. The next time I went out to collect cans, the Lord put on my heart that I should be picking up the trash as well. I can always tell when it’s the Lord speaking to me, because a lot of times, it’s something that I really don’t want to do. Reluctantly, I started taking several bags, one for the trash, one for the cans. Then I learned that Jefferson County has an "adopt a road" program where they supply the bags and then pick them up when you’re done. They put up signs at the beginning and end of the 2 main roads I adopted, and one of them has adopted by "Cans for Christ" on it. Initially I kept this pretty much to myself, except for a few close friends and family, I reasoned that if I made too big a deal of it, it would be like the Pharasees in the Bible. They made a big public production of their giving, and fasting, and Jesus said, "they have their reward". Gradually, the Holy Spirit helped me to understand that by letting others know what I was doing and allowing them to participate, it would not only further bless the Mission, but would let them share in the giving and the blessings. I had an orange hunting jacket imprinted with the words Cans for Christ, JC Rescue Mission, and their number and then I asked a pastor and good friend of mine to give me a scripture verse. He asked what about Eph 2 8-10? (Read). Perfect, I thought. That will serve to remind me that He gets the credit not me. Next we got a web site up and running with the same name WWW.CansforChrist.net, through the unselfish efforts of Noel, who also volunteers time at the mission. It tells how we got started, what we do, and the names of some of the friends, neighbors, and even prefect strangers who have joined us in saving cans. As I look back, I can see God’s hand in all of this. One of the things I love about the Lord and the way he deals with me, is he brings things to me in little steps at a time. I suppose he thinks that if he gave it to me all at once, I probably couldn’t handle it. For example, if the Lord woke me up one night and said, I’d like for you to go out on highway M, pickup all the trash, 3.2 miles each way, separate the trash from the cans, sell the aluminum cans and give the money to people you don’t even know, that might have been more than I could have gotten a hold of in my mind. And yet, with one fell swoop, the Lord has given me a ministry that blesses people, allows me to witness to neighbors, friends, and people who pass me on the highway, and allows me to give back to my community, by saving tax dollars and county man hours.. In Spring of ‘07, a man named George who runs a ministry called "Eaglewings" came to the church I attend, Starling Rd. Baptist, in Arnold. George is involved in many things, including shipping medical supplies and shoes to Kenya. .He talked about his local ministry and how he worked to get young kids off the streets, and into a basketball program, ultimately leading them to Christ. He then had a number of the kids come up and give their testimony about how much they loved this man and how their lives had been changed. It was pretty powerful, and once again I fell the Lord, tugging at my heart strings. I decided, (with Mike & Louise’s blessings), to give some of our future can money to George’s ministry as well. As if by a sign to let me know I was doing the right thing, I found more cans the next week alone, than I had found the entire previous month put together, but that’s not the best part. When I was talking to Mike about George and his ministry, I learned that George and Mike had worked at a furniture store together and had not seen each other for 40 years, and here they were both serving God!. Wow! Now that’s powerful! How’s that for a sign? The first 3 years since our concept, we've donated a total of about $1300, by collecting aluminum cans. By opening up to friends and neighbors and encouraging them to join us, we’ve collected over $2300 this past year alone. As of April 3, 2008, Cans for Christ has collected over 207,000 cans, and donated a total of nearly $3000 to The Jefferson County Rescue Mission and a little over $600 to Eaglewings. If you’re sitting there, like me, and you ask yourselves, why me, Lord? Why have you chosen to bless me the way you have? I wish there was something I could do to show my appreciation. There is. You can help people simply by saving your aluminum cans and other items. You could start something similar in your own neighborhood or church. Let your friends and neighbors know what you’re doing, recycle them together, and consider donating the proceeds to ministries like the Jefferson County Rescue Mission. In addition to walking and picking up cans, I have people donating anywhere from 15-20 cans at a time, all the way up to organizations like the 1st Baptist Church of Arnold and a company Arnold, who donate 30-40 lbs at a time, or more. Believe me, it all adds up, and you can feed people and help change lives just from saving aluminum cans. Thank you and may God bless you all. Blessing In The Shirt I went out of town on a Postmaster's Convention trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sept. 8th - 13th, 2007. While I was gone, a mysterious package appeared in the mail (no return address of course). Some good hearted soul, who apparently wishes to remain anonymous, sent me 5 pre-printed shirts, with a logo, and info about the Mission on it, as well as our Website. What a nice surprise. I initially thought I'd try to find out who sent it, but then decided it would be more fun for them as well as me, to let it go, and just appreciate the blessing instead. The pictures aren't as good as I'd like, but you get the idea. Here's the front........... 
and the back......... 
Local ministry mourns, honors Kenyan man whose charity stretched across globe (My friend George received some very sad news this past week.) 12:05 AM CDT on Friday, July 6, 2007 Watch News 4 coverage (KMOV) - A West St. Louis County ministry is mourning the loss of a man whose charity stretched across continents. In his home George Hutchings is trying to write a eulogy for a friend on the other side of the world. "He's the son I never had, man I love him, you could not help but love John Kihumba, he had this disarming smile, he was gentle, kind, he struggled but he walked like a man," Hutchings says. St. Louisans will probably remember Kihumba, 42 as the man who collected the shoes back in 2001 for orphans in Kenya. Earlier this week Kihumba was killed in his native country of Kenya. A candidate for the Kenyan Parliament he was the victim of a car accident after being chased by thieves who looted his car. Ten years ago, Kihumba came to St. Louis to study at Missouri Baptist University and quickly turned to a life of trying to help people. "It came natural, he would see a person in need and then he wouldn't just turn his head he would do something to help," Hutchings says. The latest chapter for Kihumba was to help by entering politics. Hutchings says kihumba's life was always a struggle, but it was also inspiring. "I have a loss, he brought to my life adventure, I would never have gone to Kenya without him, I would never have helped feed 21,000 kids," he says. The circumstances surrounding Kihumba's death are still a mystery. There is speculation that he was the victim of a political rival, Kihumba was leading in the polls. To honor him, Eagle Wing Ministries now plans to make shoe collections for Kenya every year. ### Sunday August 5th, 2007, there will be a memorial service for George's friend John Kihumba. George hopes to raise $20,000 to buy a truck to continue John's work in picking up donated shoes for his "Soles for Souls" ministry. The service will be held at Manchester Baptist Church, 625 Meramec Station Road, Manchester Mo. 63021. Here is just a sample of the legacy John Kihumba leaves behind: 1999 - John delivered $100,000 worth of medical supplies to then Kenyan President Moi. 2001 - delivered 30,000 pairs of shoes to Kenyan orphans. 2002 - delivered dental chairs to "Star-re-he" school for boys. 2003 - served 21,000 meals to orphans 2004 - worked with President Moi in delivering a huge number of medical supplies to Kenya. 2005 - hosted Eagle Wing Ministries; (George's ministry) - supplied church with windows and helped build outhouses. 2006 - Helped found "Mercies Hope", which has since adopted 3 orphanages, and assisted with food and scholarships. 2007 - before his death, John was seeking political office, in the hope of bettering the nations roads, water, and educational system and to work on a national sanitation plan. George is trying to raise money to purchase a truck needed for collecting shoes, to send to Kenya, to continue John's Kihuanda's ministry. If you'd like to help, please send donations to George Hutchings, Eagle Wing Ministries, 400 Tulmultry drive, Manchester, Mo. 63021, and mark the donation as such. Thank you and God bless.
One can at a time
Imperial man makes money for missions
(The following article was in the July 5th edition of the Jefferson County Leader paper.)
By Heather Ervin
For the Leader
On June 19, Larry Greene of Imperial found a crushed Diet Pepsi can on Hwy. M near Old Antonia Road. The can was number 100,000 for the project he calls Cans For Christ. That many cans equals more than $1,800, which Greene has donated to local missions. Greene, 53, said he began taking long walks after he had back surgery in early 2004. Scattered along the roads, he noticed, were lots of aluminum cans, among other debris. "There was a horrible amount of trash everywhere and I knew the aluminum cans had to be worth something." Greene said. "I'd recycle the cans and use the money for hunting, fishing, etc." But while working at the Pevely Post Office, Greene ran into Mike Sardo of Festus. "I knew (Mike) and his wife Louise ran the Jefferson County Rescue Mission in Pevely, but I didn't know what they really did", said Greene, who is now retired. "We were giving (Sardo) undeliverable items like diapers and baby food to take back to the mission", Greene said. Sardo and Greene developed a friendship that would change Greene's attitude about those discarded cans. "The next time I went walking to pick up cans, I honestly felt like the Lord put it on my heart and mind that I should give the money to the mission", Greene said. "Who would ever think that you could help hurting and hungry people by picking up cans?" Greene began volunteering for the Rescue Mission after he started his can project, and he became a board member last year.
Sardo and his wife, Louise, both originally from New York City, established the Rescue Mission in 1978. The organization provides free clothing, household goods, food and other items to needy people in the county. Sardo said the Rescue Mission is always in need of food. "Greene'scan collecting has really helped us out," Sardo said. Sardo said the money from the cans goes into a food account at the mission that he uses to buy food when it is needed.
"It's something I'm kind of proud of," said Greene, who kept his project a secret at first. "I ended up letting a few of my family and friends know about it and they've started helping, too." "It's a real neat thing we're doing together." "Sometimes perfect strangers will give me cans." Not too long ago, a man at the G&J Hauling and Recycling Systems center where Greene takes his cans once a week approached Greene after seeing the Cans For Christ sign on the back of his truck. "He honked his horn and said he wanted to give me all his cans," Greene said. "It doubled my turn-in that day."
Greene said he has found many interesting objects while hunting for cans. "I found a loaded 9 mm pistol in broad daylight on a Saturday morning once," Greene said. "I turned it over to the police." Greene said he has also found cash, toolboxes, golf balls, compact discs and more.
One Sunday morning, Greene met George Hutchings while both were visiting Starling Road Baptist Church in Arnold. Greene discovered that Hutchings ran a ministry in north St. Louis called Eagle Wing Ministries. "(Hutchings) seeks out gang members and talks to them and tries to motivate them," Greene said. "He brought about a dozen of them to the church and they gave a testimony." Touched by their testimony, Greene decided to expand his effort by donating some of his can money to Eagle Wing Ministries. "I talked to Mike and Louise and told them I thought I should share this (money) with (Eagle Wing Ministries)," Greene said. "Being the fine people they are, they agreed and told me it was my ministry to do with what I want."
Greene said he believes he received a confirmation that he was doing the right thing a week later. "I was walking the same roads I usually do and I collected more cans in one week than I had in one month," Greene said. To date, Cans for Christ has donated $1,541 to the Rescue Mission and $303 to Eagle Wing Ministries. Greene later found out that Hutchings and Sardo were co-workers at a furniture store more than 40 years ago. "Who would have thought something as simple as picking up cans would reunite two old friends, who both just happen to be doing the Lord's work?" Greene said. He said he and Sardo would like to send a picture of the 100,000th can to the Pepsi-Cola Corp. "Maybe they'll be able to send us a grant or some soda cans to help us out," Greene said. "The 100,000th can just happened to be one of theirs." ###
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