The books went to Bright Star in 2009!

 

          Valuable Science textbooks, classics, how-to books, children's books, encyclopedia-type books, Christian books, all kinds of books sat worthlessly in my garage.  Books are of no value if they aren't read.  Susan Mendenhall and other friends had donated books to Bright Star, but with the increased cost of shipping to Kenya and the elimination of book rate postage, these books were going nowhere.

          Then came Robbi and Steve Ortman.  Robbie wrote to me asking what needs I had at the school.  She wanted to honor her parents, Clyde and Maurietta Pitsch of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, with a monetary gift that would help others.  When I suggested that her gift be used to pay the postage to send the books to Kenya, she agreed that it was a worthy project.

          I sorted through the books, taking out a few that dealt with food, Halloween, Easter bunnies, Christmas mice, and other topics incongruous for children in Africa.  Each box was packed to the 50 lb. limit.  The 17 boxes then became 15 boxes.  The books that were removed were taken to the Nearly New Shop and sold on consignment with proceeds going to Bright Star's account, thanks to the generosity of the First Congregational Church.

          Several options were considered.  Shipping a box to Kenya via USPS would be $236.  FedEx and UPS prices were more than $400 per box.  If I took the boxes with me in November, each 50 lb. box would cost $150 in excess baggage fees, which would total $2250.  That was the best solution.   The Ortman donation would cover the cost of four of the boxes.  To save even more money, Tom, a member of the mission group who lives in California, took two of the boxes as his two free checked bags.  Donna, who lives in Arizona, took one box.  Shipping the three boxes to these friends cost less than $60 and thus saved $390. 

          And it's getting better all the time.  Shiloh Methodist Church paid the remaining $1350 in excess baggage fees needed to get the rest of the books to Kenya in 2009!

          God is most merciful.