Got Stamps??

Got stamps?? That is a joke right?? We all probably have more than a few on our shelves. If you are anything like me you have a pile of unloved or unused stamps. Would you consider giving them to a good cause?? Let me tell you more...

I posted a few weeks ago about a Stampraiser I held at my church for a friend of mine who is

moving her family to Romania for one year to do mission work. This is Karen and Maurice in the photo. Among other things, Karen is hoping to teach cardmaking as a means of income for some very poor communities. The one thing they have going for them is tourism and we know handmade cards have a market there. I saw first hand how poor these people are and most of them have little to no education. Karen and her husband are also planning to teach some woodworking and willow furniture making. There are also basic hygeine and health issues to address. The town they will spend most of their time in has hand dug wells that are often contaminated because the local people do not know how to care for them properly. This is a photo of some village children we met. They only have access to a doctor once a week and medicine is often not even available. Bottom line...there is much need. The Hopkins family is committing a year of their lives to serve in any way they can.

This is the church building we worked on that will also house the doctors office, a sewing center and childcare. Karen and Maurice will spend much of their time there and this is where stamping will take place.

The Stampraiser we held was very successful and we were able to completely outfit Karen with ink, markers, ink refills and other miscellaneous items. We used the host credit and profit to get stamps, she earned several of each Sell A Bration set and I have gone through my stash and given all my neglected or duplicate stamp sets to Karen. Stamps seem to be where she is bit slim. I thought I would extend an opportunity to others to donate any unwanted stamps to the cause. They can be any kind or company. All supplies we raise will be staying in Romania. We are hoping to get image stamps as English word or sentiment stamps are not really usable over there. I would love to present Karen with a box of stamps to take with her. If you are interested in donating stamps (punches and tools are also helpful) please send them to:

Tracy Harp

18 Iva Mae Drive

North Chili, NY 14514

If you are interested in reading more about the Romania mission our church has undertaken you can visit the Pearce Church website here . Please feel free to ask questions.