Woodmen Valley Chapel: The Woodmen Journal

From the Editor ...

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 — Swaziland, Africa
We learned today that a 5-month old baby girl named Andelay was abandoned and left on the doorstep of a local pastor’s house. She had nothing but the scrapping remains of a blanket. Andelay’s twin sister and mother died a few months back — both from AIDS. The father had split long before the birth ... that’s how it is here.

I got to hold that little girl today. Her big brown eyes staring right into mine. She’s only a few weeks older than our youngest, Leona, but so much smaller ... and alone.

5 weeks earlier ...
It was the end of May and I was sitting in my living room proofreading the feature story “I Am Third” for the June issue of The Woodmen Journal. It was around midnight, I was tired, and the last thing I wanted to do was proofread ... but a deadline is a deadline.

I was expecting to drift off to sleep (like I normally do when reading this late) but this story was different. As I was reading about the AIDS pandemic and what was happening in Africa, I couldn’t even comprehend what was going on — I couldn’t relate.

As I continued to read, big, bold words jumped out at me, “HOW CAN I RESPOND?” What a great question. Can I respond? Can I really make a difference? What could I do?
Without even thinking about it (or checking with my wife first) I sent a text message to Brian, the author of the article and the one leading the next team going to Swaziland.

“I need to go.” That’s all I wrote.
He responded immediately. “Are you serious? If so, just say the word.”
“Word.”
Before I knew it, nine of us were aboard a 23-hour flight to Africa, not too sure what to expect ... or what to feel.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The earthquake that crippled Haiti on January 12, was all over the news. We couldn’t turn on the TV, radio or our computers without seeing the heart-wrenching pictures or hearing the stomach-dropping stories. Still, most of us couldn’t relate or really comprehend what was actually happening there.

Then we heard the news. Two Compassion International employees were there and we couldn’t reach either one of them: Dan Woolley, a member of Woodmen Valley Chapel and David Hames, a member of Vanguard Church.

Suddenly Haiti wasn’t so far away — it was very close to home.
This Woodmen Journal we want to tell a little piece of the story of what the Woolley family went through, and what they continue to go through many weeks after the Haiti earthquake. Throughout this issue we’ll also talk about the family of Woodmen Valley Chapel: not to brag about Woodmen, but to brag about God’s Church and the power of what can happen when it comes together ... through pain, through joy, through the turbulent journey of life.

You’re invited to read through these pages as part of the family. Let these stories hit close to home — drawing you closer to our God and what He’s doing around the world.

-Dan Schultz, Editor — The Woodmen Journal

To the Hames Family ...

This issue of The Woodmen Journal is dedicated to Renee Hames and her children, Aidan (5) and Zander (3). As we rejoice that Dan Woolley was found alive, we mourn, but celebrate the life of David Hames. In this issue, we’ve added a Hames Family Page (p19) that includes information on how to support the David Hames Family Fund as well as the David Hames Orphans Fund. David lived an incredible life that mattered — today he continues to challenge us all to do the same.