Funding the mission

The St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson is running its sixth rummage sale fundraiser Thursday to Saturday to build funds for mission trips to Haiti, Guatemala and New Orleans.

"Our church has always sponsored Haiti, our first mission was in 2005," said Mary Winterhof, the chairwoman of the rummage sale. "We do the rummage sale once a year."

Winterhof said volunteers spend many hours organizing the rummage sale each year.

"The general goal of our mission trips is to help those physically in need and to teach young men how to be a pastor," said the Rev. David Johnson of St. Paul Lutheran Church. "We want to bring spiritual help by spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and his love for all people."

Johnson has been to Haiti six times so far; his first trip was in 2001.

"I went down to visit the churches and to see the work being done," he said. "The following years I taught courses for young men being pastors."

Johnson said that in 2005 a group of church members went to Haiti to work on the Lutheran churches, did painting and electrical work. He said it is not possible to do a mission trip to Haiti this year because of the earthquake.

"The school I was teaching had completely collapsed," he said. "It has to be rebuilt."

But Haiti was not the only destination for mission trips of St. Paul Lutheran Church members.

"We have been to New Orleans every year since Hurricane Katrina. Last summer we went to Guatemala," Johnson said.

During their trips to New Orleans members of the church helped rebuild homes of those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

In 2009 members of the church went to Guatemala to have a vacation Bible school for more than 400 children and built a home with other Christian outreach ministries.

"We built a house in Guatemala within a week," said Ken Fluegge, a church volunteer from Jackson. He went with the church on a missions trip to Haiti in 2005.

St. Paul Lutheran Church will send a group to New Orleans this year to continue with the cleanup effort and to help rebuild homes, Johnson said. "Another group will go to Chicago to help the churches and to do a vacation Bible school."

The mission trips are financed by the rummage sale fundraiser as well as the not-for-profit membership organization Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

Johnson said that the rummage sale fundraiser normally earns between $6,000 and $7,000. It includes furniture, electronics, books, clothes, tables, chairs and fishing equipment. Baked goods, chicken rice soup and chili will also be available.

St. Paul Lutheran Church is still accepting donations from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 7 a.m. to noon Wednesday.

"We are looking for good clean furniture, nothing that's damaged, good quality clothing and helpful items," Winterhof said. Volunteers separate items into categories like different holiday decorations and clothing. "We try to make it as easy as possible for people to shop."

The rummage sale will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 7 a.m. to noon Saturday in the fellowship hall of St. Paul Lutheran Church at 223 W. Adams St. in Jackson.