Category: Propel

Blogs about the ministry work in general

The WOWNESS Continues!!!!

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You know we have made some in-roads regarding meeting families in the Big Pit. Our hearts are yearning to help more kids like this….

Wow #1: Remember how we were celebrating getting names for 15 kids in the Big Pit?? We missed the goal. We blew it. When the smoke settled and the dust cleared we found we had helped 28 kids!!! Thank God there were already enough sponsors and funds from The H.I.K.E. 2023 to make this a reality. Our thanks to everyone who made this leap possible!!!!

Wow #2: Speaking of The H.I.K.E….in a series of events both unplanned and wonderful, we will have a second fundraiser this year. A most dear friend (Yes, Jason Hoag, you) and his brother have put together an event we could not help calling The B.I.K.E. Jason and Matt will be cycling from Pittsburgh to Washington DC, yep – all 335 miles (500km for our metric-minded friends). Check out the most excellent video Jason’s Brother (Matt) put up on YouTube. You can also follow their progress …Look for updates and videos on our Facebook page. 

Wow #3: For those of you wondering how you can be part of the continuing WOWNESS. Great News!!! We have met some new families with kids who need help. If sponsors can start their contributions now, there will be enough $$$ to kit out these kids for the 2024 school year. More info on kids needing sponsors can be found here>>>Students

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Wow…and more wow!!!!

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We have been praying for this for years………


It was April 2012 when we first visited the city which became our home. The visit included a walk through one of the worst neighbourhoods we have ever seen. Condescendingly called “The Big Pit” by the locals, it was where our hearts were broken to the point of saying…something has to be done! Something was…The Propel Initiative.

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Summertime Fun!!!

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Wow! It has been three years since we’ve been able to host a Summer Education Camp in the village of Šangaj. But last week….the kids were back…we were back…and the local community center was more than happy to have us use their facility. Over the course of four days the kids had a blast as they learned some valuable life lessons disguised as characters from… Continue reading

Even in the Quietest Moment

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Without rehashing a litany of pandemic perils and plaints…this last year was interesting. But, despite lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and limited social interaction, we still see great things happening.

It is like watching one of the nature films showing how life returns to a forest after a devastating  fire…little buds of plants and flowers start growing up through the quiet hush beneath the ashes. Life goes on….

Can we share some beautiful success stories with you? Continue reading

Happy Anniversary!!!!!

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It all started as what had become a fairly routine morning in our lives- get up early, hop the train to Manchester Int’l Airport, and board a Lufthansa flight bound for Serbia.

How many times had we done this over the past few years…a dozen times or so? We knew the drill. Manchester to Frankfurt, or Munich, or Vienna, and then on to Belgrade. But this time was very, very different.
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Summertime Blues

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It just isn’t a proper summer without Camp! 

For the past five years Propel has been hosting Education Camps for the kids in the villages where we serve. These Camps are the highlight of the kids’ summer break. How do we know? Easy. Starting in February the kids start asking….not IF there will be a Camp, but WHEN?

Usually, these Camps are put together in partnership with our supporting churches. They send a team to host the camp, and they help cover the expenses. But, with COVID-19…no teams this year! Does this mean no Camp? Continue reading

Is It Worth It?

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Wow! Here it is …2020!!!

It would be easy to brag about all of 2019’s accomplishments

  • over 100 kids kitted out for school
  • 4 great Education Camps enjoyed by tons of kids
  • Dozens of kids (and their moms) now better prepared for primary school; after graduating from Launchpad
  • Over $12,000 raised through The H.I.K.E. (The H.I.K.E. 2020 is scheduled for April. Stay tuned)
  • Partnership with Paguilla (UK) providing life-skill training to older kids
  • Celebrating 10 years working in the mission field
  • Celebrating four years of living in Serbia

But, there’s something much cooler, much more exciting than numbers…  

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What we did this summer…

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Remember returning to school when you were a kid? What was one of your first assignments? An essay on….”What I Did During My Summer Vacation”.  It had to be hand-written, double-spaced, and in cursive! Really, how can you expect spending two weeks at Camp Getmeouttahere to provide excitement enough to thrill your classmates? Is it truly neccesary to have to provide two pages of still vivid memories about bad food, mosquito bites, strange tentmates, and coming in last in the Annual Camp Getmeouttahere Humiliation Contest?  Sorry if this trip down memory lane triggers any nightmares or revives any ghosts from elementary school. We do have a solution. Continue reading

What were we thinking?

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In September we learned that a number of people had the wrong idea about who we were and what we did. They were under the impression they could request all kinds of hand-outs…and get these requests filled immediately. Something had to be done to set things straight. So….

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