Rays of Light!

Note the Heck of the North backing on one of the light boxes. Who would have dreamed?

Amazing the times we live in. What light and energy can do for someone. How a relatively small group of people, their energy and passion and compassion, can help improve lives thousands of miles away.

Our friend Dave Nonnemacher of Duluth has been one of the key drivers of this simple yet unbelievably complex project, Ray of Life. In August, we helped build four light boxes. Running low on the plastic backing needed for the light board, I repurposed an old Heck sign. It worked perfectly. That box, pictured above by pure luck, is now in the hands of someone in Ukraine.

Dave writes, “A long trip: from the warehouse of Hand to Hand Logistics, located in Isanti MN, to the port of Gdynia Poland, delayed at the Poland-Ukraine border due to a trucker's strike during the overland journey to Kotsyubinsky Ukraine; gathered in and then delivered to the Mariupol Chaplain's Battalion in Zaporizhzhia Ukraine by a faithful friend. Many Ray of Life kits have been distributed in the city of Zaporizhzhia and many more will be delivered to cities and villages by the faithful men and women of the Mariupol Chaplain's Battalion, who go where others don't. 118 Ray of Life kits and 100 VF100 water filters, assembled by church members and individuals in Minnesota, Iowa, West Virginia and Michigan were included in shipment #1. Shipment #2 is on its way to Ukraine, currently on a boat in the Atlantic. 

I was deeply moved by Dave’s work and the courage and compassion of those making the deliveries a reality. All I can say is thank you for your efforts.