Al & Diane Mellinger's Missionary Adventure

Passion Needed!

January 17, 2022 - We are looking for passionate people to join our team. 

Do you like to tell and share stories about the people, places, and products we offer?

Do you want to help folks take care of themselves and their families?

Do you have a few hours a week you could spare to be a part of changing the world?

Then we want to chat with you. 

• We are looking for people to work from time to time at our stores. Both as volunteers and paid staff.
• We are also looking for people to represent us at schools, churches, and with other interested groups. Could be training and study times or having our products at craft and vendor fairs.
• Additionally, we are looking for sponsors to help people in need where you live. Being a point person to connect with and serve folks in need, as we help them learn some new skills while generating some pocket money. (REED Workshops)
• Finally, we are looking for financial partners who will help us invest in development funds to make many of these things happen.

Marketplace Manna exists to help the poor, disenfranchised, persecuted, disabled and unemployed around the world.  This starts in our backyard and goes to the ends of the earth.

If God is nudging you to investigate further what we are doing and how you can be a part of our team – let’s start a conversation and see where God takes it.

It never hurts to ask!

This week pray for our retail locations – we are in the after-the-holiday lows and with inflation and people concerned about the economy we need regular daily sales to cover the costs of having the stores open.

Pray too for our partners and the families that they support as they need to keep them working which is done by the sale of items.

Pray for Diane and I, we are wanting and need a team around us to help carry the vision God has given us. Some days it is easy and other days not so much.  We need the body of Christ to come alongside and assist.

To give to our support click here

The Friendly Home!

January 11, 2022 – Just before Christmas I heard a gal speak about the work she did as the executive director at a home for elderly women in Jackson.  This home has been around since the civil war.  Most of the clients do not have enough money to cover their costs and so the center takes what they get each month to cover their lodging and meals. They are given $60 a month for spending.

As I heard about these ladies we decided to talk further with the home and found out that some of these gals are very crafty and looking for things to do.  So, this week we started a new REED Workshop in this home.

As we share some ideas of what we would like them to make they began to get very excited and started sharing other things they make on their own.

I am so in awe of the needs that we are able to begin to address.  I never realized what needs were around (but that is because I was really not looking).  Now that I am more tuned in and focused on what can be done God is opening up doors all around. (This home by the way is less than a mile from our home - we drive by it ALL the time.)

This is part of what I believe every church could help with – finding a need in their community and then partnering with us to see if we could together help.

Stay tuned as we share how this program develops and how we figure out new ways to serve these ladies.

This week pray for the Friendly Home and the ladies who live there.

Pray too for our plans as we look to navigate the Covid restrictions and plan a trip back to Bulgaria - (pray for our funding for this too)

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To support us online click here

Bubba and a Pair of Glasses!

January 4, 2022 – Bubba is a nonverbal autistic adult whose father has to be with him almost all the time.  When we opened the Ann Arbor store we got to meet Bubba and his family. Bubba likes to walk the mall almost every day.  One day we found out Bubba likes to paint and they showed us some of his work.

Since Bubba meet the qualification for having products in the shop we offered consignment space for him to show his work. We would get a cut when they sell and he would make some money too.

They had not sold yet but I was feeling the need to purchase the painting out right so that we could help the family and when they sell we would keep the total amount.  So, I began to watch for Bubba but did not see him through the holiday season until this past Sunday.

I told them I wanted to pay them for the paintings and paid them $150 for the work.  They were happy and I was glad I could finally do what I was sensing God telling me to do.

A little while later I was checking out what was happening in the mall and the family stopped me. They were at a kiosk that does eye exams and sells glasses.  It seems that the day before their dog “ate” the last pair of glasses for one in the family.  They then told me that they could get them replaced for $149.95!  The 150 that we paid them met a need that they did not know how they were going to cover!

I almost started to cry. God is having us, minister, to this family in ways only He can orchestrate.

We are excited about how we can use the retail operations to do more than sell products to help the poor but also to reach out and minister in all kinds of ways to all kinds of people.  People who we would never see at a church building but are in need of God’s touch through us.

Pray this year God continues to show us how to touch those around us at our retail locations.

Pray that the stores would connect and have great sales so we can continue to help folks around the world in need of His touch through our partners.

Pray too for our support as we are not funded through the stores but rather by supporters as we are working in all kinds of ways beyond the retail sales.

Think Fair Trade First

December 30, 2021 - Today I want to break down one of our slogans: Think Fair Trade First!  Made up of 4 words that independently are common and not very exciting.

THINK – for most of what we do daily we do not have to “think” about, it just happens. When we do “Think” we focus, review and make sure we understand what is happening and what we are to do!

FAIR – This word identifies that all parties are getting what they deserve.  Their participation is compensated in equal terms to the effort they put into the task.

TRADE – This is when you give something you have to get something you want. The word can also mean a skill one has developed that is valuable to others.

FIRST – This word we all know well – we want to be first. I once heard someone say – “You are first after me!”  That is how we are taught to function. We do first each day what is important to us.  We prioritize what we do based on a standard we feel best fits our needs.

When we put these four words together we are reminded that what we each do can, does and will impact others whether we realize it or not.

It might be quicker, easier, faster, and cheaper to just grab something that we see but is it best for all concerned? Do we stop and think about who made what we are getting, what did it cost them for their time and materials?  Would we do it for what we are paying for the product?

When we ask the Fair-Trade questions and stop and think about what we are doing to people will it change our minds as to how, when, and where we shop? 

My purpose for writing this is to challenge you to personally think about what you buy, where you shop, and how you can every day intentionally help folks live, grow and thrive.

We are not islands unto ourselves – what we do impacts others just like what they do impacts you!  For 2022 we want to challenge you to become more aware of the fact that what you do impacts others and as best as you are able do all you can to help others!

Thanks for your Prayers and Happy New Year to all!

To give to our personal support click here

To help with our development projects click here

What About Your Neighborhood?

December 29, 2021 – This is the third communication in 3 days – but we wanted to give you the news, ideas and dreams in smaller bite size pieces.

One of the services/programs we do is work with local churches and charities to help the poor.  We do it by working with the groups to identify and then reach out economically to this group (or person) to help them earn some supplemental income by producing the product we determined they are able to make. We pay them just above minimum wage for what they create.

We work with the homeless shelter in Jackson making chew toys to for dogs, tie headbands (for upcycled men’s ties) and fire starter from pinecones, old candles and twine.

Another partner is making glass/phone cases (out of men’s ties).

We are in conversation with a group hoping to get some space in Downtown Jackson for start a training/production center for some wood working crafts and other sewing projects. The location is a few blocks from the homeless shelter and would allow us to have equipment in place where we can train and the workers could use.  The idea behind this is not to give them full employment but teach then some skills they can use to then become more employable.

The real blessing behind this is not the product made but the time spent with the people, learning their stories and finding out what they really need AND earing their trust to share Jesus with them.

We want to duplicate this in towns and neighborhoods all around the Midwest and beyond. We are praying and looking for church and key individuals that will take on this kind of program in your neighborhood.

Would you join us in prayer for partners: Individuals and church/groups who are wanting to serve and willing to put in the time to see lives changed! If so let us know so we can begin a conversation about next steps.

If you would like to give to the development fund to help us get these projects going – click here.