Al & Diane Mellinger's Missionary Adventure

Happy Easter and More!

April 5, 2023 – It has been about a month since we posted an update.  It is not that we were not busy, it is that we were doing much of the same ministry.

First, we want to wish everyone a blessed and Happy Easter.  May you be drawn closer to our savior and lord - Jesus Christ this Easter Season.

We did travel to an annual conference in Illinois and to 2 churches during this time.  Diane and I have also been covering during the week, shifts in both stores as we are still needing to find some part-time employees.

Fairfield, Iowa

Urbandale, Iowa

We have also been working on getting the REED Workshop Center ready to open soon.  Watch for information on that in the coming weeks.

We are having a Grand Reopening on Friday, April 14, 2023.  It is also going to be a Founder’s Weekend sale with select items that the founder likes (that’s me) on sale.  If you are in the Southern Michigan Area, come on by and see all the great things we have to offer.  We will also be offering, while supplies last, some refreshments from My Bakery a new ministry of My Place part of the Set Free Movement.

So would you pray for the following:

• Grand Re-opening and Founder Weekend and Sales at the stores
• The REED Workshop Center as we work to get it set up.
• Funds for the REED Workshop so that once it is done, we can begin to use it to hire folks who need some income and skill training.

We are scheduling church visits in the late Spring Summer and Fall so if you are interested, let us know and we can see what we can do.

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To learn more about our New REED Workshop program click here

To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here

Trip to Light & Life Park in Lakeland, FL

March 8, 2023 – Last weekend was the Missions Conference at Light and Life FMC at the Park in Lakeland.  Diane and I were invited to be guest missionaries with several others.  We flew down and were able to share what God is doing in and through our work.

What was a true blessing was the number of people that either live there year-round or are down during the cold months up north.  It seemed like every time we turned around, we were running to someone with a connection to either Diane or me in our past.  They are all great people who have served God well in their own lives.  We felt it might just be a little of what heaven will be like.

Side note – during our time in Florida our Ann Arbor location had a shop lifting incident.  Casey was able to catch them and report it to police.  They took over $750 of merchandise which we did get back.  This does bring up a concern about the cost and realities of doing business these days. It is getting harder and harder.  With inflation still high people aren't buying as much and our sales year over year are way down.  The needs we address and serve by selling fairtrade items as still very much there.  So please be in prayer about the retail realities we face.  Pray for our staff, pray for protection, pray for sales and donations.

We know God is in control but sometimes need some reminders.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

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To learn more about our New REED Workshop program click here

To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click her

Expansion In Process

February 23, 2023 – The REED Workshop space is slowly coming together (what we can with what we currently have). 

Here are two links to an interview I did for a local Cable TV station and an article that was also written.

https://jtv.tv/market-manna-expands-plans-workshop-for-downtown-business/

Also on Monday, February 27^th, we are doing a dedication of the REED Workshop space.

Over the years we have appreciated and depended on your support for the work God has called us to do!  That began in the Balkans and has now returned to Michigan with many partners and countries around the world.  To celebrate this and to hear the new vision of what God is calling us to do, Diane and I would like to invite you to a special Open House/Dedication of the expanded retail space and the New REED Workshop Center.

This will be Monday, February 27 from 5-6:30 with a formal presentation made at 5:30. 

We will share how the new space will advance the kingdom ask for prayer and your wisdom on how to accomplish the vision we have.

There will be some light refreshments and all in attendance will receive a free gift and a discount on any purchase made that evening.

Please RSVP [email protected] your participation or regrets.

Guests you want to bring are welcome!

This week pray for:

The continued transition of the store and workshop space – including funds to finish the project and launch the workshop.

Sale – the weather has kept people from shopping which means no sales – we need some sales to pay the bills.

To learn more about our New REED Workshop program click here

To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here

 

Moving Out - Moving In (Part 2)

February 16, 2023 – We have been back stateside for about a week and are finally back this time zone with our Body Clocks!

The time in Bulgaria was very good as we begin the process of transitioning more fully to stateside ministries.  We have a team in place that will keep the company going for a while yet – so we are not giving up on Livelihood groups and partnering with groups around the world at all.

(part of the New building space)

Since returning stateside the Jackson Retail location has expanded adding the unit next door to our Retail location while also designating half of the old space to a Workshop, training space.  We are so looking forward to that becoming a reality and seeing the lives that can be impacted.

(Part of the new look in the old space)

We have also been fighting off a major cold since returning so pray about that for us too.

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To learn more about our New REED Workshop program click here

To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here

Family Reunion Sort of!?

February 3, 2023 – This week while in Bulgaria we went over to our first landlord's place for a visit.  That apartment is where Diane and I lived longer than any other place.  A great deal of ministry happened there, and we had many memories of great times.

A few years back we moved to a smaller place due to costs and just not needing the room anymore.

Going back to our old home was amazing – the Landlords have moved into that space and remodeled it and their apartment is now for their youngest daughter.  What was interesting as we talked about our 13 years there, they had very fond memories of our time with them – in fact during our time there we went to most family events and took lots of photos of the family.   On the wall hung many pictures that I had taken that they have framed.

They are Orthodox but I believe they know Christ and that made our time with them all the more fun.  Here are some photos of what our apartment looked like and what it looks like now.

This week pray for our travels back to the US

And for the changes, we will be heading into at the JACKSON Store as well as moving our Jackson home to a different house.  – Still, lots of changes coming.

Also, continue to remember the stores – pray for sales of the merchandise January and February are low retail months and we need some sales to pay the bills.

Moving Out & Moving in (Part 1)

January 26, 2023 – We are glad to report that almost every big thing in our  Bulgarian apartment is spoken for or sold. Lots of little things we are sorting. The inventory for New Start (our BG company) is more than I remember and is identified and slated for shipment or production over the next 6 months. The balance we are working on selling to local folks.  We are working to keep things moving along so that we can be wrapped up for the most part when we return stateside in about 10 days.

Speaking of stateside – Here is a photo of the new location being painted (Thanks Mike Ewert), carpets getting cleaned this weekend, and fixtures being moved and installed on Monday (1/30/23).  The Marketplace Manna Team stateside is doing a great job helping us get things ready for our Grand Re-Opening sometime in the next few weeks (after we return).

THE STORE IN JACKSON IS STILL OPEN DURING OUR TRANSFORMATION SO STOP BY AND ENJOY OUR KNITWEAR SALE THIS WEEK!

Thanks for your prayers our time in Bulgaria has been amazing.  Things are healthy with the churches and work here.  We are able to redefine and focus the company to continue to help many in need for a little while longer.  We were not sure what to expect but we are very happy will what we found – Keep praying for our time here and for our time when we return to not only continue the expansion but also we will be moving to a new home in Jackson too. 

And finally – January is a slow month retail-wise – pray for some good sales to finish the month and to start February.

It seems our theme for January and February is “Moving, both in and out”

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To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here

Local Help Needed!

January 20, 2023 - In early January we wrote about the expansion of our downtown Jackson retail operation. We have signed the lease and are looking for some volunteers over the next couple of weeks to help with upgrading the new space and the transition of the old space. We are looking for some folks to help us out with some painting, hanging wall fixtures, moving stored fixtures (truck needed for this), and then transferring merchandise to the new location.

By the way, many of the fixtures we have were from the Things Remembered Store next to our Ann Arbor location when they went out of business last week. (We moved them to a storage place in Jackson as we did not have the new space yet) – We were able to buy some and few and were given many more items. When God is moving, he provides for the needs – it looks like we will not have to spend very much for fixtures for the new space and they look good too! God is Good!

And all of these things need to be done while Diane and I are in Bulgaria tying up projects here. We have a plan in place but because we are away, and our current staff cannot make the transitions happen without help. We also do not want to wait until mid-February (when Diane and I return) to make the transitions happen. We need some local help. So If you would have a few hours to paint, clean the carpet, hang fixtures and move fixtures (in this order) please email me at [email protected] and we will let you know where we are and how you can be a blessing to us and the people we serve.

Pray about everything getting done when it needs to, that the new space will make an impact on people’s lives and that our time in Bulgaria will advance the kingdom as we encourage and meet with so many of the leaders here!

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To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here

The Friendly Home

January 12, 2023 – Once a month we visit the Friendly Home, a home for low-income elderly women who don’t have a place to stay.  They receive about $60 a month for personal incidentals, which isn’t much.

We now work with 7 ladies who help us make things that are then sold in our retail locations.  They make about $30 a month from us to add to what they receive from the home.  That is not a lot of money but it does help.

But more than financial help it is also mental and relational help.  Mental in that they feel like they are doing something worthwhile.  They are not just sitting around watching time pass.  They are adding something to society.

 

As far as relations are concerned, we get to know them and hear their story.  We don’t normally ask them about themselves but it seems when you get folk doing something with their hands their mouth just open up and we hear it all.

Most times when we leave, we are more blessed by having spent time with folks who have been around the block a few times. Such rich knowledge we gain.

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This week we travel to Bulgaria – pray for safe and smooth traveling.

Pray for our time in Bulgaria as we tie up loose ends over there.

Pray for Sales - it has been a slooooow start to January - we need it to pick up.

Also, pray for the transitional process of the Jackson store and the new REED Workshop Center space.

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To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here

Happy New Year with an emphasis on NEW!

January 5, 2023 – We are looking forward to 2023 and already it is getting busy.  We are preparing to head back to Bulgaria for a few weeks and for most, that would keep them busy enough, but for us, there is more and we want to highlight a few of these other opportunities as well.

• As shared before we are looking to expand the Jackson Retail location to include the retail space next to our current location. This will let us spread out a bit more, provide visibility on Michigan Ave in downtown, and allow us to create a training space. Click Here to learn more
• The New REED Workshop Center – is the name of the “New Training Space” we are creating in the expansion. This will allow us room to bring folks in to teach skills that could lead to some supplemental income. That is if what they produce will fit into what we sell in the retail operation. To learn more click here
• REED Workshop Seminars – besides the training space we want to use the space to also offer NEW seminars on all kinds of topics to the residents of the low-income apartments in the area. (There are 3 with over 150 units of low-income seniors which have almost nothing to do most days within 3 blocks.) This might be on how to program your smartphone to the History of Jackson to simple healthy meals for one.  Really anything you are interested in some of them will be interested in too.  (if you are local and want to learn more about being a part of this new outreach click here)
• NEW staff for Ann Arbor – We have struggled with having the staff needed to man the hours at our mall location – The mall wanted more normal hours which the current team could not cover. We prayed asking God to provide the right person (people) or we could not meet the obligation. Over the next 10 days, we had 5 applications picked up and we are training the needed staff member(s). (We put up no new signs asking for help or anything – God answered prayer!)
• New Home for Diane and I. We currently live in one of the 3 apartments in the building we own (or are buying).  It was getting small and we wanted to make a change.  We finally said to God if you want us to have a different place to live – you will need to bring it to us. And He did click here to learn more.

We are sure that all these NEW opportunities will not only keep us busy but will challenge our faith as well.  We have learned that whenever God is doing something He invites us to come and see and then challenges us to go all in.  We have been all in on so many crazy ministry projects that it seems almost normal and yet still a step of faith each time.

Join us this year on this Journey of “NEW”!  Pray for us as we navigate all that these New Programs will require.  Pray for the resources (both financial and human) to be where they need to be when they need to be there. Finally, pray for the people that we will get to serve and not only share information with but also the LOVE OF JESUS!

Merry Christmas (and our year in review)

December 26, 2022 - To all who read this, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and pray you have a blessed new year!

This was our first full year as Missionaries for Economic Development and what a year it has been.

In our retail operation, we have seen since August a decrease in sales over last year (Month to Month) before that, sales had been increasing.   We are watching our cost with inflation where it is. We closed one of the stores in January due to sales decreases and expenses going up.  Pray that we can find some part-time staff as staffing has been hard to get and maintain this year. Overall we are on target to end the year in a good place for the retail operations.

We traveled sharing the work and setting up pop-up shops from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma and most states in between, including 8 Annual Conferences, more than 20 churches, 2 family camps and over a dozen one on one visits with interested parties.

Our work with organizations and groups in need has increased and we are finding more things for these folks to make that people can use. We have launched over 30 products this year.  With the planned addition of our REED Workshop Center, we think this will grow greatly in 2023.  We are also looking to add a few more groups to list of places we are partnering with.

We are in consultation with a couple of groups wanting to expand into serving the poor in a more practical and helpful way. Pray that these will go well and lives will be touched.

Our personal support was truly an act of faith as we do not get any funds from the retail operations but depend on donations from supporters. For several months this past year we did not get our full salary as there were no funds in our account but through it, all God met our needs and for that we are thankful – we have reduced our projections and so if our support holds we should be in better shape this year. (any support you can give would be appreciated.)

All in all it has been a good year and we are praising God for all He has done and for where He is leading us. Never a dull moment with Him.

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To help with our personal support click here

Marketplacemanna.com – online store

To help with our development fund click here