A Gift of Mobility… The PET® Project

Dear PET-Kin,

It looks like the middle of June for our next shipment. We’re about 20 short of our goal of 70 PETs ready for shipment. The whole team has been extremely active including Bill Murray who is in Guatemala on a distribution with the PET-Kin from Kansas. I’m hoping to have an informal gathering here to let him have some time to tell his stories. Stay tuned as there will be short notice. Time is tight as a lot of the PET-Kin are traveling including myself. We welcome John Vander Beek back from his home building mission work. Our PET-Kin in Woodinville are asking about how to ship parts to us. That means they have been stirring up saw dust pretty regularly. Mike and Harold, our wood cutters, did a great job with their recent assignments. Our painters are “knee” deep in wood and paint. One load has already been brought to the PET Shop and another load is on the drying lines. That may be brought to the shop on Thursday. Our builders and packers have been turning out Rainbow PETs at about 2.5 a day. I hope everyone who needs a key for the new locks on the PET Shop has one. After 6.4 years, it was a good time to replace keys since the lock broke anyway. We’re still working to get our load of 1800 steel parts (760#) from Michigan. We are short welders right now. Larry had eye surgery on Monday. Greg is about to travel. I’m hoping his team finishes up frames before they leave. Bill is gone. One retired last week.
We have a load of tires in route and Earl picked up another load of fork parts yesterday from Haskins Steel and delivered chain guards to Apex for painting. This ministry has become a huge effort but it is a joy to work with you and to realize how our work changes lives. Make sure you read that last half of Mel’s “State of PET” address. It has some motivating insights. Thanks.

George Weisbarth, from Newport, is taking a Rainbow PET to The Dalles where it will be stabled for use in that area by Deb Allen, a pastor, who knows our ministry well.

Dick Carpenter

Dear PET-Kin,

Saturday was Compassion in Action at WCPC. Over 100 brothers and sisters in Christ spanned out across the Inland Empire to work in a variety of charities. Our PET guest-volunteers did a lot of work for the ministry. They started out in the Paint Barn taking down painted seat boards, flouring them and loading them into a van to take to the PET Shop. They also learned to cut circles on the 20 ton press. At the PET Shop, they build 2 complete PETs and started 2 more. They packed 3 PETs. They made 6 body back parts and spray painted 6 sets of side braces. They also completed 2 PETITE Pets. It was a full day and they helped the ministry move toward it’s next shipment of 70 PETs. They moved us past the half way mark. Thanks.

The note below shows PET is now in 100 countries. That means we have 106 left to go.

Dick Carpenter

Dear PET Friends,

We were advised by our good friend, Mark Richard at Hope Haven International, that PETs are being shipped to Samoa.  That is the #100th country having received PETs since the beginning of PET in 1994.  I’ve attached the updated list of countries.  Share the good news.

Sincerely,
Kathy Maynard
PET International

Dear PET-Kin,

What a celebration we had. My wife even danced with me! She and her team did a remarkable job of decorating and making the old gym look like a beautiful dining hall. The food was chef perfection. The band played on. The clean-up team took over at the end. There was lots of conversations as new people got together. The PET Derby was exciting with the Mike and Cheryl edging out Brad and Bev by one wrong turn. Sharon’s video story was inspiring as we saw recipients’ lives before their PET and after: instant change. There are so many people to Thank who made this event possible especially the teenagers who served and cleaned up and did waiting that would inspire any restaurant. The silent auction sold out with one husband outbidding his wife for a painting. We had a lot of fun and I pray we glorified our Lord in the entire event. Thanks to all who made it happen. Rebecca was a gracious hostess.

What else is going on?  Our Woodinville PET-Kin met with John Shaffer, our PR man in Puget Sound. They will be doing some joint speaking to Lions Clubs. They have started cutting wood parts. Soon we’ll be stabling a PET in The Dalls. A pastor we met when she worked in Newport is now there and wants to spread the need for PETs in her new area. We are still trying to get 500 pounds of axels, bears and pivot tubes from Galien, Michigan. It will cost us $500 if we have to pay for shipping. We have a couple of plans in motion but neither has come to fruition. We also need a clean, dry, mouse-free place to store several thousand stuffed animals. They are being held by UGM’s Classy Rack but they will throw them away if we don’t take them soon.

The lack of brake handles has caused a back up in packing. We have plenty now but there are 7 PETs to be packed. The last count for built PETs was 1417.

Dick Carpenter

Dear PET-Kin,

Our plan for moving parts from Michigan to Spokane has fallen through. We have about 500 pounds of axels, bushings and pivot tubes available at no cost.

If you have anyone traveling West from the Michigan area who would be willing to bring these parts, please let me know. Ray, in Galien, Michigan is willing to deliver them. One of the PET-Kin is also willing to travel from Spokane to as far as Logan, Utah. If we can’t make these kinds of connections, it will cost PET about $400 to ship by truck.

Dick Carpenter

Beloved PET-Kin,

Our resident poet (About 6 books), Jim Vasquez sent this original poem this morning:

                                                                              Resurrection

O Light that shone from out the tomb,
Whose radiance darkened all the sun,
And spread throughout all nations’ lands,
A message of sure vict’ry won,

O Love that broke the bonds of sin,
Th’ eternal rift at last to span,
That kept all righteousness afar,
And e’er prevailed ’tween God and man,

O Life that from a naked tomb
Burst forth, of lives the only Source,
To heal the wounds we bore for sin,
Since first we chose the great divorce,

With halting speech yet swelling hearts,
Unwearied voices now we raise.
But how shall we from infirm lips,
In worthy manner offer praise?

Accept our meager tributes now,
That joyfully we spread abroad,
And grant unending years that we
Your name may one day justly laud.

James Vasquez

                                                                                                                   Easter, 2013

I will not be in the shop Monday morning: Easter hangover or impending doom on 15 April; probably the latter.

We will run out of front tires with sprockets on them this week. If the builders will just build PETs up to that point. It will then just take a few minutes to add the tire later.

We need someone to cut the hardboard into 41”x31” pieces. The 2 wood workers who have been doing that are out of town.

Dick Carpenter

Dear PET-Kin,

Our 2nd Annual PET Derby Gala is coming soon. If you plan to attend, the tickets are available: $20 each for salmon or tri-tip beef, music and the Derby. Dave Rasor’s band will back.

We’re all set for the shipment on 26 March, 10AM. 70 PETs going to Med-Share in San Leandro, CA. Thanks for volunteering to help. Pizza will be served and a team meeting while we eat.

Our team in Woodinville receives their first tranche of wood this Wednesday. Thanks to Robert in BC and John in Camano Island it arrived at Peninsula Truck Lines yesterday. They will be busy boys for a long time.

Our most recent newsletter hit the post office on Monday. Let us know what you think. Don and his team worked very hard to make this coincide with the shipment. His new Pastor toured the PET Project on Monday: Rob Shields (No relation to my college girl friend, Shiki Shields.

Dick Carpenter

Beloved PET-Kin,

Our 31st shipment is set for Tuesday 26 March at 10AM. We will be sending 70 PETs to Med-Share out of San Leandro, CA. Please let me know if you can help with the load-out.

Our newsletter is almost finished and should be in the mail about the same time. I’m going to Seattle on Wednesday and will return late on Monday. Saturday evening I take our granddaughter to see and hear the Brothers 4! Our Project has been in disarray this week as we have sick people and PET-Kin are trying to fill in the gaps. Please pray for Harvey, our upholsterer, as he has congestive heart failure. Eldon and Karl are working together on that issue. John and Wayne are working the lack of brakes. That was caused when Gene’s Mom died and he couldn’t make any parts. We will soon have 400 sturdy upper chain guards from Apex. Butch has been a big help in moving a PET out to their shop and back again. Maurice has made some rails for seats. With all of this we have maintained a steady pace. We will need some one to step forward to start making cleats and parking brake guides as Lyle has had to step back for personal reasons. Our new heater works well but consumes far more fuel than we were led to believe. The test will come if and when we get a cold winter. We received 100 sets of fork parts — the difficult one — from Haskins steel. We think our frustration with forks is over. Wayne has kept us in pedal posts, brake rods and more. God has blessed this ministry in so many ways but with men and women committed to his work. It is a joy to be involved. Thanks to each one and all of you who make this ministry go!

Financially, we are in good shape. All of our bills are paid except for 400 bearings on their way.

If you do not have a PET T-Shirt or cap and want one or both, please let me know when I return.

Dick Carpenter