The work of the Lord is never done—as exemplified by “Arts in Action,” a fundraiser held Saturday at Daphne United Methodist Church which raised $7,152 for two missionary groups in Africa.

A silent auction—with items ranging from $10 to $3,000—raised $4,618. Small-ticket items included: various computer accessories; 50,000 frequent-flyer miles; a boat ride on a 40-foot sailboat; and an antique Cadillac.

“We had a lot of members come forward and donate their time and services, including bushhogging for up to five acres,” Linda Goodman, an organizer, said. “We had one man donate a half-day of handyman service. We had people donate cooking dinner for six people.”

The big-ticket item was a $3,000 reservation for a 10-foot-tall mural to be painted by artist Faye Earnest.

As attendees surveyed items, they were treated to the sounds of the McPherson Family Band, Brushfire Nation, Demaskus and Too Loud for Sunday, who sang a variety of Christian favorites.

Fundraising tables included jewelry items, clothing and various bake sales.

Outside the Community Life Center were various children’s activities including a Moonwalk and a dunking booth.

The fundraising efforts—and the fun—were all in the name of a higher calling, organizers said.

Mission control

Deep in war-torn Uganda, missionaries Keith and Lisa Coggin are spreading the Gospel.

“They have started the Sanctuary of Grace Christian Academy for the children,” Goodman said. “They now have K-2 and add a grade each year.”

The Coggins and their team also provide medical assistance, evangelism and discipleship to the community as well as church services with a local Ugandan pastor.

“It’s real dangerous and hot work,” Goodman said.

Uganda is a battered nation, having survived decades of civil war and political turmoil. Years of civil unrest followed the forced removal of Ugandan military dictator Edi Amin in 1979.

Resistance groups such as the Uganda National Liberation Army and the Uganda Freedom Fighters sprayed the crowded urban streets with gunfire and filled the rustic country fields with bloodied bodies.

Civil-rights abuses included massive genocidal purges of areas like the Luwero District, where 750,000 people were killed in 1983.

But the Coggins aren’t the only ones spreading the Word.

Missionaries Paul and Marty Law—working in central Congo—are cutting trees, constructing churches and helping locals build a Christian community.

“They are helping rebuild the country’s infrastructure like schools, clinics and hospitals that were destroyed by years of war,” Goodman said.

“However, their top priority is the spiritual renewal of the church. Paul and Marty were drawn to this historic opportunity to participate in the restoration of the United Methodist Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

Here on the Eastern Shore, thousands of miles from the missionaries’ efforts, are those who support their work and constantly keep them in prayer.

“Those two families are making a huge sacrifice,” Daphne United Methodist Church Community Life Center director Neil Beasley said. “They’ve left their comfort parts here in Daphne.”

What strikes Beasley the most, after speaking with the missionaries, is hearing them describe how locals value their few belongings.

“Those people, with as little as they have, have more happiness than we do,” he said.

Beasley added that each mission is different, depending on the area’s needs.

“They go into a different area and help where they can,” he said. “They see a need in that area, try to provide it and spread the Gospel.”

The churches the missionaries build are not megachurches, but small, simple structures—perhaps ideal for the residents, Beasley indicated.

“Some of these people are worshipping God for the first time,” he said.