POWNAL, Vt. — Steve Carter says he left work with Duke Power six years ago to help share God's kind of power.
He and his wife, Nellene, have made missions their main calling of retirement years; their passion for Christ keeps them on the road and away from their home church, Macedonia Baptist Church in Lincolnton, for months at a time.
This spring they spent three weeks serving in Wyoming. They went to work on hurricane damage in Gulfport, Miss., 21 times.
This summer they parked their camper trailer beside the church in Pownal, Vt., for a month to coordinate the work of several missions teams, especially those from North Carolina. They have served here many times over the past four years. Steve feels his construction skills can help any project, but his more extensive knowledge of the region also makes him a good coordinator.
"The biggest need here in Vermont is for people to come to know Jesus. There are so many people here who are not Christians, who are generations away from being Christians," Steve said.
When they are not involved with the visiting teams and construction, the Carters visit people in the church and in the community to encourage them and share Christ as needed.
Two women in the church have lost babies in the past six months, Nellene said. But a woman on a team from Second Baptist Church, Rutherfordton, had long experience in counseling people in crisis situations. "She was able to be a blessing to the women who had lost babies," Nellene said.
The Carters seem quite happy with their lives as Christian vagabonds. "We go where the Lord calls," Steve said.