Houston - Day 3

The Bible says in Romans 12:4-6a "for as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..."  In this way, we all worked diligently as unto the Lord, each with our own abilities, to further His kingdom. This trip has been fruitful in many ways, and we have worked along side over one hundred others. If we all tried to do the same thing the service to Houston would be very slow, but together as many members with differing gifts we are able to efficiently serve Houston for the furtherance of God's kingdom.

It is Day 3, the Lord continues to shower us with blessings! By the grace of God we were able to completely finish demolition on Mario and Angelica's home. They were ready for reconstruction, and we were ready to bless another family. As we approached the next location, we noticed they were in a cul-de-sac that still had mountains of debris in the street.

Brad and Kathy, our new family for the next couple days, informed us that the trucks moved in and would not return to finish cleaning up the mess in the street. As we approached the house, we also learned this family owned the house behind it as well. The second house was a rental property, while the first was their personal home. We were amazed at the work this couple had already done in their house, but the work is never quite finished. We worked diligently to get the remaining pieces of backer board and nails out of the house. Then we shop vacuumed everything, and moved on to the pile of rubble in the street. With wheel barrows and shovels in hand, we attacked the mountain lying ahead. We took doors to build ramps into the dumpster, and piled the dirt and rubble as high as we could. Before we knew it the day had come to a close, and we had barely made a dent into the pile. Progress could be seen, but the road ahead for tomorrow will be tough.

To close out the day, we prayed with Brad, Kathy, and a couple neighbors. The gratitude from them all was overflowing from their words and actions. Before we left, we promised we would see them again tomorrow. What a blessing it is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Our hearts are overflowing with the love of Christ, and it compels us to keep going even in our tired state. We pray more will come from all over America, but even more specifically from Englewood! All Christians need to experience service for the Lord, and what a better way than serving our neighbors in Houston. We are excited for the final day of service, and hope to see God continually change lives and bring hope to Houston!