There is still need

Wanted to share with you the stories of a couple of people we have encountered in Galveston in recent weeks:

• Got a phone call on Tuesday from an 88 year old woman who was asking us if we had any food she could have.  Knowing her, we knew she called because she was out.  We went to the food store for her to get some staples that will last for awhile.  She is living in her home with her son (~30 years old and doesn’t work) and another woman, all trying to survive off of her social security.
• Been working with another family in need of two dressers, two children’s bed and an adult bed.  I have been able to find the dressers and children’s bed, but not the adult bed yet.  They said they have been sleeping on the floor since Hurricane Ike.
• One of the members of the church was abducted at an ATM in Galveston a couple of years ago.  She was assaulted and taken to Houston where her credit cards were stolen and used.  She is currently being called by debt collectors to cover the debt that was run up.  She has no advocate on her behalf as the debt collectors harrass her.  We have been trying to get her connected to the free legal aid services in Galveston. 

guest blog–Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

On Saturday morning, we headed out and braved the heat, arriving at the drive through Safari Park near San Antonio.  I’ll let the pictures do the talking themselves (as well as the captions!) but this was one of the most fun places I’ve ever been, and to be able to feed and REALLY encounter wilf animals…totally worth the $16 to get in.  When you get to feed antelope, zebra, and ostrich, your day is made!  :O)  Enjoy the pictures!

My friend the goat!

"Mommy!" "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Excuse me, do you mind?"

The entrance to our adventure!

A cool wildebeest

Sleeping baby wildebeest

Pretty deer

Pretty spotted deer

"Looky me; I'm in a tree!"

My...what big horns you have...

HUGE Ostrich that Tim 'called'

Gorgeous zebra

I've never been able to pet a zebra before!

Our zebra friend was clearly the dominant one!

Here comes another ostrich for some food as Tim calls!

This ostrich stuck his head right into the van!

Rhinos behind bars

Bacitrarian Camels (that's spelled wrong! lol)

EMUS!

Llama, llama in the watah lol

"Please can you brush me?"

A pretty crowned heron

Happy giraffes!

Tim feeds the zebra by tossing food into its mouth!"

This ostrich ignores Tim's 'call'

Tim feeds a very pretty antelope

galveston church still devastated by ike

First Latin Assemblies of God

First Latin Assemblies of God is a church in Galveston that is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ike.  It doesn’t look like this church structure will be rebuilt any time soon.

After the pastor of the church heard what God was doing in rebuilding Primera, the pastor called Tim for help.  Tuesday a week ago, Tim and Eddie went to check out the church.  The damage to the structure was extensive.  Eddie estimated the cost to repair it all would be about $100,000 just for materials.  The church building is old; even the bricks need new mortar between them.  The church is in a tough situation, since they don’t have the funds to rebuild.  The city has offered them $18,000 to buy out the building.  Is that really all it’s worth at this point? 

It is tough to see a sanctuary dedicated to God continue to lie in ruins.  I’m not sure where the church’s congregation currently pays another A of G church for space to meet.  We’ve seen the pattern repeatedly in Galveston- small churches that are just struggling to survive who are unable to repair their building without assistance.  The congregation has enough to worry about repairing their own homes.  Perhaps God will provide in some miraculous way for them.  Perhaps he is moving them on to somewhere else.  For us though, it would be incredibly difficult to do anything to make a real difference in rebuilding the church.  It is hard to admit that we can’t do anything about the situation.  We will continue to pray for this congregation, that God would reveal what he has in store for them and guide them along the journey.    

Donated pews from Moody Methodist

Ceiling falling down

No walls

Bathroom

Main area

Rooms

Stairs

Ceiling

Eddie examines the floors

Another shot of the pews

Bricks needing new mortar

blessings for frances

Frances’ home is finally finished too.  I think I met her last May and helped her apply for assistance from Disaster Recovery.  Frances is a sweet lady whose 2 teenage grandkids come and stay with her sometimes.  She is a dear woman of faith who has had a long with for her house to be finished.  Her FEMA trailer is supposed to be moved off the property Wednesday 3/31 so she will be officially back in her home.  She has been sleeping on an air matress in her repaired house for a few weeks.

Frances and I went to the Houston Furniture Bank Tuesday morning.  The staff there is so friendly and helpful.  The Furniture Bank also apparently got a recent face lift.  An artist spent a week brightening the building up.  It looks great!

As we were driving, Frances told me about how she has learned in the past year about needs and wants.  She is now very careful to say she wants a bed and a living room set, etc.  She has learned to live without very much and now doesn’t value stuff.  She praises God for the many blessings she has received through all the struggles of this past year.  Frances has had trouble with her vision from macular degeneration too, but she has seen God heal that as well and is currently taking treatments.  She is a woman of strong faith who encourages me to put my hope in God no matter what I face. 

Thankfully, Tim met me at the house, and we were able to unload all the furniture.  Frances got a living room set, two night stands, a king size bed, and a dresser.  It’s been awhile since Tim and I did anything like this for Disaster Recovery, and it felt great to be serving someone in a tangible way.  🙂  Afterward, Frances gave me the tour of her house and I took some pictures.  The house had been as bad as Harriet’s, so it was amazing to see the finished product.  Please pray for Frances as she continues to settle in and organize her home.  It is a blessing to work with and serve people like her!

Frances looking at linens

Loading the truck

A new look for the Furniture Bank

Damian and Frances

Frances' house

Dining room

Kitchen

Grandkids' room

Guest bath

Other grandkid's room

Living room

Bedroom

harriet’s house

Harriet is getting very close to being ready to move back into her home.  On Friday before we went on vacation, Sandy called and asked me to take her over to see the work.  Volunteers were putting the finishing touches on her home.  Harriet was overcome with joy and a sense of God’s provision as she looked upon her home.  She was so grateful for the many blessings she has received.  She simply looked at it in awe and said, “this is good.”  While we were away on vacation, Lee, our other case manager, took Harriet’s case to the unmet needs committee to get her appliances- stove, fridge, microwave, stackable washer and dryer.  We will have to wait a bit on the check in the meantime, but they were approved!  Hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to get Harriet some furniture and other household goods.  She really has very little and has a very low income.  Hers is the house we toured on Youtube video, I think in December.  Can you believe how far its come in the pictures?  🙂  (Hopefully I will get more pictures soon and give you the final tour.)  So excited to see what God is doing and hope I can be helpful in getting Harriet home.  The past few weeks I have been helping Harriet call and sort things out with the electric and utility companies to get power hooked up at her home again.  It’s been annoying… not sure how Harriet who is hard of hearing would be able to navigate that system on her own.  I am very blessed to be helping out even in such small ways!  🙂

We are looking forward to helping Harriet move in hopefully in the next few weeks and maybe participating in the house blessing. 

Amish volunteer working at Harriets

Harriet's bedroom

Harriet and volunteers on her porch

carol’s house

Carol poses with her new home!

Carol’s house is finally finished!  I drove out to her home in Dickinson last week to drop off a check to help cover the water bill.  When I arrived, I saw a team from Connecticut putting the finishing touches on the exterior.  The house is completely transformed and looks gorgeous.  Of course the inside looks great too!  Carol is an amazing decorator and is making most of the little amount she owns and donations. 

If you remember, the PA team put down a subfloor and carpet in Carol’s front room in January.  In the meantime, teams have dug a trench to drain the water away from the home, replaced some wet sheetrock, and repainted the walls. 

Also, please keep Carol in your prayers.  She had an outpatient surgery on Wednesday, so please pray for a quick recovery!  With all the stress of the past few months, it will be good to have home repair and health issues out of the way. 

Front part of living room

Back part of living room/dining room

Guest bedroom

Bathroom

Volunteer painting

belinda’s house- almost finished

Our neighbors’ house is almost finished!  They are hoping to have their FEMA trailer taken away next Wednesday, March 31st.  We will look forward to celebrating with them!  It is going to be awesome to see their house from the street, which is normally hidden behind the trailer.  Volunteers are putting a bunch of finishing touches on the house- including fixing the threshold into the front door, hanging numbers on the house, finishing the closets, cleaning up the backyard, etc.  Sixto reported carpet was put in one of the main rooms, and they also purchased more laminate floor with their income tax return money.  Belinda and Sixto are the most self-sufficient people we have seen in Galveston.  They are working hard to repair their home by whatever means they have and only take help when they need it.  God bless them too- they are planning on moving Belinda’s mother who has Alzheimers back into the house with them when it is completed.  Even though her mother has stayed in a nursing home the past year due to illness and no room in the FEMA trailer, Belinda will rejoice to have her home.  What amazing dedication and love to take on being primary caregivers again as soon as they return to their home.  Belinda and Sixto are hoping to finish the flooring this week… I’ll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything!

A new threshold

Tile floor Sixto is laying in the main room

New exterior light and house numbers

help for our neighbors

PDA PA group with Belinda and Sixto

Last week, our neighbors Belinda and Sixto finally received a team of workers from the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Camp working through UMCOR.  This incredible team was mostly of ladies, and they did a ton of work.  They also built relationships with the homeowners as they joyfully worked on their home.  The team painted all the rooms and even added colorful accent walls.  Another part of the team framed out and trimmed the windows.  It was quite a blessing to observe.   It was nice too that the team was from Pittsburgh, yay home state of PA.  They were a fun team that truly brought hope to Belinda and Sixto.  No one except Belinda and Sixto had worked on the house in months, yet they had been slowly doing the best they could with limited funding.  Belinda told me every morning last week with tears in her eyes how grateful she is for all the work being done.  “There’s not much left to do now,” she says.  Belinda has a strong faith in Jesus, and I could visibly see her hope being restored throughout the week as the team repaired her home.  The day is closer when they will move back in.  Can’t wait to rejoice with them!

ABCOPAD Guest Blogger – Sue Jenkins

Sue Jenkins painting trim

Another guest blogger – Sue Jenkins from Grace Baptist Church of Blue Bell

Hey Tim & Jen,
What an example of trusting God you both are! When I first heard of your journey to Galveston, after having resigned from Pughtown etc. etc., I thought ” What are they thinking? They’re driving all the way down there into the unknown. How will they survive?”
Oh me of little faith. Boy, did God show me! He is doing amazing work in & through both of you. You can get people to come down there to do work their bodies might reject without God’s call. As the words to a song I may be singing in church this Sun. go, ” His strength is perfect when our strength is gone………”.
Let us know how Joe & Gloria are doing please.
Thank you for your faithfullness in being obedient to God’s call for your lives!
Love,
Sue

blessings for harriet

Sandy gives Harriet the tour

Harriet and her son William were incredibly blessed on Wednesday to see their home coming together.  I drove Harriet and William to meet Sandy and the Mennonite team who has been working on the house.  It does not even look like the same place at all!  Harriet commented that the place looks a lot more spacious.  She is so looking forward to returning to her home.  It has been and is still so difficult for her to be away from it and to have lost everything.  She is still greiving, but she is remaining hopeful and trusting God.  Sandy was so proud to give her a tour, and I was so humbled by the difference the volunteers have made in just a few weeks time. 

This past week, Harriet had a little scare.  Two men in United Methodist shirts stopped by the house to ask for a check.  They even drove her to the house to show her the work they had been doing.  Good thing Harriet’s money is in a savings account and not checking.  Thankfully she couldn’t write one because those guys had nothing to do with us.  Seems like someone tried to scam her and steal her money!  Harriet really doesn’t need any more stress in her life right now.  I don’t know who they were, but if they show up again, we told her to call the police.  It’s scary that people are trying to manipulate an older woman like Harriet.  She is sweet and trusting, but now she knows to talk only with Sandy or me about the house.  Praise God disaster was avoided!

Anyway, it is so good to see all the progress on Harriet’s house.  I pray that God would expedite things along so that Harriet can return home soon and set her soul at ease.  May God grant her his peace in the meantime.

William in the backyard

Harriet and Sandy

Harriet with the volunteers

Harriet and Tim talking on the back porch