This group from Lee Road Baptist Church arrived on Sunday, July 13th and left on Saturday, the 19th giving them 5 full days in which they worked in many capacities.
The men stayed together and worked as a team to complete two “Hardi-Plank” siding houses begun by other teams earlier. The hard part was left on both of these two homes; the high part of the second story and the eaves. One man in particular in their group was the most experienced and he did most of the precarious and dangerous work on the tip top area of the two story home. However, all of the members of the group including 3 teenage boys and a younger brother worked hard to complete this project. The owners were in tears and very grateful as they saw their home completed on the outside, waiting almost 3 years to see it finished!
The interior of this home needed a staircase completed. The framing was completed by a trim crew from this same group of men and this work helped to complete the first floor interior of the home. The family was also very appreciative of this expert work that the homeowner simply couldn’t do for himself and couldn’t afford to hire out to professionals.
The crew then moved on to a single story dwelling and a home that we began from the foundation. Once again, the Hardi plank siding needed completion on the upper part of the home. The men accomplished this and also hung the undersiding on the front and back porches of the home.
The final days the team moved on to our third home. It was the home that received 32 feet of flood water. It is also a two story structure. The temporary vinyl siding was removed on the first floor and hardi plank was begun. One of the men set up jacks for other crews coming behind them to be able to install the siding on the second story. The homeowner was very happy to have this work begun on his home and a system put in place and left to assist future volunteers with installation of the siding.
After these 5 full days in mid-July heat and high humidity, these South Carolinians were exhausted and ready to depart. But they must feel they have become Hardi-plank siding experts working on 3 homes requiring this work!! Thank you so much!!
The second team of this group included 3 ladies who worked all week at the Gulf Coast Community Ministries in Gulfport a mission of our church, 1st Bapist Church, Gulfport. One of the ladies is an Optician and gave her time and talents this week to help open a Vision Clinic in the mission with a retired Ophthalmologist who also volunteered his time each morning to give eye exams to the needy. Two other ladies from Lee Road assisted in the mission work at the Clinic this week.
The ladies were astonished to see how many truly needy people there are here on the Coast in the aftermath of Katrina, many of them homeless. They gave out 175 pairs of reading glasses to the needy this week and gave out 50 Vision Service Plan Gift Certificates for free prescription glasses. It broke their hearts as they literally had to turn people away due to lack of time only one week allowed and they wished they could stay on longer!! Many, many people were witnessed to by this team as they all wore salvation bracelets and were able to share what they meant. Many people requested prayer and all were so grateful for the entire vision ministry.
We were very blessed and thankful for this past week. We are praying that more of you will come and volunteer in this very needy area. As you can see, no matter what your skill God can and will use you if you are willing.
