Thanks much to Gary M for putting together another fantastic video/slideshow for the year. We had our presentation this weekend, where we saw the premiere of the video. Gary was up into the wee hours of the morning putting it together, and we appreciate his efforts.
More on the fantastic presentation that Esther put together later, but in the meantime, please enjoy…
Meet Pray Love from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.
The final presentation video of the Evergreen SGV Katrina 2011 Gulf Coast Relief Mission project.
Credits:
Title screen – Ken
Music selection – Peter, James, Jeff L.
Photo post-processing – James, Corbin
Editing – Gary
Photos – Team members
Executive Producer – God
Presentation Speakers
You can watch the entire presentation, including our speakers, below by clicking on the videos!
On Saturday, we got the privilege to work with Britney. Esther, on her first Biloxi trip, was one of the people working with her the closest. She wanted to share some of her thoughts…
God is Love.
Today is Saturday, our last working day at the job site. It
was a bittersweet day as the trip is coming to an end. I thought it was only
going to be both our teams working at the site today, but when we arrived,
another lady joined us. Her name was Brittney and her family lost their house
from the Katrina Hurricane.
I was very excited we got to work with her today! She has a
1 year old daughter name Ayanna, meaning “beautiful flower.” She currently
lives with her parents, with her weekdays filled, working as a Pharmacy Tech
and going to school. Best of all, she is a believer! She even invited us to go
to her church tomorrow! Awesome!
Today, she completed her first 8 volunteer hours! She needs
to complete a total of 100 hours and also take around 12 classes that will
assist her with this process. Out of the 100 hours, up to 40 of those hours can
be earned from family and friends, and her dad is excited he gets to help out!
She said she was very fortunate when the hurricane happened.
By God’s grace, she and her family was in Washington DC attending her sister’s
wedding. All the flights were delayed for her return for almost 2 weeks. Her
neighbor, however, witnessed it all, and even floated out of her house! The
flood was around 8 feet high and it happened real quickly. Her parents did
re-build their home, but now she’s trying to get one herself! She has a real
positive attitude about this process. Recently, she just went to her first class
and was thrilled and excited what else she will learn in future classes. She
has a kind and gentle spirit and was very helpful doing and assisting whatever
needed. She was glad she came out, wanting to use all the skills she learned
for her future home. Her mom, Karen, and her daughter stopped by for a few
minutes during the day and I felt even more touched meeting her daughter.
By the end
of the day, we are able to lay hands on her and pray for Britney! The Co-Ed
team also sensed that God wanted us to help her financially. She felt really
touched and blessed!
God works
in mysterious way and this was a tremendously great experience for me.
Throughout the week, I felt I lost focus and kept concentrating on building
these houses. After praying and meditating on Kyle’s devotional (teaching) on 1 John 4:7-11, my
eyes opened. God is love and we are to extend this love to others. This mission’s
trip is not just about hammering nails or putting up siding, but it’s about
ministering to those around.God is good
and brought Brittney to the job site. Although it was only 8 hours, but it was
a great 8 hours of working together, chatting with her, and being able to
connect with her. Hopefully she felt the love from us and was very blessed how
we chose to come and help. Please continue to pray for Brittney for the other
volunteer hours and classes she needs to complete! Also pray that the process
in getting a home will go smoothly!
Carl with Lisa, a new friend the team met on the return flight
Divine Appointment
Flying from Gulf Port to Houston the CoEd team made a new friend on the plane. Here’s Carl’s notes:
Lisa is a remarkable individual and she inspired me. Our plane ride back to Houston was a divine appointment … not a coincidence, as some would think! Lisa grew up in Sacramento where her parents live today. She finished her education and found a job and purchased a condo in the San Francisco area. However, she felt that God was asking her to sell her condo so that she can be mobile and able to move wherever God called her to go. Lisa is currently working to help administrate at a non-profit missionary organization to help out against trafficking children from Nepal.
So here’s where our encounter begins … the monies from selling her condo assisted her to take numerous trips to New Orleans/Biloxi area. She has worked with Habitat for many years and built homes from laying the foundation to completing interior work on homes.
Lisa was flying home from a conference for prospective new teachers in the New Orleans inner city. She desires to do God’s will in her life and is reaching out in faith even if it means leaving family & friends for a season. She has a godly heart and desires to know where God is leading her. If accepted into the teaching program, she would leave the SF area and move to New Orleans in September. Confirmation would come if she were to be accepted which she should know very soon.
The Katrina co-ed group prayed over Lisa to support her in her desire to become a teacher, asking for God to use Lisa in a very special way. She has such a testimony and caring heart for the children in New Orleans.
Please pray that Lisa will get into teaching program at Mississippi.
Pray that God will continue to guide and direct Lisa.
Pray that Lisa will grow in confidence of God’s will for her life.
We’re assuming that the 2nd Week men’s team are prepping at the airport soon, and the plan is for them to greet the CoEd when they arrive in a couple hours.
The 2-Week men’s team pretty much have the whole church/center to ourselves, and since we’ve been eating so much fried food, we resigned ourselves to eating a salad for tonight 🙂
Steve O just walked in from his evening run. If he hadn’t returned by 830p local time, we were supposed to send out bloodhounds.
I have noticed this year that spending this much time with the various team members has had an impact on me. I am starting to pick up behaviors and characteristics from the other people as we rub off on each other. This is the way God meant it to be. Here is how they have each given me something to imitate.
Roy – quiet plodding along with humility and not for show. Kelly – polite and always thinking of serving others Esther – joyful and “thumbs up” GaryH – wanting to learn and experience new things Peter – being bold in engaging people Carl – willingness to do whatever is needed Bu – never complaining even though he wants to Bart – searching the Scriptures for the truth Chris – admonishing others very gently Steve – never questioning God’s ability Lorin – appreciating even the smallest things Tommy – speaking positively about other people Mo – thinking before jumping in and doing Kyle – having a passion for people and wanting Christ to impact their lives
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 3 John 1:11
God definitely has a plan. I came to Biloxi expecting-but not knowing what to expect. This week, God showed me in many ways that He has all the details worked out.
First, I met Chris M. from Chicago and had a chance to work with her on Wednesday and got to know her. We both enjoyed each other’s company and as Chris M. was joining the team for dinner on Thurs. someone rearranged the seat “assignments” in the cars so that Chris and I could ride to The Shed together.
Next, Bu noticed that we’d made a “connection,” so he volunteered to trade job assignments with me for Friday so that Chris and I could work together again. (Thanks Bu, sorry your sacrifice meant that you had to clean up rat poop. You were a blessing to your “honorary mom.”)
Chris spent the day cutting and hauling siding with me and we had a great time. We would not have had a chance to bond if:
we’d both chosen not to come work with Habitat
we’d both chosen different weeks
we’d stayed at different camps at night
we had not switched car rides
if Bu didn’t take a “bullet” by making the sacrificial trade
These, along with a few other personal events led me to see that God’s hand had orchestrated all these details and that they were not merely coincidences but were God instances. In the process of all the sharing, Chris and I both felt blessed by each other’s presence here in Biloxi. Neither of us wanted to go home and we felt it was the Lord’s divine appointment and provision that we have this time together. Chris shared that she felt covered in an unconditional love by our Katrina team. She even joined us in our worship and small group time.
We loved having Chris join us and she later mentioned how lucky we were to have our church and the love of the people there. She feels that the Lord is calling her back into a deeper relationship with Him and she credited our team with having a big part in that decision. Please pray that the feeling Chris experienced will continue to encourage her and that she will find a church group that will bless, support, and continue to encourage her.
We just sent the CoEd team off, on their way back to LAX. They got off safely after a morning visiting Mosaic. It was a great church, and Dustin, the pastor, preached a good message from Colossians about being focused on God first, then marriage, then children and then work next. Sounds familiar….
The church meets in a roller skating rink, and is used almost all week long. Afterwards, had good time hanging with Brad and Paul at a local seafood restaurant. Once again, food was good, but sharing faith and life with them was better.
As we sent off the CoEd team, they knew they had done a good thing, with a week’s worth of hard work behind them, and shared memories among them. We pray they have a safe and meaningful trip home. Just as Kyle had spoken a few nights ago, the mission began before they ever left L.A., and will hopefully not end.
It’s odd to think that even as they fly, our church is just ending service back home, and the next Men’s team will be flying out a few hours after the CoEd team lands. And we’ll receive them in less than 24 hours.
Saturday was our last day on the site. Also our last day working as a combined team.
Bittersweet, but quite rewarding.
Steve, Mo, Tommy and Chris went to another site for half the day and worked on baseboards . Chris was excited because it was something he could use back at home. They met Dave, a supply sargeant in the Navy, who volunteers with Habitat on the weekend. Eventually, he might be stationed in San Diego, so who knows, we might see him back at home.
Dave joined us for lunch, which we bought from Bozo’s and took back to the site. We had lunch all together, including Brittney. Brittney was doing her first day of volunteer hours and had never worked with tools before. Although she expressed a bit of apprehension at first, within a couple of hours, she was confident and capable. She’s raising a beautiful 1 year old daughter, who we met later in the day, and we enjoyed her company.
After finishing our work, we got to pray for the homes and area. Some of us wrote on the studs with verses or words of encouragement. It’s very moving having worked on a home, and then being able to pray for the future owners. They really are beautiful homes, and we hope the families that move in will have a good life with them.
Today was the second day that the teams were split over two separate sites.
The CoEd team went to work on the trailers, the 2-Week Men’s team returned to the Pascagoula site to work with Brad.
As mentioned before, it was nice to be able to help in the recovery from the tornadoes as the FEMA/MEMA trailers will be moved up north, such as Smithville. We were told that although utility companies were in that area to reconnect homes to power, there were many homes no longer there to reconnect. Sad.
Bu’s Sacrifice
On the way to last night’s dinner at The Shed, Tommy’s car picked up Brad and Chris M (whom we affectionately call “Chris Girl” to distinguish her from the male Chris on our team), rode with Kelly’s car. Chris and Lorin really hit it off, and became even better friends.
When we arrived back home that evening, Bu asked if he could switch teams the next day (today), so that Chris and Lorin could spend the day together. It was touching. Bu’s a good guy, but his unseen sacrificial act was humbling. So today, Bu and Lorin traded teams, so that Lorin could hang out with her new bud Chris. Bu made his offer without much fanfare, and it wasn’t for acknowledgement from anyone, the least of which, Chris. In fact, I hesitate even to mention it here publicly.
Tonight, when we prayed for Chris, as it was our last evening with her, I felt that Bu’s unseen sacrifice for Chris was analogous to Christ’s sacrifice for us. Sometimes, unseen, unnoticed, but yet it is still there for us. But this type of sacrifice has not been unusual for the team members, as I see them intentionally trying to bless others, including their team members. And it’s nice to know that they’re just not on “good behavior.”
The Work
The CoEd team worked with Mark, a fast-talking, personable good ol’ boy that works for Habitat. they spent the day cleaning and painting trailers. Apparently part of his humor includes a stuffed mouse on a fishing line. There came a moment when Mark (and I suspect Steve O) tried to scare her with the scrambling mouse. As it “ran” across the room, Esther firmly turned around and said “I’m not scared.”
The 2-Week team worked on the siding again with the folks from St. James/Thrivent, finishing the side and rear of the house. During lunch, half our team joined St. James near the beach for lunch, when a very fast moving, rainy and noisy thunderstorm struck the area. It threatened the work schedule, but an hour later, it was back to normal.
See the video of Chris (C, “Chris Boy”) and Lorin during the storm below…
Meeting time.
At the end of the day, we gathered as a group and were able to reflect on our motivation and our attitude while serving. Kyle’s devotional reminded us that if we are not serving using Christ’s sacrificial love towards those we meet, and those with whom we serve. Chris M joined us for our worship, teaching and prayer time, we were able to bless and pray for her as a group, and then she joined Esther and Lorin in small group.
An annual tradition, we took the team and some of our new friends to The Shed, a local BBQ place.
We weren’t aware that a live rock band would be performing in the patio area where we usually sit.
Scrambling to find a more quiet place to eat and talk, we finally ended up in not-so-much-quieter patio, although it did afford us privacy.
Our Guests
Joining us where Chris M, a fellow volunteer from Chicago, Brad our site supervisor, and Paul, our supervisor from last year, now working outside of Habitat.
The meal was good as usual, but the fellowship was sweet. In Christian circles, you’ll often hear that phrase, “the fellowship was sweet,” but it really was. It was beyond exchanging laughs, stories, jokes and enjoying the company of good friends… We spoke about our lives, meaningful things, and how God has been present in our lives to bring us to this place in time. The mutual sharing was humbling and encouraging at the same time, all being (almost) shouted across a table of ribs and BBQ chicken.
This furthered our relationship with Brad and Paul as brothers, as family. Not only because we share similar values in trying to help rebuild Mississippi, or even attend churches with the same Bible, but because we share a sense of seeking God, meaning and peace in a life built on trusting a very faithful but often unseen God.
Chris joining our group was even better, as she had gone from being a nice volunteering woman who traveled down to Mississippi alone (flying to New Orleans and driving from there), to now a friend, and now someone we could pray with.
Our Purpose
Being here renews, restores and energizes our faith, while we try to do the same to the local community. But it’s not about us. We’re all trying to see what God is doing in the midst of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, and then trying to see where we fit in. We’re grateful that there’s a place for us here.
Oh, and finally, there was a nice touching moment in the parking lot, where Bu had an opportunity to talk with one of our friends who is on the road to possibly proposing. His words were encouraging, honest and heartfelt, and then he prayed a blessing over our friend. It was humbling to hear his heart extend care and hope and responsibility to our friend, especially praying for a spiritual covering over him.
This trip is way beyond just hammering nails.
This is about growing our loving family. And loving them.
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