Evergreen SGV Relief team Sgvserve.org
Thank you to all who followed us, prayed for us and took the time to join our journey
Our presentation luncheon was held on June 10, where a few members of our team shared of their experiences.
We hope you enjoy the video of the presentation
Katrina 2012 Final Presentation HD from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.
Here’s the video that Gary worked so hard on.
Thanks for all the photos submitted, especially from Gary and James…
Katrina 2012 Sent Strengthened Blessed from SGV Habitat on Vimeo.
Evergreen SGV Sent 17 missionaries to Mississippi to work with Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Gulf Coast. God Strengthened the team members to do the good works they were created to do. The team was Blessed as they served in all capacities and sought to be a blessing to others.
This video was created to capture the heart of this trip and was presented as part of the Final Presentation for this missions trip.
Thanks to photo and video contributors Peter, Tommy, James, Art, and Craig.
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| Tommy praying for the home |
Tommy’s been on all six trips we’ve made to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for this project. He’s also inarguably the most skilled of our team. Here’s something God taught him during this trip.
Straight, Square and Level
When doing construction on a house you often hear the question “Is it straight? Is it square? Is it level?” To check any of these you must have a reliable reference. For instance, to check squareness you’ll use a speed square or a framing square. But what happens when your reference is a little off? This actually happened one day as we were installing baseboards. Pam and Millie were helping me install baseboards. At first I would give them measurements and they would cut the pieces to length and then I would nail them in. Cutting is done on a chop saw. A chop saw cuts boards to length and in our case at either a 90 or 45 degree angle. After a few boards, which were perfectly cut, I had them measure and cut the boards. They would then put the boards in place and move on to the next room. Since both of them are self-described “perfectionists,” their work was very accurate. This was the beginning of a good partnership and we were all happy.
I then came to a room and noticed that there was a gap where two baseboards came together in a corner. After trying to adjust how the boards met, I determined that one of the boards needed to be re-cut. I dreaded telling Pam because I knew she would be very disappointed and would most likely not be happy with herself. I tried to tell her that it probably was a problem with the wall and wasn’t her fault, but that the board needed to be a little longer.
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| Pam, working on one of her windows |
After a while, Pam returned, but something was obviously wrong. Her countenance had changed. Instead of a satisfied joy, there was now frustration, self-doubt and confusion. She told me she had cut two more boards and there was still a gap. I felt badly for her and was a little confused as well, as up to that point all her measurements and cuts were flawless. We then checked the chop saw and I noticed that a part of the fence (guide) was a little loose. After tightening it, I made a cut, measured for squareness and it was still off. I then measured the squareness of the blade with the speed square and determined that what was supposed to be a 90 degree angle was off by about 1 ½ degrees. After fixing that, we cut the board again and it fit perfectly. Pam’s smile came back. The Lord showed me that just as we need good, reliable and accurate references when cutting baseboards, that in life we need them too. If we rely on things that may seem accurate and may be off by only a small amount, it will lead to frustration, self-doubt and confusion. That’s why I’m so glad we can rely on God’s Word and His absolute truths. They are always straight, square and level.
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. Psalm 119:105 (NIV)
Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5 (NIV)
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8 (NIV)
Habitat Mississippi Gulf Coast really put a lot of pictures on their Facebook
Not sure if you can see them, but here ya go.
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| Saying goodbye as the girls return |
Kelly works in a supporting all of the team, making sure we have everything we need, and Brad can give a direction and that it’ll be followed up. He saw everyone excelled in their job.
The first week is almost over and the most standout thing so far for me is being able to watch Pam Fong and Millie Liao working together. Brad, our site supervisor gave the two of them the task of making and installing all of the window sills (the ledges at the bottom of the windows) starting on Thursday morning and they jumped right in never having used any of the tools they were going to use yet proceeded with confidence and boldness. What a team. They probably don’t know how inspiring they are to me.
I’m so proud of them and proud to say that I am a teamate of theirs. Be sure to speak to them about it. Also, if you get a chance ask Carol Nakatsui and Lorin Lew about the green colored caulking. The weather got warm and humid by the end of the week but everyone stayed in good spirits. I’m sad that the first week is ending and the co-ed team is leaving. The Lord has blessed all of us with the fellowship that we have been having while still being able to serve and help others. I hope when Craig and Gary come out on Sunday evening the we can continue.
Kelly
As suspected… there probably will be less video and pictures in the coming days. This always happens, and it’s a good thing.
James, our primary photographer, has gone from a newbie of wonder, to now a newbie of wanting to work… That’s a good thing.
Team was split all over the place working on different aspects of the project.
Art, Pam and Roy working on a cantilever support in the back.
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| Trey and Kenny |
Kenny worked with volunteer Trey, from local William Carey University. They teamed up on some of the trim in the back.
Peter continued his education on Southern charm with Miss Tomme, who made what would otherwise seem like orders sound like requests drenched in Sweet Tea.
Chris, James, Mo and Tommy continued work on the inside, hanging and trimming doors.
Millie continued her community service to Steve, working on the front stairs after their fake scare about the 1/8″ difference…
Carol, Gary, Lorin switched between working with staining and helping the Millie/Steve/Diane crew on the front stairs..
Okay, we’re showering and then off to our special dinner with the HFH affiliate.
It’s lights-out time at our housing center. Lorin stayed up, almost lost her writings and stuck it out because she wanted to write something on the blog for you guys.
Well, we are on our 2nd day in Biloxi and have finished our first day of work in Pascagoula. I’m blessed and amazed by the number of wonderful people here who are willing to volunteer their time and efforts towards this project. It’s encouraging to see God working through the team and others so that His love is expressed in the work of our hands.
We are working on a special type of Habitat home. It’s called LEED home and I think it stands for Leader in Energy and Enviroment Design. The home has some extra bells and whistles that make it energy efficient and that helps save the future home owner money and helps out the enviroment at the same time.
Our group worked on making stairways, installing doors, adding trim, completed a wall for a storage shed, made a platform for an HVAC unit, and stained boards for the deck. The weather is great! It’s cool and a bit breezy and everyone is enjoying it.
We also got to meet the possible future owners or partner family. They currently live in the neighborhood and Jackie, her son-in-law Demetrius, and her nephew Jamarius all worked side by side with the team putting up. It’s exciting and all went well. Even when Jackie lost her cell phone and was really bummed we were able to find it in the supply truck in the returned tool bag. She’d forgotten it was in there. She was able to return to the site and pick up her phone. She was relieved and could go home with peace of mind.
It’s been great to renew aquaintances from last year and to make new ones. We’ve been praying for 2 new friends, Diane and Tomme, who are here for their 3rd year. They are praying for parents in their area to become involved with their teens at church. They’d like the parents participate with their children instead of merely dropping them off at the church. They are both wonderful hard working women who are trying to serve the Lord.
All for now. Lorin
Saw our old friends Brad and Paul…it was like coming back to family.
Brad greeted us with a big hand painted banner, and a trumpet blare of questionable skill.
It was a great way to start the week.
We’re working on a special kind of house. Habitat has always wanted to use energy efficient options in their homes. It saves the environment, but also saves the homeowner costs as well. Leeds is a special energy rating system for structures in the U.S. We’re working on such a house.
It not only goes over the construction materials, but we learned this week, it can also have to do with the construction site and practices. We’re being encouraged to use less plastic bottles (we have our own water bottles) and are creating less waste.
Brad goes over some of the aspects of the home in this video (thanks to Art for shooting it, and Gary for editing it [from Los Angeles])
We got to work with two women that are staying with us from Northern Mississippi, Diane and Tomme (pronounced “Tommy”), and we’re learning a bit about Southern Hospitality.
We also got to meet Miss Jackie and two members of her family, J and Demetrius. Miss Jackie grew up about two blocks away from here.. and has seen the neighborhood go through a number of changes. She thinks it’s on its way up, and hopes that she’ll be considered for this home when it’s finished.
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| 2008 image of last year’s work site |
This is a picture from the site where we worked last year, you can see the white footprint from the previous home. This would be a “before” picture. If you look at the Google credits, it says the picture was from 2008. What a difference a couple of years make.
Previously, it was a really nice neighborhood. Then Katrina came, then it became a sparse one. The google maps images (currently) show many FEMA and other trailers. Once new pictures come in, even the devastation will turn more and more into a memory.
We are hours away from boarding our plane. It’s been an exhausting week of wrapping up things from errands, work-related issues, car repairs and family time.
Now we focus.
Each one of the men and women are trying to hone in on our purpose for going. It’s to help, that’s for sure… We are going to Mississippi to continue the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Those of us that have seen the rebuilding of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region remember the wreckage, tarp-covered homes and once-floating casinos on land.
So all the more we appreciate the newbies, the ones who haven’t been before. They go out with devotion and heart even more than just reliving the devastation. Wreckage unseen, they go to help those that they may never see, but try to be part of God’s helping hand.
But if it were just financial aid, we could send money alone. As has been said before, there are less expensive and often more “efficient” ways to translate dollars to housing. But we go to serve. We serve God, but we also serve others on His behalf. To put a face and hands to a sometimes unseen God, and we ourselves are humbled in the process.
Your Prayers
If during the next couple of weeks, you get a chance, we seek your prayers for us while we try to minister on behalf of God and the others who have sent us. It’s not a working vacation. We’re trying to remind others and ourselves that God has not forgotten them, and restoration comes in many forms, sometimes buildings, sometimes people.
And if there’s anything we can pray for you while we’re working, we’d love to know how to pray for you. Drop us a line! sgvhabitat@gmail.com
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| Steve, repeat team member and tree trimmer |
Steve O. is a charter member of these trips. Been one of the four guys that has gone every year. He and Mo have been part of the Coed team since first formed… Yet this many years later, he’s still learning and growing…
Some of you know I have this odd-shaped lemon tree in my backyard. And some of you know that my wife, Shirley is in Malawi with Pastor Ian. Since I will have or am having two weeks of time alone, I put together a whole laundry list of chores to accomplish around the house that I can do by myself. Like trimming the lemon tree.
I waited until after Monday, which is trash collection day for me. This way, I had a whole container I could fill up with discarded branches, twigs, and leaves.
After finishing, I reflected upon how ugly a tree looks after it is trimmed. Branches don’t taper gracefully, but end abruptly. What branches still remain, that is.
I used a pruning saw for the larger branches and a set of sharp loppers for the smaller ones. It’s a good thing trees don’t have nerve endings.
But we do. And we need to be pruned at times. Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15: 1-2. Jesus is saying all branches are pruned. All of them. Those that bear fruit and those that don’t. And we are the branches.
Jesus explain his parable in the following verses, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” v. 5-6.
I am willing to bet that this process of pruning will be a part of the Katrina experience for most if not all of the team members. Including me.