On 6/11/2017, the team shared with our friends, supporters and some of the Sunday school classes.
In our last official event as a team, we had an overview of the trip, then four newbies came up to share their experiences.
Craig K – Team Intro: (1:15) Jeff H – Recap work performed (5:02)
Kevin T (via video) (8:29) :
was on the road, but wanted to share his story both of how circumstances allowed him to go on the trip, and what he learned as part of that process.
Brandon (19:32) :
spoke on the opportunity to go on the trip, previously knowing few people on the team, and moments of quiet, humility and God’s goodness during the trip
Roz (30:29) :
had an unexpected healing moment that could only come in community of church and a supportive family.
Kevin L (45:10) :
shared from the perspective of a dad, and how that related to his relationship with his Heavenly Father, God.
Video (52:39) :
And we wrapped it up with Jimmy’s video, ending in Chris H’s touching prayer on our last day on site.
Thanks to Gary M for shooting and editing this video!
We had our team presentation at church this morning, and we’ll have video of the testimonies and sharing soon.
But we wanted to share with you the video portion that we presented, a 15 minute recap of our trip.
Thanks to Jimmy for editing the video, and for all who contributed to the videos and photos during the trip, and for Gary editing from home while we were out in OKC
Packing up is always bittersweet. It’ll be good to go home, but sad to leave Hilltop and our adventures in OKC.
Hilltop offered a hot breakfast that the early risers took advantage of, it was nice to spend as much time as we could with our hosts. But whether early or late risers, we all made it to worship service with Pastor Matt.
We said our goodbyes to our Hilltop family, packed up the cars, and headed to a Tarahumara’s, a Mexican restaurant, but with our ethnic point of view, sounded like a Japanese name. Food was great, and Jeff gave them a high rating on Yelp because they accommodated our large group rather well.
We said goodbye to our friend and teammate, Paul, who has been associated with our team since 2010. Hugs and pats on the back, we sent one of the cars to drop him off at the airport,
The rest of us arrived at Will Rogers airport and we got through to our gate with little problems. Most of the team were asleep on the way back, with John and Alice working a crossword puzzle in the back.
LAX
Upon landing, Craig offered a brief prayer, and we assembled per our tradition, with the (once) “newbies” in the front of our group, and we were greeted by our friends and family. We saw our teammates, who were carrying 2×6 lumber only a few days earlier, melt when they hugged their families.
Whether we like to admit it or not, it really is nice to be greeted by smiling, familiar faces.
Team member Lorin, who had flown back home two days earlier for some personal business, made a sign that read “What took Y’all so long?”
A group photo, and that drew to an end of the trip. Some familiar and newer faces on the team, but we ended as family. Drawn together by a shared desire to bless others, in the name of our God.
A few team members might share a few more reflections over the next few days/weeks. Stay tuned.
Driving to Shirley’s house for the last time, it felt bittersweet. There were a lot of thoughts that came into our minds- from whether or not we would be able to finish our goals, how we might balance the tasks we faced, and the relationships that could be harvested. We all prayed about it the night before, that we won’t forget that the most important aspect would be to minister to Shirley.
Paul reminded us of being okay with doing what we can in our morning prayer at the job site. From then on, we all seamlessly went back to our respective duties or to a new duty (for some, they needed a change of pace). We worked from 8:30 til noon and then we went down to eat at Chick-fil-A. We also invited Eric, Chris, and Shirley with us. Then we returned to work until 4 pm, which was an hour longer than our usual week. Frankly we didn’t want to leave; we really wanted to keep on working to finish the home. However, as Paul mentioned during group sharing, although our accomplishments are not 100% complete, God can still use what the was done faithfully to heal hearts.
After putting away all the tools and supplies into the Habitat trailer, we all toured the house to admire each individual’s handiwork. The ramp was 95% completed and fully functional. All eight windows, three doors, and coordinating trims were installed, pending for caulk. The front facing panel wall was fully painted with two coats.
It was four days of hard work at the Shirley house requiring 19 volunteers, 2 site supervisors, and one home owner. We were proud of all the progress we made as a team. It is tempting to compare which job was more important, but in reality, God blessed Shirley through each task. Craig, Kevin T, Chris C, and Eric provided Shirley with a new bathroom equipped with all new fixtures and a raised floor. The ramp team (Paul, Kevin L., Pam, Roz., Virginia, Patrick, Jimmy, Peter, and Randy) helped provide relief for Shirley’s bad knees. Now, she can walk comfortably up and down from her house rather than climbing stairs. The windows and doors team (Tommy, John, Art, Brandon, and Jeff) provided a whole new perspective of the world. She remarked to us, the beauty of seeing her front yard through her new double pane windows. Also, the scrape team (Jimmy, Virginia, Roz, Pam, Alice) were also blessed to know Shirley better as they worked side by side doing the same task.
We left the site with bittersweet prayer and blessing the house and Shirley. Site supervisor Chris H also prayed for our safe journey home. We also learned that Chris H, being touched by our Christ-like will join us on our next year trip (at another state) in high probability. If so, we hope that we get more volunteers so that Chris H, Paul, and Paul’s wife, Denise, can fully use their leadership skills as site supervisors to their potential.
After a hamburger and hot dog dinner, we had group worship and sharing. There were conflicts that got resolved, we encouraged one another to grow. and also reflected on how God used this experience to grow our own faith.
To celebrate our hard work and to have a last fellowship together, we all went out for late night cookies and ice cream in Bricktown, OK.
Tomorrow is our flight home. Please continue to pray for the continual relationship with Shirley and for a planted seed to grow.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone.”- 2 Peter 3:9
Kevin T started the morning with a testimony of how God proved to be faithful in his life. Growing up getting good grades, becoming an Eagle Scout (only 4 in every 100 scouts achieve this rank), and being accepted into law school, Kevin thoroughly understood success through hard work and perseverance. However, after receiving a no pass on the bar exam, everything he was sure about, he suddenly doubted. Anxiety set in. He begin to question if law was the path that God was directing him, although he had previously prayed and received affirmation in the last. Through his Mom, he was urged to listen to the song, Thy Will Be Done. Listening to the song, he felt as if God was speaking. He broke down and realized how much anxiety he had about his future and how it was affecting him spiritually.
“During lunch I listened to the song and I started to weep… [I asked God to] give me peace so I don’t have anxiety anymore.”- Kevin.
From then on, Kevin worked to free himself from the stress of needing to succeed as he focused his perspective back on God. Thus, he is leaning on God and His plans rather than by his own strength and expectations.
“Don’t be discouraged if you missed your mark. Instead embrace [the disappointment]… and let His will be done.” -Kevin.
Shirley Home Update
We had our time limited at the house because we had to help out to raise the framing for the walls for the new build site. For three hours, we quickly, but safely without cutting corners, continued to finish as much as we could. We began to prepare the restroom to install the floors. Additional windows were added along with the trim. The tail end of the ramp was added. The scrape team continued to patiently finish the east side of the house. Since tomorrow is our last day, we hope to complete the top repairs.
Finishing installing the sink, floor, toilet for the restroom.
Paint the house.
Complete the ramp.
Complete the trimming for the windows.
Saying Goodbyes
We went to the new build site to help with the walls, then we had two bittersweet farewells. First, Lorin had to return back home two days early for personal family reasons. Then, we said goodbye to Jose and Serafin because there is a possibility will may not be coming back to OKC next year. We prayed for both of them, and the new build house. Please pray for a safe return for Lorin.
Devotional
Devotionals led by Brandon and Tommy (with Chris C at guitar for worship) commenced after a tasty dinner of pulled pork and chicken.
Brandon
1 Corinthians 1:36-31
Brandon shared how God wants us to admit our weakness to Him in order for us know God’s patience, his love, and power. We are all chosen to be here to be weak so we can show God’s strength. Through that, we can bless others. However, he revealed that showing weakness was not easy for him.
“I set myself pretty high standards and sometimes when I don’t meet those expectations I ask myself-am I doing enough?” -Brandon
God revealed a lesson for Brandon through his MSG’s message, but didn’t understand it at first. But by humbling himself and asking God about his purpose during the trip, he realized the point was the willingness to be used in whatever capacity-big or small.
“It wasn’t about what I want to do but how can the Lord use me for his glory and purpose for this trip… [I asked God should I] allow you to use me .. and He (God) said ‘Yes, that’s what I want you to do.’ ” -Brandon
Tommy
Tommy shared advice on preparing ourselves to have a blurb to share with family and friends. This was tip he learned from his daughter. It will help us with being concise and having something meaningful to share with others.
“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” -Mark 4:39
He also reminded us about how the Lord does not prevent bad things from occurring, but it’s what our response is that is important. On the job site, it’s easy to get hurt if we are being careless. But sometimes, bad things do happen even if we do take every precaution. However, it does not mean God is uncaring. Rather, we must remember that Jesus is always there with us at all times. We were not created by God to be happy, but to be, rather, we are meant to be holy. By this, we can find ourselves closer to God, which leads to peace and joy.
“Ask yourself, are we looking for safety or are we truly seeking after holiness as God intends…”- Tommy
This is our second day at this site. Miss Shirley has been working side by side with us as we continue to make renovations to her home.
The team has finished prepping 3 out of 4 sides of her home for paint, installed two exterior doors, rebuilt the subfloor in her bathroom so the shower can be reinstalled, replaced damaged windows and built half an access ramp in the back.
Part of the build was putting in posts for the rear access ramp. Some of the team wrote prayers and words of encouragements to be put in the cement foundations for those posts. Site supervisors said if there’s a tornado, that deck would likely be the thing most likely to survive.
After the workday, we had a dinner with our site supervisors, Jose, Chris H and Eric and their families at a local pizza place. It was a great time of spending social time outside the worksite with the Habitat team as well among ourselves. It was blocks away from the devastation of the Moore tornado destruction and site of our new build of the first year.
Tomorrow is half a day working at Miss Shirley’s, then we return to the site of our first day of Habitat work to work with Jose for one last day
Today was the first day on the site with Miss Shirley Smith. Our site leaders, were Chris H and Eric for Habitat.
We’d seen photos of the house before, and it looked in much better shape than some of us expected. A new roof had been put on where we had seen blue tarps in the photo before
But when we arrived, it looked in better shape:
But there was still water damage from the once open roof.
So we went to work. We had a few tasks ahead of us:
a) replace the exterior doors (3)
b) replace bathroom floor, tub and commode
c) remove old paint from siding and repaint
d) build an access ramp/deck in the back for scooters/wheelchairs
e) repair ceiling damage (from the once open roof) in living room, kitchen
Some of the projects proved more complicated as they were worked on. Craig, Kevin T and Chris were working in the bathroom and had to raise/jack up the house because it had sank so much
Since the bathroom was unavailable to us, and we hadn’t yet received delivery of the outhouse, we drove to a local park to have lunch. It was cold and windy, and most of us stayed in the cars.
Afterwards, some of us picked up warm drinks at a local Starbucks, and we chatted with a few of the hundreds of FFA students who were here for a statewide meeting. We also noticed a man that was folding paper in the most interesting ways. Lorin went inside to engage with the fellow, sharing their interest in origami. It was a nice way to connect and understand someone, through their hobbies and interests, and we went on our way.
Later that evening, Lorin would be asked by a teacher at Hilltop Baptist, to speak and familiarize the kids (4-5 grade) with us being “missionaries.”
The kids got it, understanding that missionaries could be people just coming to visit people in a different town or culture. That they could come for a variety of reasons, including to help in case of disaster, but they really did understand that Lorin and her team came to bless because we’ve been blessed by God.
Team Leader Craig met someone special on the visit to the OKC National Memorial
Each year the team visits the Oklahoma City National Memorial, a tribute to the victims, survivors, and rescuers of the horrible and tragic bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. We visit the site to remind ourselves of the pain and suffering this city has experienced not only from natural disasters but the evil of man himself. It causes me to appreciate the good life God has given me yet inspires me to make a difference in this city that God has led us to this week.
Today, unlike previous years, I noticed National Park Service Rangers walking the area around the reflecting pool of the memorial. Having been to the Memorial four times now, I politely passed when Park Ranger Dan McKee asked if I had any questions. However, on second thought, I did have a question so I called back to Ranger Dan. He had an enthusiasm for his job, I thought, as he described the former location of buildings that surrounded the blast site. Soon, other team members joined the conversation and we found out that Dan had worked in numerous California National Parks including Sequoia. As it turned out, Dan did love his job and the visitors to the National Parks in which he was assigned. And, because of that, we made a friend today. Hats off to you, Park Ranger, Dan McKee. Thanks for sharing your life with us today.
