Category: Miss Shirley

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OKC 2017 Day 6-Final Day at Miss Shirley’s home

Last Day

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.

Here’s our video and slideshow

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OKC 2017 Day 5 – Hitting the wall

“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.

  1. Finishing installing the sink, floor, toilet for the restroom. 
  2. Paint the house. 
  3. Complete the ramp. 
  4. 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

Enjoy today’s photo album here



Here is the video recap for today


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OKC 2017 Day 4 – Miss Shirley’s house

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

Enjoy the photos for the day!

https://goo.gl/photos/Zfh1QhpQFwG6WKSJ8

And the video recap

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OKC 2017 Day 3-Recap for the 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.

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Meet our Team-Kevin L (and our last meeting in Calif)

 Roz, attentive at our meeting

 It’s still a few weeks away, but with Easter and all the activities surrounding it, we had our last team meeting before we leave for OKC. We went over our itinerary, packing list, and had a round table discussion exchanging tips we’ve learned over the years.

 

Miss Shirley’s Gofundme

Chris C has been corresponding with our site supervisor from COHFH, Chris H. The tentative plan for our work week in OKC is 1 day on new construction (with Jose H) and 4 days on a Critical Home Repair project that Evergreen SGV will sponsor.

We will be sponsoring the home of Shirley S who lost her husband to cancer last year. COHFH has set up a GoFundMe page for her (https://www.gofundme.com/shirley-s-home-repair) if you want a little bit more information. The money raised here along with the funds from Evergreen SGV will go towards the much needed repair work on Shirley’s house.

Support Groups

Each team member has a small support group to support them materially and spiritually for the project. This has always been helpful to be a sounding board for the team member, plus making sure that logistical and spiritual needs for the individual are uniquely met.

Meet Kevin L

After the meeting, Jimmy was able to shoot video on our last newbie, Kevin L. We welcome Kevin aboard the team. Impressed that he was able to talk off the cuff without any warning.