Friday night, August 6th, God was again in the house as Reverend Jerry Hill led the dedication ceremonies for Operation Malcolm. As always, it was quite emotional and uplifting as we celebrated what can be accomplished by prayer and a willing group of servants being the Body Of Christ.
Many of us were brought to tears as Federica related that she had spent her first 34 years on that corner and how it had always been the center of activity for the neighborhood kids, until the fire. She went on to say that she just celebrated her 36th birthday and now she can move back to 1103 Folk St and it can be the center of activity for her kids just as it had been for her. Lots of hugs and love were shared by the 75 or so in attendance. Oh yea, the food was great as we broke bread together after the ceremony. It doesn’t get any better than that!
PROJECT DETAILS
We Have A Foundation To Build On
After many delays due to bad weather we finally have a foundation to build on. We will pre-build the wall panels this Saturday, Feb. 13 and get her framed up next week, Feb. 17 – 19. We were snowed out of the pre-build. We will start from scratch on the 17th! Pray for good weather!
Framing Complete
I am happy to say that the Lord blessed us with three days of “good” weather so we were able to proceed with the framing of the home as scheduled thanks to the receipt of funds from the SC Conference of the UMC. There were thirteen “out-of-towners” including Ken Morris from Virginia, and as many as twenty “locals” mostly from the Baptist Association involved in the framing. We began on Wednesday morning with temps in the twenties and finished Friday afternoon with temps in the sixties.
We had lots of expert help from the pros at KC Concepts (no relation), Parker Carlisle, Mike Kerley and Joe. The highlight had to be the setting of the roof trusses with the boom truck. What would have taken all afternoon manually only took an hour with the truck. Thank you Parker and crew for your awesome donation of time and talent.
Once again, I am amazed at how God uses His willing servants to be the “Body of Christ” in helping those less fortunate.
Now that the framing is done we need a roofing team to put shingles on before Marvin Horton brings his siding and porch team on March 10. Mr. McQuire, one of the local saints, thinks he may be able to assemble a team from his church if we can raise the $1000 to pay for the shingles. Please let us know if your church or men’s group would be willing to donate to this cause.
Just remember, “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!”.
Dried In And Secure
Marvin Horton and his highly skilled team from Cornerstone UMC in Rock Hill, SC worked their magic last week. They successfully dodged the raindrops and were able to complete windows, external doors, siding and help out with the shingles. They also provided all the funding for the siding and porch posts. As a result, the home is dried in and secure. We had a special treat Wednesday evening as Bob and Christine Fields (Op. Tristan) fed us all the soul food we could handle. Thursday evening Hampton UMC treated us to Low Country Boil. We were well fed materially and spiritually. As usual, none of us lost any weight on this trip!
We are now ready to go forward with the electrical, plumbing and HVAC rough-ins. Electrical and plumbing are pretty much handled but we do need help with funding and install of the HVAC. Please let me know if your church or men’s group would like to help out. It is my prayer that we will be able to get this done in the next few weeks so we can get the inspection completed and move forward with finishing it out.
Dried In And Secure
It has been five weeks since I sent the email stating that we were at a standstill on Op. Malcolm due to lack of funding.
Let me tell you what has happened in those five weeks. First, due to the generosity of many we received more than $12,000 to continue the project. Praise the Lord! As a result, we were able to complete the plumbing, HVAC and electrical rough-in. Many thanks to the team from the Anderson District Volunteers in Mission who handled the electrical work. We were successful in obtaining the inspection which allowed McCormick UMC to install the insulation they purchased, the team from Mills River UMC and Etowah UMC in North Carolina to install the sheetrock they purchased and Reverend James Evans to complete mudding and taping.
God is so good! It always amazes me how He makes His presence known in these projects. “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us allundefinedhow will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:31 & 32
Obviously, our work is not done. Right now we need a paint team for the middle of June. The end of June a team from First United in Montgomery, AL will be here to install flooring. Painting will need to be done before then. Please let me know if you would be interested.
I remain confident that we will be able to get Malcolm and family back in their home before school starts in August. Please keep praying for this loving family.
Painting & Flooring Complete
One thing I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt is that the Lord blessed us with HOT weather for the month of June. In spite of the hellish conditions with the help of two teams from the Anderson, SC District Volunteers in Mission we painted and did finish electrical work and First United Methodist Church of Montgomery, AL installed ceramic and laminate flooring.
I would like to offer a special thank you to an old friend from the Mississippi days, Ken Morris, who came down from Virginia to hang ceiling fans and coordinate the installation of the laminate flooring. With his help and the dedication of the Montgomery team we had all the flooring down in two days! Vanessa took Friday off and worked with us both days. She is really getting excited. She currently shares a small bedroom with two teenage girls and one bath for the whole family of seven. Needless to say, the thought of having her own bedroom with a master bath sounds like heaven to her.
As always, God is all over this project bringing His servants from several states to get the job done. The kitchen cabinets have been ordered and paid for. We are down to the final finishing items of interior doors, trim, moldings, finish plumbing and HVAC equipment install.
It Is Finished
I am pleased to announce that our trip to finish Malcolm’s home last week was very productive. We were able to install baseboard, trim windows, hang interior doors, caulk and paint the above, install door and closet hardware, install cabinets, vanities and counter tops, finish plumbing, finish HVAC, install blinds, appliances, mirrors, towel holders, etc. Needless to say, it was a busy three days. The Lord blessed us with a highly skilled team of volunteers. Perhaps the most significant accomplishment was getting the air conditioning working on Wednesday!
Vanessa, Malcolm and family have a beautiful four bedroom two bath home by the grace of God delivered by the Body of Christ. Come help us celebrate God’s love on Friday, August 6th at 6:30 in Fairfax, SC. if you can.
A Blessed Home Dedication
Friday night, August 6th, God was again in the house as Reverend Jerry Hill led the dedication ceremonies for Operation Malcolm. As always, it was quite emotional and uplifting as we celebrated what can be accomplished by prayer and a willing group of servants being the Body Of Christ.
Many of us were brought to tears as Federica related that she had spent her first 34 years on that corner and how it had always been the center of activity for the neighborhood kids, until the fire. She went on to say that she just celebrated her 36th birthday and now she can move back to 1103 Folk St and it can be the center of activity for her kids just as it had been for her. Lots of hugs and love were shared by the 75 or so in attendance. Oh yea, the food was great as we broke bread together after the ceremony. It doesn’t get any better than that!
