Thanks to God, Stephen’s grandma, Sheila, has a new home in which to raise little Stephen. After the recent home dedication in Pass Christian, MS Sheila made the following remarks:
“There are no words to express my deepest appreciation, thanks and gratitude that I feel towards everyone who worked on Operation Stephen. I thank God for the friendships that have been made during this time. After Jerred’s death in April, I was completely devastated, depressed and left with a huge hole in my heart. I felt hopeless and had many questions for God. Why did this happen?
A short time later KC Carter and Nelson Chandler came to see me at my parent’s home. They were representing Missionary Supply Network, an organization made up of volunteers from different churches from all over the United States helping people in devastated areas. They had come to tell me that they had created Operation Stephen and were going to get us back in our home. I suddenly felt overwhelmed at the outpouring of love from someone we had only met once. This was truly the work of God.
Teams came in July, August, October and November from all over the United States to totally rebuild our gutted home. They worked from daylight to dark with such enthusiasm and dedication. They really were angels among us. I began to have hope and started getting excited as each phase was completed.
On November 18, 2006 Rev. Jerry Hill led a beautiful dedication ceremony and I thank you. I thank God for sending all of you into our lives. There will always be a special bond between us.
PROJECT DETAILS
Operation Stephen Mission Trip
From the looks of things Stephen is pretty happy with his new roof. Many thanks to Nelson Chandler, Les Pritchard and Debbie Whitehead for simmering in the summer heat of southern Mississippi last week. As you can see from the second picture below, we were able to get the roof done, except for the ridge cap. It is amazing the way God works. He arranged to have seven saints from Harrodsburg, KY there to help out. They welcomed us with opened arms and jumped right in to help with Operation Stephen. With Ken Morris as our resident expert and quarterback we were not only able to get the roof on but clean out and paint the storage shed from top to bottom. We also removed the back wall that was in such bad shape. To top it off the KY crew donated the money to purchase all new windows for the house! God is good….all the time.
Obviously, there is much work to be done. If any of you know any good electricians or plumbers who would be willing to donate three days of their time to the cause please let me know. It looks like the next trip will be August 20 – 25. Let us know if you would like to take advantage of this weight loss opportunity.
If you are not able to participate physically but would like to make a donation for Operation Stephen you may do so by going on line to: http://missionarysupply.org/restricteddonations.php and entering “Operation Stephen” in the “Donation Instructions” box of the credit card entry process. Checks may be sent to: Missionary Supply Network, 356 Pimlico Rd., Greenville, SC 29607.
Operation Stephen Mission Trip
God sure does love little Stephen!
Under the capable leadership of Ken Morris who has been our on-site project manager the reconstruction effort is going extremely well. Since our trip a month ago, thanks to the help of teams from North Carolina and Kentucky, the new windows have been installed, the back wall has been replaced, termite damaged wood has been replaced, all the plywood sub-floor and most of the framing for the new internal walls had been done. That’s inside. Outside, the entire lot has been cleared of debris and underbrush to the point that it can be maintained with a lawn mower going forward. Now if we can get the county to come remove the huge debris piles from the side of the road the lot will be in great shape.
Thanks to the generosity of many, we were able to purchase the tub and shower enclosure and get it placed in the bathroom. We also purchased additional framing materials and a new front door. Ken and Goudy Miller from First Pres. in Greenville, SC were able to complete the framing of the internal walls including the new laundry room and pantry. They also installed the new front door. It seems Ken particularly wanted me to help him install the ridge cap on the new metal roof. He said something about trial by fire. I think it had more to do with hell on earth! We should have done that job at night!
I am also happy to report that Rev. Hill and I were able to obtain 178 sheets of 4 x 8 sheetrock, 8 buckets of sheetrock mud, 50 lbs of sheetrock screws, 40 gallons of paint and primer, insulation and virtually all the electrical wire for the house from the UMCOR warehouse in Wiggins, MS free of charge! For those of you who are Methodist, it is good to know that your Katrina donations through the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) are making it to the field. Our trip to the warehouse was not without incident, however. If you talk with Rev. Hill ask him about our new theme song, “You picked a fine time to leave me loosewheel!”
God continues to work His miracles with this project. Ken and I went to talk with Barry Fay, Site Manager for the Meadowbrook Church of Christ mission camp in DeLisle, MS. We were hoping he would have some teams that he could send over as the project progresses. Unfortunately, everyone has a shortage of teams for the month of September. As we were discussing the need for a reputable HVAC contractor, Barry told us he would handle that for us, meaning arranging for and paying the contractor. What a blessing! In addition, we had stopped in Montgomery to pick up a trailer loaded with a number of items for The Pass from Claire Smith from First UMC, Montgomery. As we were dropping the trailer off on our return trip Claire asked what else needed to be done. We mentioned that we would be putting on vinyl siding. She immediately said that they would take care of purchasing the siding if we would get her the details. Is God good or what?
This week Ken is busy getting the wiring and plumbing done. Unfortunately for us, Ken has decided to return home as soon as next week to help his son build his house, of all things! We will miss Ken’s leadership and Christian witness to the teams. Hopefully, he will be back in a few months. In the mean time we must press on. Our next scheduled trip is October 8 – 15. There are a limited number of spaces available. If you would like to go let me know ASAP. This will be a combined trip with the Western North Carolina District. I fully expect to be hanging and possibly finishing sheetrock during this trip.
Operation Stephen Mission Trip
The Flower Blooms!
We just completed an AWESOME week down at The Pass working on Stephen’s house. God continues to bring the servants together with the right skills for the job at hand.
The week started with our needing to satisfy the building inspector. He had approved the rough in wiring, plumbing and HVAC. However, the new rear wall had not been anchored and strapped down. There was a lot of anxiety as to how we were going to anchor the base plate down and strap the studs from bottom to top. We met the inspector at 9:00 Monday morning and found out what he required. It ended up not being as difficult as we had feared. Goudy Miller and I then proceeded to spend the next four hours in Lowe’s at Gulfport buying supplies for the house and the church. Fortunately, that did not slow down production. There was plenty of insulation to hang for the Rock Hill, SC gang: Marvin Horton, Clint Raymes, Keith Corley and Mark Phillips. Come to think of it, maybe that is why it took so long to get out of Lowe’s!
As the week went on everyone kept remarking as to how much fun it was to hang the 5/8 inch sheetrock on the ceiling. Fortunately, Clint and Mark had taken a side trip and managed to procure a lift. No one asked any questions. Sometimes it is better not to know. I understand that it was returned to the rightful owner later in the week. We were fortunate to have a team consisting of Lee fears and Roger Higgins from Etowa, NC; Fannie Watson and Mandy Osborn from Haysville, NC and Teresa Sneed from Kentucky helping out along the way.
On Thursday Jim Sandnop showed up with his crew of twelve servants from Greensboro, NC to begin hanging the siding. The professional siding person who was to be on the team didn’t make it, but they didn’t let that deter them. They did a great job and were still hard at it when we left on Saturday morning. A few of the ladies from that crew even decided they liked taping and mudding drywall better than hanging siding. Also, we were blessed to have our old buddy Mike Zeiderman working with us a few days. He has made the transition from mucker to mudder quite gracefully.
Clint Raymes was our finish carpenter. He constructed the knee wall between the kitchen and den, hung the new back door and custom made the window sills and frames. He was even heard coaching the siding crew a time or two.
As a result of all the hard work by a lot of folks, we were able to get all the sheetrock hung, taped and mudded. I understand the Rock Hill gang even did some sanding on Saturday. All the siding was hung except for some of the boxing. With such visible progress being made it is very much like a beautiful flower blooming.
The highlight of the trip is always the interaction with Stephen, Sheila and Mr. & Mrs. Lizana. They stopped by several times to check on the progress. I’m not sure who is more excited Sheila or her dad.
Our original goal was to have Stephen back in his house by Christmas. With the progress made this week and three teams scheduled between now and then, it looks like they can be in by Thanksgiving. Is God good or what?
The next scheduled trips are November 4 – 11 led by James Peavey and November 12 – 18 led by Dr. Phil Greig. Let me know if you would like to be on one of those teams. I guarantee you will be blessed.
Rumor has it that the Lord has led us to our next Operation Stephen opportunity. Stay tuned for the big announcement.
Operation Stephen Mission Trip
God’s Grace Abounds!
Once again, God displayed His grace and mercy in a very tangible way this past week in Pass Christian. It is just incredible how He is always there to meet us and support us when we make the step to get out there on faith and depend on Him to use us for His glory.
It is amazing to think that a month ago there was no insulation or sheetrock in place and now Sheila and Stephen are ready to move in as soon as the permanent power is turned on and the kitchen counter tops are delivered. Many thanks go to the hundreds of volunteers from dozens of churches that have poured out their blood, sweat and tears for this beautiful family. We especially want to thank Ken Morris from Virginia who poured countless hours into this project early on. Ken was a key to getting the house finished as he came back from VA to finish and prime the sheetrock and texture and paint the ceilings. He was even able to fly back for the dedication this past week. Also key to the finishing effort was James Peavey and his team from Aldersgate UMC who were there from Nov. 4 – 11. They took care of, among other things, blowing insulation in the attic, building a front porch, constructing a play set for Stephen and, most importantly, laying the ceramic tile throughout the house. Due to their good work, we were able to finish the siding, finish the grout, finish the play set, install the kitchen cabinets, hang gutters, install the base and shoe mold in all rooms, fix a leak that God so graciously showed us during a storm, install all the doors, finish the electrical including getting the main entrance cable buried, construct new “kitchen” steps, install the vanity and commode and install all the appliances. Whew! In addition, we started the Operation Isaac project which will be subject of a separate email.
We were so blessed to have several construction professionals on this team including Clint Raymes who stayed behind on Sunday to finish the molding and doors. He was a true example of what finishing strong is all about.
God inspired Judy Chandler to make the connections to get a team from the local ABC affiliate, WLOX TV 13, out to do a story on Operation Stephen. Click Here and click on the “Meggan Gray Reports On Family’s Volunteer Angels” video for their report.
In the middle of all the busyness and concentrating on getting “things” done it is easy to forget that we are really there for the people we are serving. Fortunately, Sheila was able to get off work most of the week so we saw her and Stephen every day. It is such a blessing to see little Stephen running around and to hear the excitement in Sheila’s voice. Something that was missing for the first six months we knew her. While we were there she had an artist paint the Sesame Street characters on the walls of Stephen’s playroom. That little boy will be well taken care of.
On Friday evening at 6:00 Reverend Jerry Hill led us in a wonderful and emotional home dedication. The whole time Stephen was running around playing and jumping off the steps. It is easy to see that he will have a big time running all over his new house. Of course, we finished the celebration with a big feast back at the church.
We also received an incredible blessing as two members of the Triune Mercy Center congregation traveled, lived and worked with us this week. It is quite humbling to see those who have no home helping others to get back into their home. Thank you Stacey and Anthony.
Thanks so much to all of you who have worked so hard and contributed your hard earned money to make this day a reality. Now it is time to move on. There is no time to rest on our accomplishments. There are tens of thousands of other deserving families who need to be back in their homes too. We have made a difference to that one now let’s go help another one.
At this time of Thanksgiving let us thank the good Lord for all he has given us so that we may share His abundance with others.
