Saturday

Today was a build day. We headed out bright and early to build a house for a sweet family. The family was made up of a woman, her daughter, and her two grandchildren. As soon as we arrived we began carrying wood down a narrow path to the house site. We also jumped right in to tear down the existing structure that they had been living in. It could hardly be categorized as a house with its gaping holes, sparse furniture, and small size. It took us 10 minutes to move out all of their possessions. It would take us weeks to pack up all of our belongings and completely move out of our homes.

The team did amazing. They jumped right in and helped in any way necessary and within 6 hours we had demolished the previous house, carried in the wood, and built the entire house.

My favorite part of the day was at the end when we all circled up inside of the house to pray over the family and their new home. The mother decided she would like to express to us her appreciation for our hard work. In doing so she started sobbing and kept repeating how blessed she is. I was humbled beyond belief. This women standing before me was expressing how blessed SHE is. How often do we, Americans, think we don’t have enough? We want bigger houses, more things, fancier cars, etc. Very rarely do we stand back and just recognize how truly blessed we are. Yet here was a woman, standing in a 17X17 foot home, praising the Lord for the blessings he has bestowed upon her.

Mr. Dan is 75 years old, yet he was out there today helping us build and serving those wonderful people. He is living proof that God can use anyone despite their age or what they may have to offer.