The personal touch

Jane, from California, if you are reading this meet Jane from Colorado, your shopping "sister" for sure! :)


We introduce the team from Colorado. This team has once again spent another day blessing and being blessed by Lucille. If you do not know the story of Lucille please read last nights blog entry. This team has managed to take her house from a mess to something wonderful in 2 days, and they are still going. We caught up with them at Lowes this evening. They called and needed us to bring our pickup truck to help them load everything! I can't begin to name all the purchases they have made but will hit the high ones; all the trim, baseboard, door and window casing, crown molding, all bathroom fixtures with tub and shower, kitchen cabinets, bath vanity and hood range complete with microwave oven built in! As they were hustling through Lowes they realized just how "over" budget they were! This didn't stop them. They all got busy on their cell phones, called home and managed to raise enough money to take them from being way over budget to being under budget!!!! Isn't God awesome!

The main reason this team has been able to bless this lady as much as they have is the personal touch they have had with Lucille! They have not only met and worked with her but she has stolen their hearts! And they also met and fell in love with her daughter and grandchildren! When the grandchildren came home from school and saw all the things this team had done they started crying with shock and joy! They are trying to keep it a secret from their grandma until she can be brought in tomorrow and see it all in place! This is God working! This is the relationship "thing" that God talks about, what is the most important thing to God! This connection cannot be done without seeing the people the teams are working with and for! Lucille just thought there were a couple of women coming to paint a couple of rooms and leave and what God blessed her with will never ever be forgotten. This team will be in her prayers for the rest of her life and this team will never forget her! Praise God! Just another blessing that has come from Katrina!

We are also preparing to start on Miss Barbara's house. She is a member here but had to leave her home because of the damage. She has not been back since then. Monty and I measured for sheetrock today and she will be needing - and getting - 180 sheets! That's alot of rock and thank you Convoy of Hope for providing this blessing to her! The rock will be loaded onto Monty's truck and Convoy's trailer, taking 2 trips with each, and get the house stocked. Then it will be inside the house and ready to start hanging.

We are happy to annouce the birth of a new baby to one of our school teachers, Melanie. We would like for all of you to keep her and the baby in your prayers as the baby was born early and weighed in at 3 pounds 15 ounces. Things look good but that is a small baby and could use an extra few prayers to get a head start in this big ole world!

The children at the school have been working on "teacher appreciation" week and it's an awesome thing to watch. It is very sad that I cannot show these children on this blogspot but due to the sin in the world we cannot post childrens photos. Being able to be a part of this school and see what a life changing effect the word of God has on these kids is such a blessing. All of these children are the adults of tomorrow and we should keep all of them, along with our teachers everywhere in our prayers!

The last photo on this entry is of 2 of our church board members. You've heard of people who can't see the "big picture"? Meet Brother Bill who is happy to explain just that picture to Brother Jake! Have you got it Jake? :)

We would also like to congratulate our "adopted son", Kevin, (at home) who received a very special award at high school this evening. We are sad that we were not able to be there and tell him in person how much we love him and how pleased we are that he has his foundation so firmly planted in the Lord! We had 3 of our dear friends there with him and we thank them for taking a part of us with them! Thanks Earl, Roberta and Ellen! We love you and Kevin, we love you more! :)

When God called Monty and I on this mission for our lives He didn't tell us how difficult it would be to be away from our families and friends. And even though we thought we knew....wrong! We didn't. We miss seeing them, we miss hearing their voices, we miss their hugs, we miss their encouraging words, we miss sharing meals with them, we miss sitting next to them in church, we miss having Bible study with them, we miss sharing our lives with them. We thank them for their support, their prayers and their love. God has blessed us with sooooooo many family and friends and friends that are family! Here comes that "relationship" word again! Ya know what---God knows what He is talking about, doesn't He!!!!

For those of you who would like to invest a part of yourselves in this ministry and in the rebuilding of homes and lives you can send your tax deductible gifts to us at Vineyard Community Church at PO Box 3277 in Bloomington, Indiana 47402. Please note "Katrina" on your gift as all 100% is sent to us, the church holds nothing back. Thanks, Vineyard!

If you are interested in sending a team of volunteers to this area to help in the restoration, please leave a comment at the end of the blog with information as to how we can reach you and we would be glad to give you more information. Without you, the volunteers, this mission cannot be accomplished! YOU are the keys, YOU are the ones who have the opportunity to bless others and in turn you will be the one blessed. Think about it, then think about it again, then DO something about it. Post a note at your church as see what you can do to spark some interest in others. If they have questions, refer them to this blogspot and let them read for themselves! Tug at their hearts, you'll be glad you did! The people of Mississippi will be even more glad!

Until tomorrow...count your blessings.....praise God! Susan and Monty