Testimony

We're going to try this again this evening. I entered a great testimony last night but when I went to publish it -- it disappeared --- lost my connection and that's the end of that.

As I said a few days ago, the blog entries will be off and on for the next couple of weeks. We are traveling and tending to some business and at times there are no connections for me to get through on. Thank you for your patience and continued support. Sometimes things take us away for a period of time but our hearts are always working for the people on the coast.

I have a fantastic testimony from one of the volunteers that came from New Jersey. This man has made 2 trips and I hope you will enjoy hearing someone else's story other than my own.

" When you set out on a short term mission trip there are no firm plans as we learned again with this trip. When we returned to Gautier, MS in October we were ready for whatever the Lord had and He had many blessings for us. These are just a few.

We met Rosemary on Monday morning. We were the first team to be involved with her rebuild since the storm. A local church had gutted her home, ripped out the sheetrock and insulation 4' from the floor. They also ripped out all her carpet and appliances and that was almost a year ago. Rosemary had called Susan and Monty and said that she was at the "end". This sent up a flag with Susan and Monty.

When Susan and Monty met Rosemary they came to know that her mom was bed ridden for the past 3 years with arthritis and chronic emphysema. I can just imagine how may times she tried to get the house in order and had to stop to take care of her mother. How frustrating it was and how many times she must have felt like a failure, not being able to get anything done.

When we met Rosemary she was hopeless, she only looked at the ground as she spoke to us. She was allowing us to come into her house and pack all her possessions away after the flood. There was alot to be packed. Rosemary and my wife, Sue, developed a special bond as the week progressed.

As time went by we could see Rosemary gaining hope. She was starting to make eye contact and by the end of the week shewas smiling and kidding around with us. We took some great pictures with the new Rosemary by the end of the week. And, as usual, at the end of the week we were all sad that our time there was over.

The biggest blessing for me was to see a person transition from hopeless to hopeful. That is one of the "God things" that Susan speaks about. We had a team of 4 and God has a plan for us.

There was also a team of 12 there from Iowa. Their ages were from 17 to 80. They worked at 3 different sites blessing the homeowners and 3 of them worked with us on Thursday and Friday.

I would encourage ALL believers to pray about being a part of the rebuilding process in the Gulf Coast. Monty and Susan have been called to this mission field. They both love Jesus and both have strong construction backgrounds. They told us that they are going to be there as long as teams keep coming down.

In closing, this was our "2nd Tour of Duty" so to speak and we signed up for our 3rd!

Yea God, Boo devil. Walk in His love and grace.
Jack from New Jersey"

Like I said, I hope this will inspire some of you and touch each and every one of your hearts. Jack told it from his view and Monty and I would like to thank him and all his team members for taking time from their own lives to come and not only be a blessing to the homeowners but also to Monty and I. We look forward to their 3rd "tour" and will be ready and waiting for them!

Until our next entry --- hopefully tomorrow .... internet willing.... Susan and Monty