Jacksonville, TX 2011: Day 3

After a hearty breakfast, our morning devotion and prayer we arrived at the Father’s Love facility before 9:00 a.m. and began packing the trucks and vans with supplies, lunch and beverages.  Talk about a smooth operation! As much as the Father’s Love team enjoys a good time, they are as no-nonsense as you can get in running a tight ship.

Godfridah, Lisa and Hugh went with Roger, Herb, George and Isabel from Father’s Love to the home of Juanita, an elderly lady whose husband has Alzheimer’s and is bed-ridden. Two of her nine children along with four grandchildren also live at the home. The team was charged with the task of tiling and painting Juanita’s  bedroom and bathroom, and also replacing a worn out kitchen cabinet.

Soon after arriving, we prayed together with Juanita and her family (George, a Father’s Love team member translated in Spanish for Juanita) prior to starting our activities. Hugh and Godfridah got to work on removing the cabinet, while Lisa and Isabel (Father’s Love) worked alongside Herb, George and Roger to prepare the floor for tiling.

Juanita’s four year-old grandson quickly decided he wouldn’t be left out, so he latched on to Godfridah asking her to read stories. The Lord always equips us for whatever He calls us to do, so Godfridah was able to utilize her training from the TSC Children’s Ministry to share and read many, many stories with the ‘lil one. The ladies also washed the dishes, cleaned the cupboards, stove and refrigerator, much to the surprise of Juanita, who shed a few tears of joy at the outpouring of love towards her family. As a result, the Lord provided an opportunity for Lisa and Isabel to pray with Juanita and encourage her.   After prayer, Juanita’s demeanor changed. She was much happier and even helped with the fridge.

Of course, there were several moments when things seemed to be heading in an unplanned direction — the day’s relatively cold temperature of 52 degrees made it challenging for Herb and his crew to lay the tiles — however by the end of the day, with all hands on deck, we finished the tiles for the bedroom and a portion of the bathroom.

As the day drew to a close, with grateful hearts we said goodbye. There’s still some work to be done, so we look forward to Day 4 in Jacksonville, Texas and pray that the Lord will continue to open the door to share His love with Juanita and her family.

The team comprised of  Brett and  Nate, from Father’s Love and  Enshil, Derik and Deborah arrived at  Miss Addie’s house, the widow I described in yesterday’s post. Following prayer for the day, and her invalid son who remains under Miss Addie’s care, we went to work on the home maintenance issues she needed help on, including the repair of her railings, yard maintenance, plumbing work.

As much as she appreciated our work on the various projects, it was the fellowship with “God’s people,” as she called us, and Derik’s fervent prayer for her son that touched her heart the most. She’d  spent her adult life working for God and although not entirely comfortable, with the role reversal was as grateful as she could be. At lunch she surprised and treated us all to delicious pot pies. For our part, we simply fell in love with Miss Addie!

The third team made up of Juan, Thomas and Szilveszter went out for a paint job. That team had a great time scraping and painting the front part of a one family house; however, hearing the testimony about the owner’s little daughter outweighed everything. The little girl suffered from debilitating eczema from the time she was born. Her parents couldn’t do anything but pray, and after four years God answered their prayer. The girl was healed overnight.

By the end of the day we were all exhausted, most of us a little punchy, but all blessed beyond measure.