Lots of Blessings...

Wow, Last week was full of wonderful blessings! Richard Waite is moved into his new house! It seems as if we just started it, and now it's finished! Thursday night, we all went over there to pray over it, and also so that the group could see what they are all working towards on the other homes!

Also, the angels were rejoicing Thursday afternoon when one of our volunteers accepted Jesus into his heart! What an awesome experience to witness!

I also tried my first crawfish, or as some people like to call them (not me), mudbugs. The name sounds revolting, but they taste great! Mini lobster tails anyone? Mom boiled up a spicy batch of them tonight for the volunteers to try, and they all freaked out. I guess they had never heard of it before, but a lot of them tried it, and I think some even liked it!

This week, we have Bernie, Lisa, Lucas, and Rachel Scharr visiting us from Woodburn, In. Bernie and Lisa have been close family friends for as long as I can remember, as well as neighbors! It has been really nice to see them again.

Well, I guess I better go, homework and then bed is calling my name. Have a great week!
Sam

(Mississippi tip of the week: Don't call "pop" "pop" down here unless you want to be laughed at, or looked at funny. It's SODA or COKE! I know from experience)

East To West

Hello Everyone!
Tonight was share time with the group, and it was great! We started off with some songs, (somebody played guitar!) we had a testimony shared, and then we had devotions. The devotions were on our sins, and how God forgives us no matter what! He takes our sins as far as the east is from the west; and as someone pointed pointed out, God used east to west for a reason. If He would have said "I cast your sins as far as the North is from the south" it wouldn't have been the same promise, because if you travel in a big circle from north to south, you always end up at a certain point where they come together. When you travel from east to west, there is no such point! You could just keep going and going and going, (like the energizer bunny!) and yet you would never come to the point where the two meet. Pretty amazing when you put it in relation to sin! Jesus cast them so far that we could go on forever and we would never get back to them. How awesome is that? Just thought I would share that with y'all, it really made me think.
Goodnight to all!

Aaaaahhhh

First of all, that's a sigh of relaxation, not yelling!
Yesterday we got back to Hope City after a wonderful week of relaxation and SLEEP on Hilton Head Island, SC. Although our vacation was great, it was also great to get back to the "showhome".
When we arrived, the camp was "waterless", which meant no showers! Not to mention hand washing, toilets, drinking water....... That was NOT cool, although Dad and Jed got it fixed today, so thankfully nobody got too smelly! We have three groups here this week, making the camp pretty active! I don't know much about them yet, as they just got here today because of Easter, but they seem like a fun group altogether.

Linda Vanderpol (one of our homeowners, for those of you who don't know)is moved into her home! We are so happy for her!

Well, I guess that's about all I have to say for tonight; I'll be writing more often from now on! Have a great night,
Sam

The Long Lost Blog....

Wow! I'm sorry I haven't written for so long! There has been a lot going on lately. I'll try to update y'all a little bit on what's been going on with the people of Mississippi.......


Jed has been in Indiana for the past two weeks trying to get his license replaced. Thankfully, he had no complications, and is flying down Friday.

Gary Richhart took Jed with him when we went home, so we have really been missing people these past weeks! Gary was great; we keep telling him that he and Linda just need to move another "showhome" right next to ours so they can stay here permanently! Although I don't think that is going to happen, Gary is coming back around the beginning of April because he just can't get enough of us! Actually, he is coming to perfect the database that he created in February, and do whatever else needs to be done around camp. He is always great to have around as well as Linda, although she can't come because of work. :(

We have a new client by the name of David Johnson. He is a Vietnam veteran, and a retired truck driver. He was driving truck somewhere up north one winter night, slipped down some stairs, and broke several vertebrae in his neck. He cannot straighten his neck anymore because it never healed properly, so he wasn't able to drive truck anymore. His house is the worst we have ever worked on!
Although he didn't get flooding, the storm knocked trees down onto his house, which has, since the storm, rotted and half fallen onto the ground. I was almost in tears to see a man living like he was. So many people think that Hurricane Katrina's damage is repaired, that's it's old news and it doesn't need attention anymore, but it's quite the opposite! Mr David has been living in a rotten house for two years,and although we don't have the funding to build him a new one, we have at least been able to get him a working bathroom until that funding comes through. Thanks to Bethel College who started the project!

Prayer Requests:

Please pray that we are able to get a caseworker and funding for Mr. David. Both are very scarce lately, so it will be difficult, but with God all things are possible!

Pray for all the homeowners whose houses are at a standstill because of funding and casework. Pray that they will be encouraged, and that we can procure these two things quickly!

Pleas pray for the Indiana State and Kelley School of Business: that the rest of their week will be without accidents or injuries, and that they will have a safe trip home. Also pray that they will grow closer to God through this experience.

I will probably not write too much for the next week or so, because the camp is closed and we are going on vacation! I will try to write at least a couple times though.

Well, I better get to bed; it's another early morning for me tomorrow! Goodnight!

More Fun.....

This week with Bethel College has been great! Last night we had a bonfire on the beach, with a time of worship and sharing; then there were a few people who didn't want it to end, (including me!) so we stayed by the fire and talked,played games, and ended with more singing! It was a great night to get to know some of the people better. I usually don't get to talk to people until after Wednesday share time, because I don't have the courage to start a conversation with a stranger, but after share time, it just feels like everyone is family. I wish it could be that way on Mondays!
Today, we went to New Orleans to see some of the devastation there and in the surrounding areas. It is amazing to see all of the work that needs to be done! After riding around in the bus touring St. Bernard's Parish and the Ninth Ward, we went to the French Quarter to walk around and eat supper. Of course, we couldn't forget the Beignets at Cafe Du Monde! Yummm!

Well, tomorrow is Criday:( we're really going to miss everyone! Some of the girls got to know David, one of our homeowners. I know that he's going to miss them! Bethel has been a great group, and we hope that they all come back again soon.

I guess I better sign off now. Love to all!

Cold!!

Today was cold! Okay, so compared to those of you in Indiana, I guess 60 would be warm, but with the wind and not much sun, it was cold! it is funny how you can get accustomed to something like weather so fast. I'm sitting on my bed in my warmest sweats, with a blanket wrapped around me!

Ok, enough about the weather....

The Bethel College students have been working hard on some not so glamorous jobs! One of those is taking out a bathroom and remodeling it for one of our clients. The toilet was loose and falling through the floor; I believe the sewage lines were broken, so you know that's not a pleasant job! The other one is gutting a mold infested house; the people working on that job have to be careful not to stay in the house too long because of exposure to the mold, so they stay moving.

I went with Dad on an assessment to Larry York's house today, and was again struck by the tragedy that the people down here went through; and the positive attitudes that most of them have! Larry and his family stayed during the storm, and today he said with a laugh, "We ain't never doing that again!" I can't imagine seeing your house just come apart around you! To see the damage is depressing, but to witness the actual storm; these are some strong people. His house wasn't as bad as some I have seen; there was just some wall patching and cabinet and door replacing, so it shouldn't take too long to get that finished for him and his family.

Well, I think the prayer requests remain about the same for now. I would love to have some feedback, or just let me know what's going on in your lives!

Have a great week! Sam

Romans 8:8-11
8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...........

I'm sorry about the big gap in posts; I haven't been doing very well at keeping up lately!

Richard Waite was here again this morning, and this time he brought Bev with him! It's always nice to see them both. Richard came today because he wants to give back by volunteering his time and effort when he can to work alongside the volunteers. Thank you to all who have been praying for him; his health is much improved!

We had beautiful weather this weekend, but today that came to an end! Although it wasn't cold, it was very windy, tonight it started raining and there is even a tornado warning out!


Prayer requests:

Bethel college is here this week doing some demo. Please pray for safety, that they would draw closer to God and each other this week, and that they can be a light to everyone that sees them.

Jed is home in Indiana this week trying to get his license, among other things that he lost along with his wallet. Please pray that he doesn't run into any complications with that, and that his trip back here is safe and uneventful.


Thought I would share a couple of my favorite "Bible songs" verses, even thoughyou have probably seen them before:

This is the song of Moses and Miriam after the crossing of the Red Sea. I have always loved the way it's worded!

Exodus 15:1-2
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.


This is the song Mary sang after her visit from the Angel Gabriel:

Luke 1:46-47

46And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior