“…the voice of the
Lord saying: ‘Whom shall I send’...”
Isaiah 6:8
I’d always heard people say “be careful what you pray for
because you just might get it” and wondered what the negative might be on that.
It seemed like it would be a good thing
to receive something you had wanted. Once we began serving in ministry, I learned
that when you ask God to send help somewhere, be ready to pack your bags.
Following our service in Georgetown, God continued to allow
us to respond as part of disaster relief teams to help the families impacted by
South Carolina’s “historic flood.” We prayed that God would send volunteers, so
He answered that prayer by having Jack become the director of RebuildSC in
April 2016. RebuildSC, a grant-funded
initiative of SC Baptist Disaster Relief, was created to rebuild houses damaged
in the flood. Jack provided assistance
to the two work sites: Georgetown (coordinated by Georgia Baptist Disaster
Relief) and Johnsonville (coordinated by North Carolina Baptists on Mission).
We are forever grateful for our neighboring states who gave selflessly to help
us. When Hurricane Matthew’s destruction in October 2016 caused damage in both
SC and NC, North Carolina Baptists on Mission left Johnsonville to address the
devastation in their own state. Jack and
I moved our camper to the parking lot of Johnsonville Baptist Church and became
the on-site coordinators.
What amazing volunteers God sent to serve in
Johnsonville! More than 2600 volunteers
came from 13 states. They represented 392 churches of 17 denominations and 14
colleges. They installed metal and
shingle roofs. They rebuilt floor joists, replaced sub-floors and installed
laminate flooring. They rebuilt windows, doors, ceilings and walls. They built
steps, ramps, decks and porches. They replaced toilets and showers and sinks.
They installed cabinets and shelves.
They restored families by showing God’s love.
In June 2017 we moved our camper to Marion County and began
ministering in the town of Nichols which had been under 3 ½ feet of water for a
week and a half following Hurricane Matthew.
Again, God provided volunteers to serve the families whose lives had
been forever changed by rain.
Just as we thought RebuildSC was winding down, Hurricane
Florence hit South Carolina in September 2018 and we moved to Conway. Through the generosity of North Conway
Baptist Church, Jack and I lived in a Sunday school classroom for eight months
as we coordinated volunteers to serve.
The program ended in September 2019 but God gave us one more family to
serve…
