Building houses.

I tried to think of how many houses I have personally helped build. I do not have a clue, but as I was trying to think about it I started thinking of the families that were blessed with the houses. There are a few that really stick out in my mind.

On Tuesday we built a house thanks to the generosity of some very loving people in TN. They came here in December and were so touched by the people in Mololoa that they went home and began raising money to build houses. So they sent the funds and the building has begun.

Tuesday. The family that needed this home was in desperate need. I know that everyone here is in need and when I use to come for short periods of time I just saw that everyone was in need, but as I have discovered over time that there are some people over here that are in more dire circumstances than others.

When I finally think that I have seen the most desperate needs or the worst living conditions I can walk around the bend and be confronted with yet another family that is physically more in need than the last.

If I didn’t know that God was with me and that he is the one providing for the needs and I am only doing my Fathers work then I would truly feel hopeless in the overwhelming, never ending needs of the people here. But I do know that he is in control and I am glad.

Well back to the Tuesday house. Scraps of tin and cardboard cover two walls and pieces of material the other two, what little they had for a roof would not keep the sun or rain off of the family.

The man that lives there is a very kind person, he has been working to help build the wall at the church to keep us from washing away. He is so polite and thoughtful. If he sees me caring stuff he always comes to help. The other day I saw him help two little girls caring 5 gallon buckets of water to their house. He had just worked a full day caring rocks and concrete up the mountain, but when he saw these children with their heavy burden he put down his things and carried the water for them before going home.

He has been collecting bits and pieces of wood for his house, he has ask Randy to come and check that he is building it right several times, it was very touching for Randy. He wanted his opinion on the best way to use what little he had to shelter his family. Randy said that there was not much to use, but he had a positive attitude and just wanted Randy’s advice.

We decided that the best thing to do would be to surprise him. So he went off to work on Tuesday morning and the crew showed up to build him a new home. As you can imagine his wife and two little ones were so excited that they could not keep the face splitting grins to themselves and we found ourselves grinning back and picking up on their excitement. The house took minutes to tear down and the building began.

Jody, a great guy, and contractor from the Belrpi church of Christ in Ohio was here preparing for his group to come in and was eager to help with the construction. The house went very smooth. It is beautiful. Jody was able to make a set of stairs and a nice porch from the left over wood. The view from the window is awesome (I never cease to be amazed at the beauty of Gods creation that surrounds us). It was time to go and get the father.

I drove down to the church and told him that Randy need to talk to him about getting a house and about his land. Well as I drove him up the mountain he could not see anything from the back seat and where his property is located it was the perfect place for a surprise. I let him out a little before a curve that went up to his new house. He jumped out of the car and hurried up to talk to Randy. I know the minute he saw the house.

His feet stumbled and his arms hung limp at his sides. He began shaking his head back and forth in disbelieve. His hands came up to cover his face and then he leaned against the side of the truck and the most heart wrenching sobs began to shake his shoulders. The tears poured freely down his sun weathered cheeks and he continued to shake his head in disbelieve.

Can you imagine, leaving for work, saying good-bye to your wife and kids in a home made of other people’s trash and scrapes, pushing aside the sheet that serves as a wall and heading out. Maybe he looked back as he walked down the road, seeing the little building with the walls blowing in the wind praying he could provide a better home for his wife and children. And then coming home looking up and finding that his hopes and prayers were answered. He has a secure home for his family.

After several minutes of leaning against the truck Randy came down to him, He grabbed hold of Randy and the tears continued to roll as they hugged one other, celebrating the joy of his blessing.

His children ran down the path throwing themselves at him, talking a mile a minute about the gringos and their new house. He walked slowly up to his new home, his wife met him and they walked together to their house. He reached out and ran a calloused hand along the wood siding, covering his eyes with his shaking hand he tried to get himself together and almost succeeded and then he entered his new home, He spun around taking it all in, the children were running from wall to wall and his wife was crying and saying to the little ones, look at the roof, we will not be in the sun anymore, look at the floor, no more bugs and mud. Look, look, look

The husband looked and then went over to a corner bowed his head and cried and cried. These were tears of joy, tears of relief, tears of disbelief and tears of thankfulness and they ran freely down his face. He held his family close and they huddled together at the window admiring the view that God had provided, safe and secure in the home that he had provided.

It was a very emotional time for all of us and while I am use to the joy and excitement the emotions of relief and amazement were overwhelming. I pray that I never become so use to helping people that I can’t be amazed at the way the God reaches out to his children and gives and gives. That I fail to see the blessings that are provided for us everyday in so many ways. I know this man felt blessed by his new home and I know that each person that worked on that house was blessed by the tears that flowed down his face and the look of awe in his eyes. I bet when we see Jesus that we have a similar look in our eyes. A look of awe.

Thank you to all of the people who helped with this home. Many people were blessed because you freely gave.