Project Description
In every life, in every organization there are defining moments.
Times when perspective and possibility are so radically altered the past and the future look very different. This was that moment for us.
She was a friend of the ministry; a woman who had suffered hardships, enduring the pressure of a difficult daily life, a story with highs and lows that at times seemed endless. Friends called her a modern day Job.
One beautiful spring morning her youngest son, a precious nine year old boy, was camping at the beach with friends. When he was jumping on the rocks out in the water the tides came in from three different directions and swept him out to sea. They never found his body.
Our team, broken by the loss, took a deep breath a leaned into what was the biggest challenge we ever faced. We reached out to new friends. We raised more for one project than we had ever raised in an entire year. We kicked the woman and her family out of their home for a week and a half, pulled together volunteers from all walks of life, and completed an extraordinary amount of work.
The house was painted inside and out; a hole in the ground where there once was a pool was filled and replaced with 1100 square feet of sod and 1000 square feet of concrete; every inch of flooring was replaced; two bathrooms remodeled; a small master bedroom with a tiny bathroom was combined with another room to make a beautiful master suite with a spa-like bathroom; all new cabinets and granite countertops given to the kitchen; custom made cabinetry was crafted for the dining room; new furniture moved in much of the house. It was beautiful.
The true beauty, however, was seen in the faces of the people transformed by the experience. We watched hearts grow in those days, profoundly changed by the gift of being generous. They were generous with their time, generous with their talents, generous with their resources. It was a gift we will always cherish.
