Connecticut-North Carolina-Ohio-Pennsylvania

  This week we had a full house and no feeding team.  We had our grandson Matt with us so Ann really had not been planning on spending all her time in the kitchen.  Thanks to Tim and Vicki, some Union Church of Lavallette members and some rebuild volunteers she had the help she needed.  Everyone enjoyed the sing along each night with Pastor TR with the PA team, especially the action song “I Just Want to Be a Sheep”.  It has finally gotten warm enough for the volunteers to enjoy the beach after a long day of work.  We have picked the first fruits from our parking lot garden.  Some of our McElhattan UMC volunteers stayed for a second week and were joined by more members.  They split up into three work groups. A big thank you to Mary who came to serve. She is 87 and still serves GOD most every day.  Mary’s group worked to complete two small bungalows for a daughter and her mother.  They finished sheet rock, painted, hung tile board and cleaned up. The second group built a new front porch and steps for Rick to replace the ones washed away by Sandy.  They also took out an old bay window and replaced it with one donated by Home Depot. Group three helped at Pete’s to remove old flooring and replace with new plywood and tile.  They also redid his shower door which was installed wrong.   First Baptist Church, Drexel, NC came in on Saturday with a youth team.  They took a trip to NYC on Sunday.  This week they were able to meet Rob, the homeowner and help him tear out the floors in his home and treat it for mold.  This is a job that takes lots of energy.  During the week they became best friends forever.  On Friday they also help unload sheet rock for three homes.  Friendship Baptist from Connecticut also brought a youth team.  They started off their week by cleaning up two yards at homes which we are waiting on additional funding from other groups so we can start work on rebuilding them. Then they went to work on tearing out their houses.  They all followed some great leadership doing good work and wearing safety mask and goggles.  One of the youth became an adult on her mission tri and we celebrated her birthday. Our Grandson Matt, from Ohio, worked with this group during the day and played with them in the evenings.  I think he had a great first mission trip experience and made friends he will never forget.

We left on Saturday morning for a week’s vacation back home.  Please keep Tim and Vicki in your prayers as they are in charge of the NJ operation while we are away.

Three States Serving God in New Jersey

  Our volunteers this week-clockwise from top left: Staunton Baptist Church, Staunton, VA; McElhattan United Methodist Church, McElhattan, PA; Region 8 Feeding Team, Rhonda, Joyce and Larry.  Ann spent the last half of the week in Ohio babysitting the grandkids so Kim and Brandon could attend a foster care conference.  She brought our grandson Matt back to Jersey with her on Sunday.  We were treated to a sunset cruise shortly after they arrived.  Teams have been busy this week doing both recovery and rebuild.  They built platforms for a/c condenser units, tore out flooring, cleaned out crawl spaces, cleaned up a stove, painted trim work, installed a range hood, installed vinyl siding and cleaned up yards. 

Four Guys Feeding Team

  This week we had a fun loving feeding team from Region 6.  They were a pleasure to work with and they fed us good too. We also had two rebuild teams.  On the left is Central Baptist, Dunn and on the right Colonial Baptist, Cary.  Both of the rebuild teams were returning teams and we hope they return again.  The teams worked on several different projects.  They installed windows at Nick’s and Rick’s homes.  They finished installing the flooring, trim work and painting at John’s.  They hung sheet rock and mudded it at Kenny’s.  Jerry even install attic flooring so HVAC could be installed. 

Things continue to get more interesting in New Jersey every week.  At this time we are still getting numerous requests for help.  However we are having to wait a while for the case managers to get funds approved for the some of the projects.  Please join us in prayer as we share GOD’s word (whether by words or works) and determine which homes we are to work on.  Most people believe since it has been 18 months since Sandy left her mark things are back to normal.  But if you are following our blog you can see the need for more volunteers.

A Week With Westwood Baptist

  Our only team this week was Westwood Baptist from Cary but they worked really hard and accomplished a lot.  We did not have a feeding team so Ann did most of the cooking and Vicki did the cleaning, including washing the dishes that Ann messed up.  Tim cooked his famous sourdough pancakes one morning.  The monetary donations continue to be awarded.  The Tom’s River Lions Club invited us to dinner and made a large donation to NC Missions on Wednesday to be used to buy additional materials for homes we choose to work on.  All I know to say is THANK YOU LORD and send more volunteers to use this money while we share His gospel. Pam brought us a special fire hat to wear during fire watch.  If you don’t know how to grow a garden in a parking lot I challenge you to come to Seaside Heights so Tim can show you how.  And yes we enjoyed and celebrated National Donut Day all week.   The work continues at John Tool’s home.  The team laid flooring, painted and installed the sink drain.  John seams to be spending more time with each team.  Part of the team worked on Rick’s (top 6 photos) and Nick’s (bottom 6 photos) homes. Rick’s front window was rotten and got damaged badly during the storm so Billy and Tim took out the rotten wood and replaced the window. Nick, Rick and Vicki helped out. Anthony helped Rick with his plumbing.  On Nick’s home the lower 4 feet of siding was torn off by Sandy which left the paper board exposed and moldy.  So the team is removing the old material and replacing it with new in preparation for the new siding coming soon.

Rick, Nick and Anthony’s homes are all with-in a block of each other and before Sandy left so much damage which also brought the NC Baptists they did not know each other.  But now not only do they know each other they are also helping each others along side of the Baptists.  What a witness tool.  FYI – this block is also next to Grace Evangelical where teams are staying so several volunteers will walk back and forth. Vicki did this Saturday and she stated that people at 3 different homes said “Thank you for the help you have brought to our area”.  Volunteers moved around a lot this week as it seamed help was needed in a special way on different days at different sites.  They painted at Anthony’s, did yard work, hung sheet rock and posed as DOT workers.

Speaking of DOT the roads are getting better around the area. Still lots of construction going on but the best part is we now have two lanes each way to enter or exit the shore area.  So PLEASE call and make your (or your team) reservations to come to Seaside Heights this year to enjoy the fun of sharing the Gospel while rebuilding homes and lives. 

Week Two for Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry

  Our teams this week: 1-Providence Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC; 2-Georgia Baptist Collegiate Ministry; Our revolving feeding team from NJ/NY Baptist Convention and Living Gospel Baptist Church, Rutherford, NJ: 1-Pastor Dennis and Elaine O’Neill; 4-Diane, George and Elaine; 5-Elaine and Louise.  Thanks for coming.  The Georgia BCM group stayed on for another week. Still split into two groups group one started a new job replacing sheetrock, spackling, sanding and painting. Group two did another roofing job. Mid week the teams joined to help repair some paneling and paint it all white. When a young college group signs up to come do rebuild I must say I don’t know what to expect because some times they bring only a few skills. But I must say this group came ready to learn and a desire to work. They also had some awesome leadership. We miss them already.  We were also blessed with a return trip from Providence Baptist in Raleigh. Most of them worked in Point Pleasant Beach at John’s house. They installed insulation, hung sheet rock, mudded and sanded it, painted, installed kitchen cabinets and even worked on the toilet. Three of the guys also worked at Anthony’s to frame and hang sheet rock for a fire wall along with installing backer board.  Four of the students helped with the music at Union Church on Sunday morning as well as played and sang for us other nights. On Tuesday night we went to a supper for several volunteer groups working in Ocean County.  Cathy McCann, president of NJ VOAD presented Billy a Certificate of Appreciation plague for the work being done in New Jersey by The North Carolina Baptist Men.  Being the days are now longer and warmer after a days works many volunteers are enjoying some boardwalk and beach time.  On Monday the Georgia group took the day off and went to New York.  The two young ladies on the couch had spent most of their days in New Jersey on two different roof tops removing and replacing shingles so when they sat down it wound up being a well deserved nap.

The requests for help rebuilding homes continue to come in.  We still need many more volunteer groups to sign up and make the trip to New Jersey to help share the gospel by giving the people hope and encouragement as we rebuild homes damaged by SANDY.