Blitz Build

We're Building More than just Buildings

The Chicago crew is closing out their week finishing projects and cleaning up the site.  Meanwhile, a block party is going on outside orchestrated by Rock Church as a wonderful community outreach event. There are giant inflatables, carnival games, food, music, face painting (courtesty of more Blitz Build volunteers), and excited families everywhere.  It a fitting picture to close the week for this team as this community will reap the benefits of their labor for years to come.

Read on to get some of Gary Fisher's (project manager for the Chicago site) final thoughts.

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Though several "only God" moments have occurred this week, perhaps the one that comes to the front happened on Wednesday.  We had about a group of about fifteen daily leaders and "every day" volunteers that were on site to serve again.  We got organized, prayed in, and went to work.  We had too much site clean up to accomplish after a big day of landscape the previous day, and "out of the blue", a group of about 15 high school kids from a suburban church showed up and asked if they could stay and help!  Could they help???  We dug in hard and accomplished all of our goals by lunch time.

 

Lunch was late (unexpected circumstance out of our control), so we gathered, grabbed "hold you over" snacks, and flipped our devotional slot to before lunch, hoping it would show soon.  A another group of about 15 large scale donors for the project were slated to join us AFTER we ate lunch and went back to work, so there would be enough room for them to eat and get plugged in to task.  They came in right in the middle of our devotional, and, "just coincidentally", the rental company had sent an extra table and we had stacked some extra chairs in another corner of our break room for "what ifs"......we then knew why we had done that!  Now as a large group of about 55, they engaged in our devotional, lunch arrived "coincidentally" right after we finished our devotional.  We all broke bread TOGETHER now, then I was prompted to point out to the group that here, all together, was a perfect representation of the richness and fullness of the Body, as the young, energetic shouldered with the older business owners led by the experienced, committed leaders for an afternoon of a wide range of task completion.  It was a beautiful mosaic of God's intention for the body, and we prayed together before going to work that afternoon led by the passionate pastor of Rock Church, Pastor Washington, hammering home our little God-orchestrated "slice of heaven" here on earth!!  Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow!!

 

In His love and service, by His grace, Gary 

Chicago: South Side / Riverdale, IL

Here’s a photo of a diverse group representing Calvary Church (Orland Park), Living Springs Church (Glenwood) , Homewood Church (Homewood) and Trinity Lutheran Church (Evanston).  Also picture are the partner family (Drew and Jasmine along with some volunteers from their family).  This crew worked at two sites in Riverdale, Illinois --- a new construction project and a rehab.

Blitz Build Devotional (Day 7)

The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” He also tells us in Philippians 1:6 “for I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus”. This has been a week of doing good works. In advance of our arrival, God prepared all this for us to do. Hundreds of people were at work for months seeking God’s direction and vision for the projects in Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Mississippi, Costa Rica and beyond.

In your group today, spend some time talking about some of the highlights of this week for you. What are things that happened that you did not expect to take place? Was there a specific way that you saw God at work? Was there anything that you wish you had done that you did not do or were unable to do? Is there something that you wish could have happened that did not take place?

The 6th verse of the first chapter of Philippians declares with confidence that the God who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete that good work until the day of Christ Jesus. Did God start anything new in you? Have you had a new or renewed vision of serving the Lord, His church and His world? What did you see? What did God show you? This entire time God has not only been watching and blessing these projects; he has been setting in motion more good works for you to do, and he has been working to get your attention.

Respond:

How did you hear God this week?

In what ways could you continue your acts of service in deepening ways outside of this week?

What hurdles must you overcome in your every day routine to continue serving others on a regular basis as you did this week?

Pictures, Get Your Pictures Here

New Chicago photos HERE.

New Elgin photos HERE.

New St. Charles/Riverwoods photos HERE.

New Carpentersville photos HERE.

Celebrations in Mississippi

Here is our report from Mississippi from Sue Schuerr.

More pictures have been added to the photo album.  See them HERE.

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Greetings from Bay St. Louis.  Today was a day of celebration.  Again we woke up at 5 AM for a quick breakfast so we could be on the job by 6 AM.  Our hottest day was 108 and today was a balmy 97.  We worked like a productive bee hive---each having our own jobs.  Today Patty taught me how to put up trim and use a trim gun.  During the afternoon we all had paint brushes in our hands---some of the high school kids painted each other.  During break time we had watermelon spitting contests.  Patty was the winner.  When the house was completed we all broke out into dance---singing "Sweet Caroline".  Just like Miriam and David in the Bible we broke out into dance and  celebration--------the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.  This is a week we will never forget---we sweat together, sleep together, ate together and BUILT A HOUSE TOGETHER.  Thank you God for created so many beautiful children.  We have learned to love each other and may this message be a testimony to his glory.

Manual Labor Never Felt So Relaxing

This was the scene at Carpentersville during "Volunteer Appreciation Day." Nevertheless, progress was still made on the house.

A Little Chat With Miranda

From Alison in Mississippi

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One of my favorite parts of being on any Habitat for Humanity project is the chance to get to know the homeowners who will be living in the houses we build. This year's homeowner, Miranda, is no exception to this. So today I took a few moments with her to talk over some of her dreams, her family, and her involvement with Habitat. (Note: I'll be referring to Habitat for Humanity as "Habitat" for the rest of this post").

The first question I asked her was, "What statements do you live by?" as a kind of ice-breaker. She laughed and said that there really weren't any, since any time anyone asks her that question, she tends to forget some of the things she's heard and liked. We both laughed over this.

We moved on to who she's closest to, talking about her family. She mentioned her dad quite a bit, since her parents divorced when she was 7, and she has always been really close to her dad, Woody. She called her dad a big part of her support system, telling me that she had moved in with her dad at the age of 15. 

The next question was about life in Bay St. Louis. She didn't hesitate on the first part: her least favorite thing. She easily said "hurricane season", and we shared a good little chat about how nerve-racking it can be living so close to a coastline. When asked about her most favorite thing, she cited the friendliness of the people (and this is something I've seen; the people down here, by and large, treat you like family). She told me that she'd lived in Memphis for some time after the hurricane, and found it very similar in friendliness. 

She didn't find the same story in Austin, Texas, though. She said that the people there were very unfriendly, that if, for example, she'd say hi to someone she didn't know at the grocery store, the greeting wouldn't be returned, and she'd be looked at as if she were strange just for saying hello. 

We then turned to more Habitat-related matters: how she first heard about Habitat, and what she most enjoyed about her involvement.

She first heard about Habitat from a co-worker about a year ago. At the time, she lived about 40 minutes away from her job, in substandard conditions. Where she was living was not convenient to either her job or her family, so she applied to be a Habitat homeowner in January. She told me that she had been drawn into the Habitat project by hearing her co-worker's excitement in the updates she gave about the house that Habitat was building for her, and that was what compelled her to apply.

Secondly, she has also enjoyed the people involved with Habitat, both staff and volunteers. She told me that she considered what Habitat does to be an "amazing thing", and one that inspires her. She was clearly moved by the effort and good will that were going into her home, and grateful to us for what we were doing for her.

As our conversation started to wind down, we moved to what she was most looking forward to in her new home. She said that what she was most looking forward to having something to call her own, and know that she'd helped build it. She obviously took a great amount of pride in the work that she was doing, and appreciated the fact that the time she spent in doing the work was so meaningful for her. She said that she didn't really feel that when her dad built his home, and couldn't imagine hiring someone to build a home, since there's then no chance to make "your own mark" on your home.

Finally, we talked a little about her dreams. She told me that she was going to college in January, with a probable major in marketing. She'd been in the marketing club in high school and had done well in those classes and was looking forward to getting into it. We both joked around about how sometimes you think you're going to love something as a major and end up hating it, so she did offer a little room for her major to change. Her plans of going to college had to change after Katrina, she said, so this January will be her first chance to take classes.

She left me with a parting thought that had been one of her dad's favorite things to say: "You can never know too much; you can always know too little". Those wise words have helped me to reframe some of my understandings, and have reminded me that wisdom is found almost anywhere one seeks it. 

So there you have it. This was just a little of Miranda's story, written so you have an idea of who we're working with. Sitting down with her reminded me again that each home is connected to a person, a family, and a story. Hopefully getting her story out will help you understand a little more about what we're doing, and that ultimately, what we're doing is making a difference, and helping write beautiful chapters after the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. 

Blitz Build Devotional (Day 6)

Before things wrap up and before the tools are packed away and everyone heads home, there may be some things that you can do to continue the good work in which you have been involved. The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37 recounts the actions of a man who in a very practical way served the needs of a person in great need.

No doubt this week you have encountered a person in need. You may have come across it in the prayer requests mentioned at the morning gathering. It could be that your contact with someone in the neighborhood who is outside of your particular project has a need that keeps coming to mind. It is also likely that you have heard enough of the story of a person you have worked beside to be aware of a need that should get some attention. 

At the end of the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked the man listening to tell him which of the three people in the story acted as the neighbor to the man who was beaten. The man responded that it was the one who had shown mercy. Jesus told him to go and do the same.

Respond:

Take a moment and review in your mind the people who have been a part of your life while involved in Blitz Build. Of those people, which ones stand out as having a “need?”

As you think about those “needs,” what can be done about them? What can you do?

Can you tackle this need on your own? Is it something that would take the involve­ment of others? Who could you ask to help? What is God showing you to do?