Leader Stories - Jerry M

Here we are at the end of day two in New Orleans and as to be expected, reality is setting in. Some of our preconceived notions are being realized, while others have been firmly dashed. My family group of seven has been part of a large, on-going project to gut and clear out a good sized nursing home (25,000 square feet) which was flooded with five feet of water during the storm. Imagine having to remove everything from a fully functional nursing home: beds, clothes, walls, studs, ceiling tiles, furniture, light fixtures, the kitchen sink, everything --soaked with flood water, then sitting for two years, in a closed building. For the past few months, over 400 believing volunteers have been sent by the Berean Bible Church to work at the task. We have been involved in the final part of this cleanup. Over sixty truck size dumpsters of “stuff” have already lovingly knocked loose, carried to the nearest door or window, and tossed outside.

So, how do we see God working in all this? Several ways come to mind so far. First is the construction boss, a young man assigned by the building manager to oversee the gutting of the building and clearing of all the debris. As far as we know, he is (not yet) a believer. We talked with him several times at the job site and by the look on his face I get the sense that he just can’t quite believe what is clearly happening right in front of his eyes. Sixty plus dumpster loads of foul, rotten, smelly, cockroach infested debris have been handled and removed from this building by all ages of people who traveled from all over the country and paid their own way for the privilege. The reason he hears from each of these diverse groups is that they just want to help out and they love Jesus. His eyes get wide when he talks about how far groups of workers have traveled and how in spite of the dangerous work, there have been no significant injuries to any of the volunteers. Could God be working on his heart? We sure think so. For the parents of the students, you can be proud of the way your sons and daughters have represented Highlands and our Lord. They have worked hard, conducted themselves well, and been a joy for us as leaders to work with. We are really looking forward to the days to come.