Category: Rebuilding

On December 8-9, a group of 30 young people and adults from Austin and San Antonio traveled to Refugio to assist with a Rebuild Project in response to Hurricane Harvey that had devastated several areas in Texas last year. Under the leadership of Marshall Gonzales, Texas ACS Director, they had planned on repairing eleven houses. However, due to the rains on Saturday, they mainly focused on those that needed interior work. The Team ended up working on four houses and the Community Center in Bayside.

In the first house, they painted a room and made a frame for a window. They also made a step for the resident and replaced the soffit outside on Sunday. For the second house, our Disaster Response Team drywalled a room after which they did the tape and float. The next house had two rooms and the bathroom cleaned by fumigation. It was in very bad condition. While the young people were cleaning, roaches would fall on them, but they just kept on working until they got it all done. For the last house, they drywalled the living room, ceiling, two bedrooms, and two closets. The homeowners were extremely happy and grateful with all that was done to their homes. One owner was so overwhelmed with emotions that he said it gave him hope.

Since Sunday was a very sunny day, they painted the exterior walls of the Community Center of the city of Bayside. They bought the material there in Refugio, and the workers of the building supply company was so thankful that the materials were purchased there and not brought in from somewhere else. They were also very appreciative of our Team for their services to the affected community.

Marshall Gonzales said, “I was glad to see the young people who came out to help. We specifically are targeting Master Guides and young adults to help in the recovery work.” He added, “We look forward to doing more projects in Refugio.” Besides Austin and San Antonio, youth from the Dallas, Houston, and Valley areas will also be participating in the Rebuild work.

A group of eleven missionary students from Michigan State University – CAMPUS ministries made the most of their spring break by volunteering their time and services towards the Rebuild Project in Houston, Texas. On March 1, Thursday, they took off for their week-long mission trip. Going into the trip, they were not entirely sure what to expect and what was expected of them, However, the students reported that the whole experience turned out to be a beautiful blessing for all of them.

The students worked in a Buddhist community called Rosharon, that was severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey. A lot of the people were either from Cambodia or Laos and they didn’t have any flood insurance. Their homes and property were completely destroyed. Some of them were living in wood sheds covered with tarp. Nevertheless, the students praised and thanked God for sparing their lives and for sending numerous people there to help rebuild homes in the community.

The student missionaries were able to stay onsite right in the community. Several families had agreed to open up their homes for the year to accommodate volunteers, missionaries, and humanitarian aid workers who would be providing assistance with hurricane relief in the community. Some of the tasks the students undertook were tearing down old houses in order to build new ones, painting, remodeling, driving the skid steer, cleaning out homes, and picking up garbage. In addition, they had the privilege of meeting the beautiful residents of the community who were grateful and appreciative of their services. The students not only showed their love and compassion to them, but also to their precious animals.

The students also enjoyed working in partnership with other groups and relief organizations. Most of the people who were there to help in this area were Christians, so it was a blessing for them to be able to meet other believers, and see how God is also using them to reach the people in the community of Rosharon. “It was a week filled with very dirty work and little running water, but I saw God’s goodness throughout it all, and it was an experience I’ll never forget,” said Chris Matts, one of the student missionaries. He added, “Pray for those in our world that are in need of the things that we so often take for granted. It was truly an eye opening experience to see that you don’t have to travel outside of our country to help those who are in need. It was an incredible trip that opened our eyes to the humility and love of Jesus, the spiritual battle that we’re in, our own desperate need for Christ, and it showed us that God can still use us just as the broken vessels we are to do His work.”

Click here to see photos from their mission trip.