Day 4

Day 4 is finished. It's hard to believe that we are at the half-way mark. You can see a slide show of the day by clicking on the photo above.

It was an incredible day. Some things have to be experienced in order to be understood. I think Eight Days of Hope is like that. It's hard to convey with words what this means to the home owners and volunteers. Words aren't adequate to express what goes on at the job site or around the dinner table.

I visited several work sites this morning. Kimberly Sanchez, a custom home builder from Virginia, had a team of 15 working on a home on 8th Street NW. Kimberly has been building homes since the 1990's. She describes that some people find their passion and for others, like her, their passion finds them! Kimberly's team has been working on electrical, plumbing, HVAC, painting, finish work around windows and doors, installed hard-wired smoke alarms through-out the house, and more. Kimberly and her team are doing an incredible job for this home owner!

I walked down the street two houses and got to see volunteers working on electrical and insulation. Regan Huckfelt was working on electrical in the kitchen. The team in this home was making great progress!

I stopped at the home where Mark Forstrom and Roger Overson are working on the SW side. This is a home that has been devastated by termites! This team has been working hard to restore and repair this home. Great job guys!

I stopped by another home that was abandoned on the SE side. A team is going to stop by tomorrow to board it up. What a bleak contrast to the homes that are being lovingly restored in other parts of the city.

My last stop took me to a house where the disabled home owner is living on the second floor, heating the home with a gas stove. New Covenant and Eight Days of Hope are installing a new gas furnace. The two volunteers say they hope to have it operational by tomorrow!

Over ten home owners joined us for dinner this evening. It's so fun hearing some of their stories, and seeing the joy on their faces. Penny from Palo said that they felt like a sinking ship, lost and forgotten. She thanked everyone for their help and encouragement.

Preston shared some stories about his cross-country bike ride to raise awareness and funds for Eight Days of Hope. And we finished the day with an inspirational time of worship. Steve Tybor shared his testimony about how Christ delivered him from a life of addiction. Thank you Jesus for your grace!