Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Disaster Relief Day 3: Jesus loves you down to your studs

We moved to a different house today. The lady who lives there had some family that had emptied most of her house and pulled down half the sheetrock . So we thought there was not much to do...in the beginning.  About 5 of us spent at least 2 hours just pulling nails.  That's 10 man hours just removing nails from studs.  Part of the group removed her crown molding so it can be reused.  So much of the time there's not much that can be saved but we try to help the homeowners when we can.  We spent a total of 8 hours working in this one house today. But now she's ready to rebuild. 

I have learned so much in just two days of working.  Like the best tool to remove a slew of nails is not always a hammer.  Mind blown.  I've learned how to remove sheetrock and feel a certain amount of success when it comes down in big sheets and not little clumps. I have never been very coordinated or strong but I try to take advice and be teachable. And that goes a long way.

The FEMA truck was working on the same street that we were on today.  It has one or two huge bins (depending on the truck) and a monster claw with an operator sitting on up by the bin so he can see what he is doing. We saw them fill 6 of these massive garbage trucks ( for lack of a better comparison) and they barely got 2 blocks done in 8 hours. So if you wonder why the cleanup effort lasts so long it's because the damage is so massive. Entire homes are on the side walk like junk. The claw picked up a couch in one load and dropped it right in. 

The last two days I have helped strip homes down to the studs. I have learned that if there is anything between the mold spray and the wood the spray won't work. The mold will continue to grow. We have found layers and layers of flooring in one house. When everything is stripped away we can see what a home is made of and the true extent of the damage. That's how God sees us.  He sees us down to the bare bones. He knows how deep the hurt and damage goes. He knows how many layers we have piled on top of the damage to try to cover it up. But He also knows that everything must be removed between Him and us. His love does that. His love puts all the damaged stuff on the sidewalk. Not so people can walk by and gawk but so it can be removed. Thrown as far as the east is from the west. If you have never experienced the saving power of Jesus please ask me about it. I will be glad to talk to you about my Jesus anytime. He wants to take all the broken, moldy, smelly things out of your life and build you up again, brand new. 

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