The YOM's (Youth of Messiah) are NOW in Houston (from June 17 through June 23)

Greetings From All Of Us In Houston, Texas!!

You can read what we were up to each day below, but click our link to view our Google Photo Album here: Click Here For Our Photo Album

Sorry we are behind on our emails. We are staying south of Houston and the area is a bit rural. The WiFi here on the Farm is a bit spotty at best. The man hosting us at his farm, Kim, owns a large plot of land with homes for several of his family members. Our group is staying in a large metal barn (it's a lot nicer than it sounds). The structure is air conditioned with a kitchen, rec area, and sleeping quarters for about 130 of us here. We have several work crews at different locations throughout the area. Most of us are constructing new homes for people within the community. The houses are being built in the same location as former homes that were damaged, torn down and removed. The homes which were lost were damaged by the hurricane way back in September 2017 and were just finally removed in March through April of 2018. These individuals have not been in their own homes since the time of the storm.

Day 1 of working in Houston! On Monday we traveled to a neighboring community to continue construction on a few new homes. Most of the day we worked at Paula's new home. Paula lost her house in the hurricane last September and has had temporary housing. Builders without Borders is constructing a new home for her at the location of her house that was destroyed. Despite a few downpours we have insulted the entire house and began installing the ceiling inside the home. It's muddy, humid, and dirty but our teens aren't discouraged from putting everything they have into this project. Please continue to pray for us and keep sending your encouraging messages!

Day 2 of our Houston Trip! Our kids were working hard again through rain, heat and humidity. YOM, a local contractor, was on site to provide a bit of guidance and lend his expertise. The best part was that I (Dave) didn't have to do all of the cutting! Seriously though we had our kids learning a lot of new skills from measuring for outlets and light fixtures, using the circular saw and jig saw, as well as securing walls and ceilings with the nail guns. The Alvin Lutheran Church opened up their doors for about 130 crazy teenagers, providing us dinner and an evening worship service. We wrapped up the day with our Messiah group by praying and reflecting on our day.

We'll keep you up to date on the rest of our days!

- Dave, Cheryl and Heather