A Little Blurb From Each Of Us

Today (this was actually written LATE last night) was our final day on our two worksites, and although we haven’t yet had our final debrief about the full effects of this trip on our personal journeys, the experience has been incredible.  God has revealed Himself in some amazing ways, spoken things to us we did not expect but we welcomed, and the memories created will forever go down in our histories as some of our best moments with Jesus.

We wanted to give you a quick snapshot from each person on our team.  So enjoy the updates, and this will be our final entry before we fly home tomorrow.  And yes, even though we won’t get into Mechanicsburg until after midnight, we WILL be at Daybreak on Sunday morning.

Thank you ALL for your prayers this week.  We never could have done this without you.

From Mark: What an incredible week! The people of the Gulf region have an incredible spirit and perseverance and it was a remarkable privilege to spend the last several days serving and interacting with these great folks. We had the pleasure of building homes with the dedicated and inspiring people of Habitat for Humanity and found out very quickly that we were not simply building homes, we were building hope within the community. I am amazed by the number of people who have expressed their sincere gratitude for the small part we have played in the continuing massive renovation process. Although the time has gone by very quickly and I love the Daybreak Biloxi team (the Mighty 11)I miss my family greatly and look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Love you, Lu, Alex, Todd, Kara and yes…you too Nala, our cat! See you tomorrow!

From Jeff B.: Katrina still leaves her mark these many years later – physically, economically, emotionally. Not sure what I was in for when I signed up, but I hoped my work might help someone. In the end, I am leaving with far more than I contributed to the Gulf Coast. God spoke to each of us in some way. Our team was a joy. Hi love….I miss you, and can’t wait to see you tomorrow!          

From Mel:  This team has knocked my socks off!!!  God has spoken to us individually and as a team, and the moments where I’ve thought to myself, “I love my job, I love my job” have been endless.  Highlights for me included relationships with the Habitat staff, a great connection with home owners, a killer team co-leader, personal time with God, all the laughter, and deep, life-changing conversations with my teammates.  Thank you BFF’s & prayer partners for all of your prayers – they were felt a lot!  Family, my neck is feeling great and I haven’t had any trouble with it all week.  Deb, this trip was only made possible because of you… seriously.  Scott Kaplin, I could not have imagined this trip without your incredible wife – thank you for everything and for allowing me to share this week with her.  John, I can’t wait to share everything I’ve learned this week with you – I miss you and love!!!

From Andy: Real quick, if you need any sanding done just give me a ring. Me and the electric sander have become best buds. Seriously, I was looking forward to helping build a house this week. I had no idea God was going to teach me about what true serving looks like. Hint, hint, building the house is just the vehicle. What I learned from my teammates this week peeled back another layer of my soul, and I will always be grateful for their trust and friendship. It was awesome to show the image of Jesus to others, and see his image in others. A guy name Slim rocked my world. I will never forget him as long as I live. Maureen, I Love You and will never be able to re-pay your prodding for me to take this trip. Kaci, your journal was inspiring. Rock Star!!! Brendan, I missed seeing you after school each day. All my prayer partners, I felt your strength all week. I can’t wait to get home to share some of my experiences with all of you!

From Jason:  What an experience! This has easily been one of the most positive and powerful experiences of my life. In addition to helping to rehabilitate a house by operating seven different types of power tools and at least a dozen hand tools in order to demo a few walls, build an interior posts, and hang soffit, I had the opportunity to do so much more. I had the pleasure of serving alongside my team members throughout the week to give hope, and show Christ’s love to the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I look forward to returning home to share my experiences with family and friends and hope to continue some of the great things we experienced this week, including peacefulness, prayer, deeper conversations, and stronger relationships.

From Alicia:  This has been an absolutely amazing week filled with so many blessings.  In addition to operating some power tools, going under the house (again!), getting up on some scaffolding and doing whatever else was needed, I grew closer to each person on our team and grew in my relationship with Jesus Christ.  Interacting with the Habitat site crew, Brad and Paul, was awesome.  We also got to spend some time with Mark, the Habitat site manager we worked with when I came with the 2010 team.  Each person we encountered showed us so much love and grace.  And it was such a blessing getting to share this experience with Jason.  Our marriage has grown stronger because of this trip.  While here, we have done so much more than help build a house; we built life-long relationships.  To all my friends and family, please know that I love and miss you and I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.  Dad – I miss you!  And give Emmitt a big hug from us!

From Matt: This has been a truly blessed week. We came here to be a blessing to others and come away feeling we were the ones blessed. I met several wonderful and spiritually mature young men. Brad, our site leader, and Paul, his assistant, they are true servants and have a deep, deep faith. We heard a testimony from Mark, who was our site leader on my last trip, WOW! It was amazing. I felt as if God was speaking to Lesa and I directly through him. There were many more moments to share, when we get back. I missed you Abi, Joey and Noah, see ya soon.   

From Lesa:  Wow!  I just have no idea where to start.  I have had an amazing week and have once again been blown away by how awesome my God is.  I came here to build houses and spend some time with Matt and ended up with something else entirely. Matt and I served at separate sites and I did VERY little actual building (9 pieces of soffit in 3 days is less than impressive!)  But God’s plans are ALWAYS better than my plans and I have been overwhelmingly blessed by this trip and my precious teammates.  And to think this trip was not my first choice!!!!!  Melissa and Wally, thank you so much for sacrificing your convenience to make this trip possible for Matt and I.  You are such a blessing to me and I am so glad I count you as friends.  Thank you JR for STAYING WHERE YOU BELONG!!!  Abi, Joey and Noah, I miss you all and love you so much.  I can’t wait to come home and be with you again.  And yes, Momma and Daddy have surprises for you!!  See your really soon!!

From Jeff G.:  A truly amazing week!  I spent most of the week on scaffolding and ladders doing some hard but rewarding work.  I am just amazed at the spirit of the people in this region.  They are so gracious and inviting.  Everywhere we went, we were blown away at the gratitude they showed us for just being here.  It was my honor to serve them humbly.  God has done so much here and I am blessed to be a small part of it.  I came here as one of eleven on this team but I am going home with relationships that have bonds that will never be broken.  A ton of laughs, tears, phrases, and stories have made this one special week.  Thanks to everyone who provided support to me.  It was evident.  Most importantly, thanks to my best friend for giving me letters to start each day.  I love you so much Jan and cannot wait to see you tomorrow night and share this experience with you.

                          

From Beth: This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life! I am just amazed by our God. He has demonstrated over and over again this week what a good God He is and that He has a plan for each of us…AND IT IS GOOD! The people on this team are amazing, the people at Habitat are amazing and the people at AmeriCore are amazing. I am truly blessed! Cameron & Emily I love you more than cheesecake! Miss you!  Can’t wait to see you and tell you all about this experience.

From Robin:  In reflecting on my experience here in Biloxi, I was reminded earlier today that I was a “last minute addition” to this team.  I have had a fantastic week with the team and I am so glad I said “YES” to come down and join God in His work here in Mississippi.  This week has been another life-changing experience for me. I had an incredible opportunity to lead part of our team on one work site, while Mel led the rest of the team at a second work site…we saw God show up in incredible ways and I find myself, once again, in awe of God’s faithfulness and goodness in my life.  I, too, learned how to use many different power tools this week, engaged in some serious demo, learned how to hang soffit, got to suit up in a Hazmat suit, ate some yummy BBQ at the infamous SHED and had many incredible moments of relationship-building with our site crew and teammates.  God is clearly at work here in the Gulf and He showed His favor on us as a team as we made ourselves available to be used by Him.  Of course, I am excited to return home to see my family…Alexia and Megan…I will be home soon (and I am bringing home a little surprise for each of you).  Babe, THANK YOU for your support…it means the world to me.  I Love You and will see you soon!! 

We'll be at BWI tonight at 9:45 PM.  Probably won't get back to Daybreak until after midnight, maybe 12:30 PMish.  If anyone is waiting for us and wants to know exactly when we'll arrive, call my or Robin's cell phone.