The Adventure

     Tomorrow is the first day of Salkehatchie Huntersville 2012.  The tools are organized, the 2 garages are cleaned and the air mattress is packed.  While I'm sad that we can't include Betty's house in the homes we work on this week, I know that God has plan and His time is the perfect time.  Since it was Salkehatchie that. brought Betty into our lives, I think it is a appropriate to share a little about what is so special about camp.

     Salkehatchie is my favorite week of the year, hands down.  It is the week when I laugh more, cry more and sweat more than any other time of the year.  The youth and adults that I know from camp are my family, closer than siblings.  (I seem to have more than my share of crazy cousins!)  It is also the week when I feel like God is right there beside me, holding me, crying with me and cheering me on.  He is there in the worship, in the work and mostly in the relationships. 
     A few years ago,while working on a home, I learned an important lesson about God's work.  It was one of those projects when everything seemed to go wrong.  We expect to run into road blocks on a Salkehatchie site.  Termites, broken sewage lines, leaks and stepping through a roof are part of a normal week's work.  That particular week was not normal.  Our homeowner, Joan, was a particularly Godly woman.  When she saw my distress, she took me aside, hugged me and said, "You know that you are doing God's work, otherwise the Devil wouldn't be so offended."  Wow!  I think of that lesson often when things get difficult.  God uses our struggles to draw us closer.
     I have been told that I can be intimidating, especially during Salkehatchie week.  Although we talk about "getting finished" with the homes, in reality, it is not about finishing.  The homes we work on are never really finished.  The fellowship is in the struggle and I expect a lot from the kids I work with, from the other adults as well as from myself.  Put simply, it is the week when we are called on to put the world aside and give 100% to God.  To come to Salkehatchie and not give everything is cheating yourself out of being fully present with God.
     When we help on a home, the way I see it, we are working alongside The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost.  When we worship together, show love to one another and praise His name; God, the Father is there with us.  When we show our homeowners unconditional love; the Holy Ghost is there.  When we work on the homes and show the physical manifestation of love; Jesus is there with us. 
     So tomorrow we begin the adventure.  Walking with God is many things, above all it is always an adventure.

A Moment of Grace

     As a mother, one of the hardest and most repeated lessons is that the work is never done. There are short moments when the laundry is all done, the floors are mopped, the kitchen is clean and the mess is put away.  But we know…It’s coming back!  It is so hard to accept that tiny sliver of time for what it is.  A moment of Grace. 

     As Christians we have much the same problem.  We travel to Africa to clean wells for a village and find that a year later the villagers have allowed those wells to return to their former foul state.  We repair a home for a family and years later the homeowner has allowed the home to return to disrepair.  It is so easy to get frustrated and feel that even with God’s help, even with the very best of intentions nothing we do makes a difference in the long run.  But it does!

     It is hard to remember that the physical work we do here is temporary.  It may last a few days, a few weeks or a few years.  Sometimes it may last for generations, but ultimately, it is temporary.  What we can do that makes a difference, a real, permanent difference is to touch another person’s heart.  Be, for them, God’s love. 

As we embark on building Betty a home that we hope to last many, many years; I pray that this group does not forget the real purpose and goal that is before us.  Betty needs a home in which to live, but she, like all of us, needs to see God’s love in action and feel surrounded by His love, His people.  One of the great joys of working on Betty’s home is watching the community gather to show love.  Churches from several denominations, Habitat for Humanity, Davidson College Alumni and Davidson City Hall, are all working together for a common cause.  It is a beautiful thing.

Habitat Home similar to what we are proposing for Betty.

The committee to build Betty’s home met again on Tuesday to discuss fundraising.  We need to raise about $65,000 to fund the building of Betty’s home.  $32,500 must be raised and the pledges available for the remainder before we can begin.  It sounds overwhelming to those of us who have worked on Salkehatchie shoestring budgets for many years.

But, clearly God has a plan with this house.  So, in the next few weeks, letters will be written, signs will be designed and videos made.  Betty will see a couple of Habitat homes that will let her experience what she can expect to see in her new home.  Plans will be made for bake sales and car washes, BBQ pits scheduled, and most importantly, prayers will be said and answered.  As we all move together and watch expectantly to experience a moment of Grace, please continue to keep Betty in your prayers.