Not So Extreme Makeover: Community Edition (Archive)

Now that X-week and come and gone, I’d like to share my view of this project.

From the time I got involved in this project, back in mid-January, up until X-week began, my view of this project had been different from most. I was concentrating on the process – how are we going to do what we need to do, and how could an automated information system make that process easier? As X-week approached, I watched the numbers grow – from 32 families, to 40, to 48, to 51; and from 200 volunteers, up through 650+. My view of the project, for lack of a better description, was all about the numbers. How many hits are we getting on the website? How many volunteers to do we have? How many people are there who signed up for [x] and [y] and aren’t yet on a Go Team? Necessary questions, certainly, but a little dry.

Then X-week arrived, and my website and database work was pretty much complete. This allowed me to begin working on one of the houses that our Go Team had been assigned. It needed a lot of work, but as just a few of us began working, we could see things starting to change. By the time Friday arrived, it was really looking different – the inside was cleared out, ready to clean and paint, broken windows had been replaced, and plumbing had mostly been repaired. Our homeowner had become ill, and some of his family had come in town. Our ministry was expanding.

Saturday arrived, and by 10:30am, we had a swarm of people at our house. The back yard was getting emptied quickly, people were scrubbing walls to prepare them for paint, and others were patching up broken stucco. Doors were replaced, paint was going on the walls – it was an absolutely amazing thing to see. But what was even more amazing was the fact that no one seemed to be struggling with the work – everyone was smiling, fellowshipping, and getting it done. By noon, there were people from the neighborhood who came up, asked what we were doing, and joined in with us. Our ministry was expanding even more.

Sadly, on Sunday, the owner of this home went to his Heavenly home. However, we have learned that his home will be used by Joshua’s Vineyard to house unwed mothers while they get back on their feet. What an amazing transformation! We started with number. We shifted to a ministry of helping one man be comfortable. It grew to a witness in the neighborhood. Now, this home that we worked on will be used to help who-knows-how-many people in the future!

To God be the glory – great things He has done!