On Friday, I received word from the Tennessee Conference Disaster Coordinator, that our team had been reassigned to Dickson, Tennessee. Dickson of a town of just over 19,000 people 40 miles west of Nashville. Our team is staying at First United Methodist Church in Dickson, in the "Church Hospitality House. This year for the first time, many groups in the town are providing for us. Last night First UMC fed us supper, and tonight the local Rotary Club provided us with a BBQ feast. Every night a different group from this town is providing us with a meal. Yet the real blessing is in the ministry that is taking place here.
Each day, the fifteen of us split up into two groups. One group is working on a house that received three feet of water in the basement, which contained the kitchen and a living area. We are tearing out and reinstalling insulation, sheet rock, and a bathroom at this house. This lady works at a Psychiatric Hospital, and has provided lunch for our group each day. The Red Cross, and the Tennessee Conference are helping her with the cost of materials.
The second group is working on the home of a family of nine. Yes I said a family of nine. This family lost everything in the flood. Amazingly, this same family had lost everything a few years before to a tornado. They received some money from FEMA, that they had used to purchase a lot on higher ground. Someone had then given them a 1970 model two bedroom mobile home. The father who is legally blind has taken the trailer and built around it, in an attempt to provide room for his large family.
This family is in such need, their cabinets are empty, their living room is bare, and their children do not have beds. All the appliances in their trailer are original equipment from 1970, and show their age. The father apologized, when we purchased a $48.00 breaker box for him. He does not know that by the end of the week we plan to provide the children with beds, and possibly new appliances for their kitchen.
We welcome your continued prayers, and praise the Lord for the chance to serve Him in Tennessee.
Blessings, Charles Schooler, Salem UMC
Evington, VA.
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