
His employer decided to move manufacturing operations overseas. He got his unemployment checks while he diligently looked for work but nothing was offered. Then the toilet fell through the bathroom floor. He tried to fix it himself but found that termites had caused the floor to become unsafe. What can he do?
“Insurance,” you say?
Don’t count on it! Those problems are generally
not covered on a homeowner’s policy. He could dip
into his savings but his family has been living
payday-to-payday for years. Unemployment compensation
is good but not nearly enough. He had already emptied
the kid’s piggy-banks for milk money. The equity
in his house is his only savings. A second mortgage is
hard to find when he has no income. The house will have to wait
and he will just have endure it the best he can.
Fortunately, there is a ministry in Henderson NC that offers hope to
struggling homeowners.
Randolph Wilson took a major step of
faith when he resigned from his regular (paying) job as
a contractor to begin Rebuilding Hope,
a construction ministry serving homeowners like our
hypothetical fellow above.
Randolph has spent most of
his working life in construction and has served as the
Cullom Baptist Association Brotherhood director for
several years. After invested much of his time
rebuilding storm-damaged homes in Mississippi, he was
inspired to do the same thing in and around
Henderson.
Henderson has seen more than a fair
share of economic and social misfortune
recently. Textiles and tobacco were the
bread-and-butter here for over a century. The textile
industry has either moved overseas or folded up shop.
Tobacco is way out of favor and only a few farms remain
that produce it in large amounts. So many Henderson
people must now travel to jobs in Raleigh or
Durham.
Then the oil prices made that daily commute even more
expensive, along with everything that depends on oil (which is just
about everything). A lot of people are struggling as a
result. Some of them have lost those scarce jobs and
face exactly the situation described previously.
If you are looking for a Christian ministry to support that does something meaningful in the lives of folks who really need a hand up, Rebuilding Hope is a good first choice. Rebuilding Hope needs volunteers as well as funding, materials and supplies. There’s a place for you to minister here!
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Matthew 25:34-40