Steamboat Christian Center

After 15 hours of travel, we finally arrived around 7pm to a pizza dinner provided by the church. We got to meet a few members and Pastor Ken and Pastor Rini! 

We are excited for church and projects to start tomorrow. Pray for the rain to break during work times and for relationships to grow!

After getting some much-needed sleep after the long travel day we were able to go to the YMCA and get some showers.  When we returned to the church we were treated to a breakfast provided by our wonderful hosts. 

During breakfast, we got to fellowship with some members of the church and hear about the recovery efforts they are going through.  They were all so thankful that we made the trip down to assist them in their efforts! 

After breakfast, we worshiped alongside Cape Coral First and listened as Pastor Rini spoke about serving the city in which we live.  He encouraged us to be salt and light in the world no matter what our jobs are and to hold fast to our Christian convictions above all else. 

After church, we had lunch and then went out to serve at our first project sites.  Our group went to Wesley's house.  He had an oak tree come down in his backyard that destroyed his chainlink fence.  We were asked to rip out the fence and help clean up the yard.  Our group worked incredibly fast and we were able to remove all of the fence and leftover debris! Wesley was so appreciative! It was a beautiful example of the body of Christ coming together and serving one another! 

The other half of our group went to Dennis's house. He had a couple of large banyan trees in his backyard which had had many of their limbs twisted and splintered from the heavy winds.

Dennis asked us to help cut down the dead limbs so they would not pose a falling hazard. He also had many roof shingles which were blown off and strewn throughout the yard.

The group got to work quickly and tirelessly. They made quick work of the limbs and the pile of debris was huge! Best of all, they enjoyed the work! Each of them had a smile on their face as they took delight in serving the community. It was a beautiful example of the body of Christ coming together to help those in need!

Today part of our crew is helping to gut out a home on Fort Meyers Beach. There is a lot of devastation in this area, but the residents are hopeful and warm. We are grateful for their open arms and pray for a quick recovery!

Yesterday was a busy one! We split into three smaller teams and each went to a different service project. I had the privilege of taking a group to serve Ms. Ellen.

Ms. Ellen's house had flooded and when the waters receded, she was left with a layer of silt and mud throughout. The kids got to work right away, crawling on their hands and knees and scrubbing away! 

It was a lot of work, but they served with a smile and were happy to help. Ms. Ellen was so appreciative and loved having us there. Some of us even got the opportunity to talk with Ms. Ellen for a while and hear her story. She is an amazing woman.  Once the work was done, we were blessed to be able to pray for Ms. Ellen, a prayer led by the students! 

It was another great example of these students being willing to get down and dirty to help serve the community!

By the end of the day, most of our group ended up at Ms. W's house to help finish gutting it out. We worked hard, got sweaty and stinky, and then gathered super close for a group picture and prayer for Ms. W.