Witness the power of faith in action. Read Doug and Ian’s final reflections on an IMPACT trip where they gave new life to salvaged materials and met Pastor Knowles, whose faith became stronger than cement after Hurricane Dorian.
After a sluggish wakeup and hearty breakfast, the men headed to a farm where they built farrowing sheds and chicken coops. The women stayed behind and organized some stuff at the camp, cleaned up the common room and dorms, and made sure everything was alright for the next team coming. The ladies did an amazing job keeping things in tip-top shape.
The building of the farrowing sheds and the chicken coops brought some life lessons. The building materials used for the projects were cast-off shipping crates. These are crates that we in the States burn, grind up, or use to make crafts. We would consider them garbage.
This is similar to us in our sinful state, really messed up and seemingly not useful to God. But God, in His mercy, picks us up and chooses to use us in His work. So just as the old pallets seemed useless, they were used for good.
Our next stop was at the house rebuilding of Pastor Knowles’ place. Pastor Knowles had a mission field teaching agriculture to school kids. They would come to his house and farm to see animals and learn about growing trees and plants. He spent 17 years building this educational facility on his property (including a stone wall that took 3 years to build). Hurricane Dorian came and wiped everything away. He essentially lived a Job-like life and has come through on the other side even more confident than ever of God’s working.
He is determined to rebuild his agricultural endeavors. The brick wall is still standing. The water from Dorian made the limestone more like cement so it became stronger by being through the storm. His story is truly one where he could not understand what God was doing. What he did know is that God is faithful and he gave many moving examples of that. He speaks freely of how amazing our God is to us. Very much like Job.
– Doug and Ian
