Staten Island Personal Experiences
Having the opportunity to share from the Word and to share some of my own story was very rewarding. I was blessed by the teens, their notes, comments and hugs. It is hard to put into words how you feel when you know that you are part of building the Kingdom. I praise the Lord for the privilege to serve Him and giving some hope to those whose homes we worked on.
During our week on Staten Island, we met Ms Chang, who lived next door to our project house. Our youth offered to dig up some trees in her yard that had been killed by the salt water in the flood. They dug up at least 8 trees and cleaned up her whole yard. Later, she told me her story. She got away from her home before the ocean came flooding in. The water rose to 14 feet high in her house – up into the second floor. Her car was swept away, rolled over and over in the water, ending up some distance from her home. The damage was severe, and while we were working on our project next door, her house was still being worked on too. I asked her about her relationship with God, and she said she was a Christian, but that her faith was weak. The house, she said, was not her biggest problem – her daughter was 23, but still a child, handicap and invalid. I felt so burdened for Ms Chang. Later, Kristina, the youth pastor from one of the youth groups came and prayed with her. Some of the teens also shared and prayed with her. It was such a moving experience. The boys from Connecticut did more for her than was even asked of them, sharing God’s love for her thru their helping hands. She thanked them and smiled. God is good!
