We first heard about Both Hands Projects (partnered with Lifesong For Orphans) last November and knew beyond a doubt that God was calling us to do one of these projects. It seemed like an overwhelming and daunting task, but just like with our adoption, we knew that if God was calling us to do it, He would provide the means and show us the way. When God creates a need, He satisfies it.
Both Hands Foundation was founded on the verse James 1:27--"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for the orphans and widows in their distress." The projects provide a means to fund raise for the adoption by blessing a widow through home improvement projects. One hand is for the widow, one hand is for the orphan...and BOTH hands get good and dirty while working hard for a day.
All projects begin with an adoptive family...Us. We locate a widow in need. We walk through her house and yard to determine the scope of work. We form a group of workers and people who are willing to send out letters for sponsorship. The sponsorship works like a 5K race or golf charity event. The only difference is that instead of asking people to sponsor us while we play, we are asking people to sponsor us while we work on a widow's home. All money donated through sponsorship goes directly into the adoption fund which puts two orphans into a forever family. All supplies are donated by local merchants. The team works on the widow's house for a day to fix things that she would not otherwise be able to do. The widow is served, the orphans are brought one step closer to home, and the volunteers are blessed by giving their lives away for a day. It's a beautiful thing!
We have been praying for God to lead us to the right widow since February...the one that we can have the most significant impact on both physically (her house), spiritually, and emotionally. We have encountered a few closed doors, but discovered House of Heroes along the way. House of Heroes is located here in Columbus, GA, and their mission is to honor and thank veterans for their faithful and sacrificial service to our country by doing home improvement projects and repairs to their homes. When we approached them, they were thrilled to hear about our adoption and Both Hands Foundation and told us they had house files for many local widows! We looked through several folders, but were drawn to one special lady, Mrs. Collins. The day that Jeff had contacted House of Heroes, a local church had also contacted them. They had a widow in their church who was in desperate need of help on her home, but the project involved much more than their small church could handle. They wondered if House of Heroes knew of a crew that would be willing to take on Mrs. Collins' house. That would be us! For the first time ever, Both Hands will be partnering with House of Heroes!
On Friday, we met Mrs. Collins for the first time. Two other men from our church care group who have expertise in the construction industry and a heart for being the hands and feet of Jesus joined us as we toured and inspected Mrs. Collins' home to determine the scope of work. Her house is in desperate need of repair, and I mean desperate. We also sat down with her to find out about her life. Her husband, a military veteran of 21 years, just passed away seven weeks ago. I know she is grieving and lonely. I am beyond honored that God has chosen us to improve her living conditions and to pour some love into her heart. She showed us a paper which states the military awards that he had received throughout his career, and proudly showed off a photo of him in his decorated dress uniform in front of the American flag. We found out that his birthday was December 27, 1944...which is the same date that our children were placed in the orphanage in lnd!a on December 27, 2004...60 years later. I just love how God interweaves the lives of people together to create a story so beautiful, intricate, and amazing that man could not make it up. It's all for His Glory, and it's awesome to see it all unfold!
The next few weeks will be busy and exciting as we plan our project and watch it come to fruition. Our official work date is September 29, 2012! More details to follow...
To watch an awesome video from the founder of Both Hands telling about the inspiration behind the project and how it works, click here.
The Veteran...
The Widow's House
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