Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Week 3 Thoughts from Greg Raterman
I’ll remember this week forever and it’s not just the massive destruction that was seen but also the bonding of fellow Christians in a common effort to serve those desperately in need. Nobody turned down the offer to pray with them.
On one street hit hard in Slidell- Moonracker Drive which was the second street in from the beach, there was a “man of the world” (he admitted he lived a wild life) who was helping a neighbor clean out his house to the ceiling. It was a house our team showed up to help. His appearance was that of a pirate. We named him Dave The Pirate (we don’t know his last name).
He was a hard worker and as we worked side by side he asked our team that if we had time, the single mom next store could use some help. Later that afternoon we went over to tear out the drywall/installation/flooring to the 4’ level that remained to be done in her house. During the removal of the drywall we found termite damage in a small area. Dave came over and told Mary the owner that he would replace the studs for her. One of our team told Dave that if she ever had a disaster hit her neighborhood she hoped she had a neighbor like him around.
The next day the team again stopped by with bibles to present to the families with our names signed in the front. When we gave Dave his bible addressed to “Dave The Pirate” he almost started to cry. It is our hope that God used us to touch this man’s heart and everybody else we came in contact with while in the area.
Greg
On one street hit hard in Slidell- Moonracker Drive which was the second street in from the beach, there was a “man of the world” (he admitted he lived a wild life) who was helping a neighbor clean out his house to the ceiling. It was a house our team showed up to help. His appearance was that of a pirate. We named him Dave The Pirate (we don’t know his last name).
He was a hard worker and as we worked side by side he asked our team that if we had time, the single mom next store could use some help. Later that afternoon we went over to tear out the drywall/installation/flooring to the 4’ level that remained to be done in her house. During the removal of the drywall we found termite damage in a small area. Dave came over and told Mary the owner that he would replace the studs for her. One of our team told Dave that if she ever had a disaster hit her neighborhood she hoped she had a neighbor like him around.
The next day the team again stopped by with bibles to present to the families with our names signed in the front. When we gave Dave his bible addressed to “Dave The Pirate” he almost started to cry. It is our hope that God used us to touch this man’s heart and everybody else we came in contact with while in the area.
Greg