Hello friends and family,

We got to work alongside Samaritan's Purse and Billy Graham's Rapid Response Team to help flood victims in Jackson, Kentucky the past 2 weeks.

We had the opportunity of helping people gut out their homes with all of their muddy, moldy, and wet belongings still in it. I will share a before and after video of one of the houses below to give you an idea of what gutting out the house looked like. 

Although this was fun at times, it was hard work. We were trained to keep in mind that the homeowner was the #1 priority no matter what. So if that means we sit there and talk to the homeowner all day, we do that. I did not connect with all the homeowners but I did get to connect with this one person. His name was Guy and as soon as I hopped out of the van to meet him he said, “oh hey it’s Hollywood!” (now it’s one of my nicknames). Guy was easy and enjoyable to talk to, making him the highlight of my 2 weeks. 

His story was disheartening. He has served 26 years in the army and did tours in Iraq having some of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. He was the person that tells soldiers where to be and when. Unfortunately, not every soldier can make it back home making it difficult for him to say it wasn’t his fault. He said, “How am I supposed to believe it wasn’t my fault? If I had just put them somewhere else or timed it better, they might still be alive.” That hit me. 

Guy went into more of his family life and explained how his children won’t talk to him but since the flood, his son came back to move in with him because he had nowhere else to go. He expressed how it’s hard to help his son get back on his feet again because he is afraid of him leaving again. Again, that hit me but definitely made me more grateful for the love and grace of my family. 

He wore a cross necklace making it easy to open the conversation. It was eye opening to me how strong his faith in Jesus is considering his circumstances. This makes me reflect on my own faith in Christ and how easily it can be shaken in rough times. 

At the end of each of the houses, we get to give the homeowner a Billy Graham Bible signed by all of us. Although I did not relate with Guy in so many ways, he expressed later how much he loved talking with me before I had to go. He said, “Hollywood, I enjoyed talking with ya. Not that I didn’t enjoy talkin to the rest of your team, it’s just you were my favorite.” We chuckled but I was filled with joy being able to love on someone through simply having conversation. 

We had about 15 salvations in the 2 weeks which was an amazing statistic to hear. But, leaving with stuff still in trees and broken homes was difficult; it is crazy to think how much work was done but how much work still needed to be done. As I reflected, I came to realize it’s not about the progress of the houses or the buildings. It’s about the people we gave purpose, love and joy to through Jesus Christ. 

These two weeks were a bit heavy on the heart, but very needed. One of my teammates was having a difficult time and said with tears in her eyes, “I know God said he would never flood the world again but these peoples' worlds are being flooded, how is this fair?” Our squad mentor Luis responded with a question, “Do you think it’s worth it for these people to hear the gospel from us and possibly hear about Christ for the first time even if it means the world they know is destroyed?” I thought that was one of the best responses to why bad things happen in the world. God turns what the enemy meant for evil for good.

As I am posting this, I am in the airport getting ready to leave for Nicaragua. Please be praying for my team and I as we leave the country and serve globally! 

Thank you all for your love and support! If you have any comments or questions, please drop them below. :)

-Gabe