Beautiful Sorrow

Every year we have volunteers come down to help us with our workload through project Barnabus. These people are a huge blessing to us, and since I started working here there has been one that comes every year once in the spring and once in the summer. His name is Keith Bird. I would like to relay to you an experience God blessed him with while here.

Keith loves to work with brand new groups. He delights in being able to share the knowledge he has learned over the years, and most groups are delighted to have such help. This year the Sigma Phi lambda Sorority from Waco, Texas came to build a home and he was fortunate enough to be assigned to this group.

The group worked the first day on the foundation and a few walls. That night mother of the woman of the house passed away.

As Keith and his group returned the next day they learned of the occurrence, and were unsure of how to proceed. I had never had anything like this happen before either, so they decided to finish the construction of the walls away from the site and stand walls the following day.

Somewhere in the course of the day Keith thought that it might be nice to have a Spanish-speaking pastor visit with the family and allow the group to show their concern for the family. As it so happened there was just such a pastor in another group the he was assigned to.

The family had cleared a room in their small pallet shack and the brand new shiny coffin seemed so out of place in that small run down room. They left the coffin open and explained to the group that she so wanted to see the new house and so the coffin stayed open. The pastor came and related the condolences of the group to the family. He gave a small service and sang some songs and played his guitar.

As Keith told me this story he choked back the tears as he recounted how beautiful the service was. He told me that one gentleman in the family accepted Christ as his savior. I was also fighting back the tears just hearing the story.

The family was gone, busy with all the arraignments and burial, the rest of the time their new home was being constructed. It was so wonderful to see the extra care that went into this house. There was not big presentation to the family. The group left quietly leaving the keys with the neighbor. But in my heart I know the family can see how much the group cared for them. It showed in their work.

Keith told me it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in the five years he has been coming to serve. I am so blessed to know these people.

Thank you God.