Hurricane Harvey Response: The Gracious Help God Has Sent Our Way

December 2018 Dear Friends,​As I (Kindra) walk down our deserted street at night, I can’t help but feel sadness over the loss to our neighborhood from Harvey. The empty houses with new piles of debris and neglected yards are a stark contrast to last year. Instead of Christmas lights and lighted trees in the front windows, there is emptiness. As I write, only one house on our street, besides us, has any sign that it is the Christmas season. When I commented on their adherence to their usual Christmas display in the midst of this disaster, the owner said,” Jesus was still born.”But during the daylight hours, there is a buzz of activity with numerous construction workers busily repairing houses. Unlike most of our neighbors, we have been very blessed to stay in the upstairs of our house while we rebuild after Harvey.  Our lives have not been terribly disrupted and we are in continual amazement at all of the gracious help God has sent our way.My family and I don’t know how to adequately thank all of you. Thank you for coming and pulling out sheetrock, spraying vinegar and mold control, pulling out nails, demolishing bookcases, packing, cleaning, running errands, moving furniture, sweeping, repairing sheetrock, mudding, sanding,  bringing supplies (bleach, mold control, shop-vacs, plastic trash bags, plastic cutlery, fans, dehumidifiers, gloves, masks, tools, ice, and water). Thank you for all of the wonderful meals and gift cards. Thankful for my sister who drove 18 hours from Kentucky, a few days after the storm. Thankful to the OPC for renting us a refrigerator until we could buy a new one. Thankful for all of the people who prayed and asked their churches to pray for us, even as our house was filling with flood waters. I still feel sentimental when I look in our garage and see the box of leftover supplies that people brought.As I was riding my bike through our neighborhood one day, this Scripture came to my mind and has been a huge encouragement. “For this light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not at the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)​No matter what the bleakness of our circumstances may cause our hearts to feel, "Jesus was still born.” He still brings redemption, forgiveness, hope, grace, mercy, joy, and a love beyond understanding.Merry Christmas and thank you to all of you,Love and blessings,The Blechers