The house was only the basic frame so you covered the outside with boards. Now you live in the structure, which has no shingles on the roof and only studs for walls. There is no running water inside so your family uses buckets for bathing and flushing. You have only one bed, an old refrigerator, and a stove. You are thankful for the job you have, but there is no extra money to finish the house. Or imagine…

…you are a widowed, elderly woman living in one room of your home because the rest of your house was made unlivable livable in a flood.

…your family of four is living in a home where the roof leaks. There is mold in the ceiling and you have no hope of it getting fixed any time soon.

…you live in southern Texas where even in September, the temperature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. The heat makes living in your already unsafe house even more of a hazard, especially if you have a health concern or small children in the home.

…a crew of volunteers in green shirts come to your home and tell you they are here to help you fix your home! You feel there is hope! Someone cares! One woman said, “My Dad is happy and smiling again after you fixed his home!”

THAT is why we do World Renew DRS work!” said Ben and Marijane Huizinga.

Ben and Marijane are volunteers with World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS). They recently spent three weeks at a World Renew DRS reconstruction site in Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

Just imagine… you too can bring hope in Christ’s name to someone who does not have the means to fix their flood, tornado, or fire-damaged home.

Volunteer in Texas, Florida, or California at a DRS reconstruction site in 2017. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget!

Visit worldrenew.net/reconstruction-sites to get started.

Volunteers prepare housing in Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Housing is provided for World Renew DRS volunteers for the duration of their volunteer assignment.

*Header image: The woman who lives in this home thought she would never be able to live in her house again. But World Renew DRS volunteers made sure she could. (L to R) Neil and Gertie Minnema and Gerda de Bokx worked on this home. (photo of three in front of the home).