Katrina House Part of the Ten Minas Disaster Relief Project
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the gulf coast, wreaking havoc throughout portions of Louisiana and Mississippi. Entire neighborhoods became lakes instead of dry land, homes were flooded and destroyed, and countless people were left with nowhere safe and sanitary to live.
One such person whose home took a brutal hit was Jacqueline Spears of Gulfport, Mississippi. Ms. Spears' home sustained extensive water damage. To make matters worse, a tree fell onto her roof causing structural damage. Over the past two years, a few volunteer and missionary groups have tried to "patch things up." They've put up new drywall in a few rooms. One group even put new shingles on the roof. However, the house had bigger problems.
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In the summer of 2007, a mission team from Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, Maryland traveled to Gulfport to help with some of the reconstruction efforts. This team included a few people with contractor experience who took a look at Ms. Spears' house. It seems that the "patch jobs" done by the various volunteers were only masking the more serious underlying problems. While new shingles had been put on the roof, the severe structural damage underneath was never fixed. As a result, the roof itself is warped. The roof wasn't the only problem. The whole house was slanting toward the middle. As one person described it, if you placed a marble on the floor at one end of the house, it would start rolling and not stop until it got to the middle. Picture 6 below may give you a good idea of this problem. Look at where the top of the doorway meets each of the volunteer's arms and you can see that this frame is far from square anymore. The conclusion was unfortunate, but necessary. No amount of repairs was going to help this house. The safest course of action would be to tear it down and rebuild.
Jacqueline tried to apply for FEMA assistance, but was told she did not qualify. When she appealed the denial she was again told that she did not qualify. After being turned down for the last time, Jacqueline managed to get someone on the phone to ask why she did not qualify. She was told that the appraiser who came out to look at her house wrote down that she only had $134.00 in damages (of course, at this time she still had a tree through her roof). Jacqueline asked for help from another charitable organization, but one of the first things they asked her for was her FEMA number. When they found out she was denied FEMA money, they told her that she did not qualify for their help either. The one small mistake made by the FEMA appraiser was now snowballing and leaving her unable to tap into other disaster relief resources either. Her only remaining option was to simply trust in God, and that is what she did.
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Ten Minas Ministries has been called by God to help Jacqueline Spears and her 14 year old son who lives with her. Not too long ago (when my then 4-year old daughter had just finished watching a certain home improvement show on television) she turned and asked me, "Daddy, does your ministry build houses for people who need them?" At the time I told her, "No honey, we don't have the money for that. But if God wants us to do it in the future, and provides us the means, we will." A few months later Ms. Spears' situation came to my attention, and there was no doubt in my mind that this was God telling me the time had come to follow through on my daughter's wish. Hence, the Ten Minas Disaster Relief Project was born, with Jacqueline as its first beneficiary (see the Ten Minas Disaster Relief Project page for complete details).
Do we have the money to build a house? Not by a long shot. But when God calls you to do something, you do it and trust in God to provide the means. The Israelites learned this lesson the hard way when only Joshua and Caleb had faith that God would give them the promised land even though the current inhabitants were so large and well-fortified. All but the two faithful servants died in the wilderness and only their children were allowed to enter Canaan. Joshua and Caleb already knew the lesson I had to learn. No matter how impossible a task may seem, if it is a mission God has set out for you, you have to trust that he will make it happen. It is precisely in these moments (when we realize that something cannot be accomplished by our own power) that we learn how strong our faith really is. Who do you depend upon for security, yourself or God?
So in this mission, I chose God. Jacqueline is our sister in Christ and she needs our help. In order to make this happen, Ten Minas needs your help. First and foremost the type of help we need is your prayers. When starting to climb a seemingly insurmountable mountain, we certainly need God's help. So your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Of course we also need funding. A similar project was recently undertaken in the Gulfport area for a total cost of about $42,000.00. We have the contacts in Mississippi to get this done, but we estimate that we will need up to $50,000.00 to make it happen. If you feel called to help, any contribution would be greatly appreciated. All donations go toward the Ten Minas Disaster Relief Project. If we are blessed with a surplus, any donations above and beyond the amount needed for Jacqueline's house and that are designated for disaster relief will go toward the Project's next mission. Ten Minas is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are completely tax deductible. We will send you a receipt for your records. See our donations page and other pages on this site for more information about Ten Minas Ministries.
Ten Minas offers you the opportunity to make secure online donations through PayPal. You do not need to have a PayPal account in order to donate. If you would like to donate online, please click on the button below:
If you prefer to write a check, donations to this mission can be sent to the following address:
Ten Minas Ministries Post Office Box 827 Havre de Grace, Maryland 21078
Please be sure to include your address information if you would like a receipt to be mailed to you (your returned check can also act as your receipt if you prefer). If you would like to ensure that your donation goes specifically toward our disaster relief efforts (as opposed to the apologetic and teaching ministries we undertake), then simply write "Disaster Relief" in the subject line of your check. You can also write to us at the above address, or send us an e-mail at contactus@tenminasministries.org with any questions.
We encourage you to ask at your church or workplace to see if they may be interested in helping as well. Please help spread the word. If you are in the Aberdeen, Maryland area and are interested in joining our planning team for this mission or any other disaster relief projects, please contact us and let us know.
Thank you for giving this mission your prayerful consideration. God bless.
Ken Coughlan, President Ten Minas Ministries, Inc.
(c) 2008 Ten Minas Ministries, Inc., P.O. Box 827, Havre de Grace, MD 21078; (410) 935-0701
