Lending A Helping Hand

Earlier this Summer , our neighbor (let's call him John) and friend 
of more than 4o years had a small stroke and was hospitalized for
a time. Before going any further, let me assure you that he has
given his blessing regarding this posting and others to follow.

It had been many years since I'd been in John's house and while
Charlie had tried to describe it, I had no idea. You see
our friend John loves stuff and his quality of life was spiraling
out of control. Once John returned home from the hospital
Charlie and I offered to lend a helping hand for as long as it
took! There was only one condition. If he was no longer willing
to make the changes needed ,we would stop.

Originally, I began taking pictures to share with his
brother via e-mail so that he could see the progress
being made. Eventually John and I started to discuss
the merits of posting on the blog.

We hope that this project and posting will show practical
Christianity in action. Charlie and I are fully aware that we
have no long term guarantee that this will 'take' but it's not
about us. It's about reaching out and lending a helping hand
and offering a friend the chance for a new and improved
way of life. I saw two clear choices, I could pray for him
or I could pray for him while we rolled up our sleeves to get
to work! It was obvious that our friend was in way over his head
and alone would never get out of the mess that he was in.

We have devoted the last month and we are all excited
about the progress made. See for yourself some of the
remarkable 'before' and 'after' shots!

This was his dining room which was housing 5 African Grey
parrots. The first step was to relocate the parrots to their
new home in the cleaned out backroom. Then we removed
the carpeting and thoroughly scrubbed EVERYTHING in and
going back into the room.

Now this room is ready for John to entertain
his family when they return later this month to
help him organize his Yard Sale and to enjoy a
restful family visit.

The living room had become a storage room piled
high with boxes and boxes of e-bay purchases and
a variety of odds & ends.

After shampooing carpets and upholstery , we tossed
out the old and outdated furniture . Anyone would feel
right at home in this 'new' living room.

When entering John's home you would immediately
be faced with an obstacle course of more stuff' to
get around. It was not a warm Welcome but it is now!
See  the transformation for yourself.

Like the living room, the den was in desperate need of a
thorough cleaning and purging. Two Parrots also call it
home, so it presented a real challenge but it is now a
comfortable place to sit to catch up on reading or TV!

After removing everything from the room, the shampooing
began and at the end of the day the finished room was
revealed.

We hope that you'll continue to check in with us periodically
about this project. We have lots more to share and lots
more to do but that's what we're here for...to serve and
to show the love of God to the people around us! You'll
be so blessed when you do. Make your life count!

Striving to live In Line With The Word
posted by Sally