Town of Hollywood Parade

I am so proud of our new volunteer coordinator & our AmeriCorps members who pulled off a 2nd Place finish in the Town of Hollywood's Christmas Parade! The parade was last month, and I know it seems like I'm late in posting this...well I am...but it's just as cool now as it was then! :)

This was another opportunity for great exposure in the Hollywood area because pretty soon we're going to need lots of volunteers & donor support to build several communities we have planned there. Our biggest one will (Lord willing) begin this year and is called Canal Place. It will house 26 families & will contain our first-ever duplexes so we can serve some smaller families!

Congrats again to Becca, Rachel, Mike, Jill & Blair on their hard work on the Habitat float in the parade.

Affiliate of the Year, baby!

Wow - what an honor to not only earn this award, but to work for the organization that has earned it. For the past four years, Habitat for Humanity International has awarded 3 "U.S. Affiliate of the Years" for rural, medium population & urban affiliates. (the local entities of Habitat are called affiliates...it's like a chapter of any other national organization...only better!) :)

Sea Island Habitat has earned the rural award for the past 3 out of the 4 years! We've certainly faced a lot of challenges, but more than that, we have dedicated volunteers & staff to help more families.

I'm convinced that it's not by human effort alone, though. I've learned in my own life recently, that no matter how hard we plan for "our way," there's still One above us that has "His way." Also from experience...I'd much rather be in His way than my own. A lot of ideas are not wrong - they may even be noble - but unless we're submitting to Jesus's perfect plan, we're just going to make life harder on ourselves. ...So this entry is a bit of a love letter to God saying "Thanks! For directing our paths and bringing us through the hard times."

A little something "extra"

It's never expected, but sometimes volunteer groups do a little something "extra" for families they volunteer for. A men's group from Seacoast Church, West Campus participated in last fall's Apostles Build and saw a need for bunk beds in the boy's room. The Gonzales family met with some of the men's group last Friday to accept the beds made especially for them. It was such a sweet time and the men's group made it clear that they were just passing along a blessing from God. I'm so thankful for people's willing & giving hearts - it's a true testimony of God's love in action.