COMMUNITY FALL 2018
Small Chores. Big Miracles. By Kristina Gemici
Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in August of 2017, causing damage to over 200,000 homes and forcing 30,000 people to be displaced. It’s estimated that Hurricane Harvey caused $125 billion dollars in damage to Houston and the surrounding cities. While the devastation was beyond overwhelming, friends, family members, and even strangers risked their lives to rescue those who were trapped, and have since spent countless months helping their neighbors recover from this great loss. The question wasn’t of who needed help, but rather where to begin. During this catastrophe, God presented a huge opportunity for the Access Seventh-day Adventist Church to reach a neighborhood on Cat Springs Street in Katy, Texas. Like many neighborhoods in the area, these homes were flooded with at least one to three feet of water. This caused each house to lose almost all appliances, furniture, bedding, and most personal items. Along with the loss of essentials for living and precious memories, people were forced to remove 2-4 feet of drywall and strip out most floors, leaving their homes in a state of disrepair. And yet, they did not give up hope. Instead, they joined with the hundreds who came to help.
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FLAME
After spending several months working with volunteers from Access Seventh-day Adventist Church and groups from other churches and organizations, Access reached out to the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The Texas Conference informed us that a retired contractor and his wife were on their way to Houston to volunteer, but weren’t sure where to dedicate their time. After meeting this couple that same weekend, we learned that Wendell and Claudia Bobst had made the decision to sell everything they had in California, and to make it their life’s work to serve where they were needed. With only their RV, one vehicle, and the family dog, Wendell and Claudia set off on their journey, waiting for God to lead. He led them straight to Texas, and had a plan beyond any we could have imagined. Wendell, a highly skilled retired contractor, and Claudia helped Cat Springs for over two months alongside Access and other volunteers. Every morning, Wendell would arrive and go door-to-door asking each person what he could do for them. By the end of their mission, Wendell had helped with plumbing, door repairs, drywall issues, installing kitchen and bathroom cabinets, lawn mower repairs,
roofing, window installation, and much more. Far beyond the physical help that Wendell provided, he also spent hours providing emotional support to the neighborhood. Wendell’s work was 100 percent donated to these homes, often at the couple’s own cost. Words cannot even express what Wendell and Claudia have done for Cat Springs. After two months of help from Wendell and Claudia, they departed for the next place to leave their mark. Before going, Wendell and Claudia left each homeowner with The Great Controversy, a book by Adventist author Ellen White, and left our town with questions about why God had chosen them for such an amazing miracle. Wendell and Claudia are perfect examples of what it means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and how, with God, all things are possible.
