The morning of March 26, 1996 a hate-filled act of arson totally destroyed the Gay's Hill Baptist Church near Millen, Georgia.
An ecumenical task force met in Statesboro, Georgia on November 4-5, 1996 to plan for reconstruction of the church. Within a one-year period, people from all walks of life, all races, beliefs, and creeds would join together to rebuild the Gay's Hill Baptist Church. Many large corporations, small businesses, religious and secular organizations, and individuals became involved in reversing the great wrong that had been done. The Lord's Builders were one of 42 groups that provided the actual labor of the restoration.
The nineteen members of the Lord's Builders mission team to make the trip consisted of two from the construction trade, a few handymen (using a generous definition of the term) and many more that were unfamiliar and perhaps uncomfortable with a hammer and nails.
It was snowing as we started our journey of 1100 miles and many life changing experiences. We were elated and nervous as we started out on our mission to make our contribution to this work of God. By the time we reached New York the snow was changing to rain and would soon be a distant memory.
The first morning at the construction site we started our work putting up trusses, strapping the trusses already in place to hurricane proof them, sheathing the roof, building interior structures, reinforcing walls, carrying material, applying tar paper, cutting and hammering.. At the end of the week the walls and roof were complete and the church weatherproof waiting for the next team of mission workers to proceed.
We were blessed to meet and be supported by many people of the congregation. Our original communication was with Fred and Doris Doti, two Christian lay people, who would give five months of their time to serve as site coordinators and help the building take root and grow. They would do the same for many of us as well. There was Rufus, a deacon of the church, on site every day to support, direct, and augment our team.
Certainly a pearl is a beautiful and valued commodity. In the Bible Jesus said:
We discovered another pearl, she was far more beautiful on the inside and outside than one we can extract from some shell in the ocean. Pearl Holmes was her name. She grew up with the Gay's Hill Baptist Church. She is a Christian woman with a love that fairly radiates in her faith for God. She remembers the old church; a whitewashed building on brick pillars that had seen service for well over fifty years. Pearl could fill you with stories of this church and her life. She didn't attend this church because she had to; she nurtured her Christian love and chose to. She is filled with His Spirit and will share it with anyone who asks for it. A warm greeting and enveloping hug await anyone who comes close enough, she gives to anyone who even hints that they need one. She truly is a pearl, cultured, bright and shining.
We all thought that we would be sacrificing comfort, living a stark life while on our mission trip. But Jesus had told us:
He wasn't kidding. At a suggestion we chose to stay in cabins at Magnolia Springs State Park. We rented two cabins after being told they could each sleep 8 to 10 people. What we found surprised us. They were more spacious and well appointed than we expected. Sleeping accommodations would be cramped, but with two bathrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, a dining room, a fire placed living room, a screened porch, and heating and air conditioning, we truly had splendid shelter. Here we were supposed to be working hard on a mission trip for God, giving up our daily percs and luxuries, and God provided us with lodging in these great sanctuaries.
When we headed home on Friday, we had accomplished more than we had expected would be possible. But more important we had each undergone positive changes that would stay with us for the rest of our lives.
A great deal of thanks and appreciation goes out to our Christian brother, Bruce. He wrote a book containing the stories of the Lord's Builders first 3 mission trips. With Bruce's permission, we unashamedly plagiarized this book.
Our Missions