8 Days of Hope - Hackleburg, Alabama - October 2011

8 Days of Hope - Hackleburg, Alabama - October 2011

(Please note... Due to some unforeseen sickness in my family, I did not make this trip... But God opened another opportunity up.. I will share that one later!!!)

by Windi Raper on Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 9:46pm

"You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you"... One of the best quotes that will describe how I feel about this....

Every one who knows the "real" Windi pretty much knows I have a great big heart for others. I have what some describe as having a "servant's heart". I always try to help others in most any way that I possibly can. I love to be able to be a blessing to others. I am probably so tender-hearted that I need to sometimes hide from others because I give 110% in every thing that I do!!! Yes, as bad as I hate to admit it, I have been known to get a little misty-eyed at an On-Star Commercial!!! Do I have a lot of things here on earth to brag about? Not really. I have gone through some different things in my life that make me realize just how blessed I am without a lot of material things. I have learned to be content in different areas because things could have been changed and things happen a lot differently. Some times "things" don't matter as much as you think they do. Things can usually be replaced. Family and time are two things you can never get back.

Most of you know, I lost my Daddy on August 19, 2008, due to complications with Cancer. He was diagnosed Memorial Day Weekend (May) of 2007 with Stage 4 Bronchial, Liver, and Lung Cancer and was given only 4 - 6 weeks to live. By August 16, due to the many prayers and a healing God that we have, he was Cancer free. He went thru the chemotherapy treatments as well. He had two great oncologists Dr. Hoy & Dr. Anderson from Valdosta. Then, March 19, he was diagnosed with 3 brain tumors and on August 12, we found out they were half the original size. But, pneumonia set in and we lost him a week later. But, Daddy had some really good insurance that covered his medical bills. Had he NOT had that, life could have been a lot different. His insurance had paid almost $750,000.00 in less than 1.5 years. Our family does not have that amount just laying around in case of an emergency. We would have done what ever we could to get the money I assure you to help Daddy. We were just blessed he had the insurance!

I shared that story because had he not had the insurance, we would have had to sell everything we own and then go borrow the money against our property. We were fortunate because we did not have to do this extra step. But, what about those who do and then are not able to pay the loans back. What about the people who are out there and they can not meet the bills. Most of them wind up losing their homes. Everything they ever worked for is now just gone. They are now homeless and living with family. I used to work at a manufactured home lot as the secretary and in sales. The repossessed homes usually were from people who did not have the means to pay the bills due to a medical condition. I would almost say that 75% were for that reason.

We are all one second away from a disaster. We could lose everything we know as life itself in a matter of a few seconds.  We are one step away from any type of tragedy that could change our lives as we know it. It could be a diagnosis. A traffic accident. Any thing can change in a blink of an eye. You can get up in the morning, get ready for work, if you have kids you get them off to school, you make it to work... And then the unthinkable happens. Something you are not prepared for... Something so large and devastating that it wipes out everything you know as your hometown...

Many of you are very aware of the tornadoes that hit the South East back in April of 2011. Most probably don't know the actual towns that were hit pretty hard. Via the website www.eightdaysofhope.com 

  

"What is Eight Days of Hope VIII all about?

There were 216 tornadoes that hit the South-east part of our country on April 27th, 2011. Hundreds of lives were lost and thousands of homes were destroyed. Two areas were hit extremely hard. Smithville, Mississippi and Hackleburg, Alabama were totally destroyed! Thousands of home owners were affected and many are still in need of help! Most did not have the proper insurance, lost almost everything and have little resources to rebuild. This is where we come in! Eight Days of Hope is working with multiple churches and organizations to help home owners rebuild their homes. Our goal is to use the gifts that God has given us and share the love of Jesus!"

 See, no matter how much you could prepare for this tornado, it was nothing like you could expect it to have happened. Then again, most of us think "that can't happen in our area"... Just look at how close these storms really were to us. Yes, it can happen in our area.

 

As much as I would love to go on a missions trip overseas, especially China where I have a direct contact with a missionary, the more I have thought about it... What about the people right here on our soil that need helping and need to hear about Jesus? America is full of people who are hurting, hungry, homeless, and in need of something. We have such a great mission field that we ride through daily and we can't see it because we want to go to another country... AND I AM NOT GOING AGAINST ANYONE FOR GOING OVERSEAS TO HELP!!! Please don't think that by any means. Each person knows where God wants to use them.

If you get time, please youtube Hackleburg, Alabama, tornado videos. You can see how much devastation these families went through. Watching some of the footage will just make you realize how blessed we really are...

 

Many years ago, a pastor told me that Isaiah 61 was for me.. While writing this it has kept coming back to my mind... I have just literally went and reread it in between my paragraphs... It is soooo on target for this!!! Break it all down, verse by verse, and apply it to this trip. Pay close attention to the bold words... If I remember reading correctly, there was only one or two buildings left in tack in this town... I am not 100% sure where I read or heard it...

"Isaiah 61

The Year of the LORD’s Favor

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion — to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations."