Port Charlotte, FL – Feb. 9-15, 2025

The end of this week we said good-bye to Jacob Romero and Micah Fawcett, Rosedale College trade students. Jacob and Micah were here for six weeks as part of their training. We appreciated getting to know them and sent them off with a prayer for continued direction in their lives.

This week a group of 11 volunteers came from Martin’s Creek Mennonite Church in Ohio, along with two men (a father and son) from Pennsylvania and an individual from Pennsylvania. We had a mature, experienced group and were able to get a lot of work done.

The group established a great connection with the survivors, especially Aleta, a survivor of Hurricane Ian, whose home we were working on. They heard Aleta’s story and the last day when they asked Aleta what she would most like them to help her with, she asked that they clean her shells. She had collected hundreds of shells over the years and it was important to her that they were salvaged. Several of our group complied with her wishes and cleaned shells. We are sometimes surprised at the little things that give hope to survivors.

In addition, the group did a lot of drywalling (repairing, hanging, mudding, sanding), installing kitchen cabinets and trim, installing windows, and some electrical and plumbing work. We continue to make progress in these houses, bringing excitement and joy to the lives of the survivors.

The evenings were spent getting to know each other, playing games, and putting together a 2,000 piece puzzle.

Gayle for the Port Charlotte team