Articles by Kirsten McKimmey

After months of hopelessness following the destruction of Hurricane Harvey, Houston homeowner Gaye Stephens was shown compassion and joy for the first time through middle and high school students.

Bouncers have been hard at work in Victoria, TX repairing homes that have been damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Bouncers stay at their worksites from 7am to 4pm and then return back to Northside Baptist Church for dinner and worship. Worship Speaker Casey Cockrell has been teaching the students about the power of the Holy Spirit. During worship Casey has explained how the gospel has gone viral through the power of the Holy Spirit. Videos go viral because people see them and identify them. In the same way, the gospel can go viral when others see the church in action and resonate with what they are doing; the work that students are doing in Victoria, TX this week is a great example of that!

The Green Wiffle Team comprised of students from Stoneburg Baptist Church, Acton Baptist Church, and McGehee First Baptist Church, is repairing the roof on Ms. Lula Carroll’s home. Due to high velocity winds and rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, Ms. Lula Carroll’s roof is severely damaged. When the Team arrived at Ms. Lula Carroll’s home earlier this week they discovered that the beams in her kitchen ceiling had begun to rot, and the roof was held up by the kitchen cabinets. Ms. Lula Carroll said that every time it rained she would set several buckets in her kitchen and then later, empty out at least ten gallons of water from the buckets.

Bouncer’s headed out to their work sites for the first time today after a commissioning prayer led by Shawn Edwards, the Mission Coordinator. Bouncers were sent out to their roofing projects in Victoria just minutes away from Northside Baptist Church, where students are being housed this week.

Bouncers arrived in Victoria, TX today for the 4th Bounce Mission this summer! So far, Bounce has mobilized hundreds of students who have engaged in disaster recovery work all across Texas. The community of Victoria is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey, and several houses have suffered from wind damage. Because of this, all of the students this week will be repairing roofs. Bouncers will be staying at Northside Baptist Church, they same church that housed the Texas Baptist Men last August. Among the first responders, the Texas Baptist Men engaged in disaster relief work in Victoria, TX immediately after Hurricane Harvey. This week, Bouncers have the opportunity to continue in the ongoing disaster recovery effort and to follow in the footsteps of the Texas Baptist Men who went before them.

It has been a productive week here at Bounce as students finish up at their work sites. Bouncers have had wonderful opportunities to engage the homeowners at their work sites, and two homeowners even came to Bounce worship this week! Bouncers have repaired roofs, installed sheet rock, and lay dry wall all to show these homeowners how much they love and care for them. Several Bounce Teams even went out into Dickinson neighborhoods to prayer walk in response to Eric Martinez, the Worship Speaker, encouraging students to be available for the Holy Spirit to use.

Evening worship has been a fruitful time for Bouncers this week. It has been a time for them to connect with God and to connect with other students. On Wednesday, Bouncers were able to participate in Concert of Prayer where they prayed individually and in groups. Students praised the Lord through songs and prayers of adoration and thanksgiving. Youth group leaders also had the opportunity to pray over each on of their students. While many youth group leaders have been praying to God for their students for some time, for many students, this may be the first time they’ve heard someone pray over them; this was a powerful moment! One student even gave her life to Christ!

Florence Green sat on the porch of her home content despite the sounds of hammers, saws and drills. Several students wearing Bounce nail aprons and bandannas flooded her yard and were busy building a wheelchair ramp. They carefully measured, sawed and nailed pieces of wood as Ms. Florence’s two small dogs scampered around the students’ feet.

Bouncers were sent off for their first day of disaster recovery work in the Dickinson area of Houston, TX. After a Commissioning prayer led by Scott Stevens, the Missions Coordinator, students headed off to their work sites. Bouncers will be working on roof repairs, installing sheet rock and dry wall among many other things. Bouncers were filled with joy and enthusiasm at their work sites today. Groups were able to meet with their homeowners and hear their stories and how Hurricane Harvey has affected them. Bouncers were shocked to see some of the homeowners living conditions and were honored to know that they were an answer to prayer. One homeowner was so thankful for the work that Bouncers were doing on her roof that she made home made tacos for all of the students working on her home. Another neighbor to one of the work sites came over to a Bounce Team and let them know that she was receiving a liver transplant today. Bouncers were able to pray for her and she was able to pray for them; over all it was an encouraging time.

Students have arrived in Pasadena ready for a weeks worth of disaster recovery work in the Houston area. Bouncer's will be rebuilding communities with the hope of restoring hope to homeowners who have lost so much in the after math of Harvey. Above all, Bouncers will seek to reflect the love of Christ this week as they install sheet rock and repair roofs. Bouncers will be the hands and feet of Christ as they seek to meet the needs of those in the Houston area.