Articles by Cherish Mason

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.

Bouncers have had a great week here in Kingwood, TX! Students have been hard at work helping homeowners bounce back from Hurricane Harvey. While it is almost a year later, homeowners are still trying to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. The work that students have been doing this week will have a lasting impact in this community. A majority of the Bouncers are from the Houston area, and so the work they have done this week has been deeply personal for them. Our hope is that students would continue to live pour into their communities and love their neighbor even after this week ends.

Bouncers have had a busy week helping homeowners who are still recovering from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. A group of students in New Caney, TX have been installing sheet rock and repairing the ceiling of Ms. Mary's home. Mary's home was submerged in over eight feet of water due to flooding from the San Jacinto River. She and her husband tried to salvage any furniture they could, but the flood destroyed nearly everything that they owned. Mary and her husband waded out in waist high water to a rescue boat which took them to a local shelter. Mary is still trying to rebuild her home almost a year later and she is thankful for the work that Bouncers are doing on her home this week.

Bouncers continue at their work sites in Kingwood, TX. A group of Bouncers is working at Camp Holy Wild installing sheet rock. The work that these Bouncers are doing this week will have a lasting impact on those who use Camp Holy Wild's facilities for youth camps and retreats.

Bouncers work out in the community from 7am to 4pm, and then return to Kingwood First Baptist Church for a hot shower, dinner, and worship. Bouncers participated in a Concert of Prayer tonight, where the sought the Lord through individual and group prayer. Brian Pearce, the Missions Coordinator, encouraged Bouncers to live a life marked by intimate prayer even after their week at Bounce.

Today students were sent out into Kingwood, TX to fulfill the Great Commission by sharing the gospel while rebuilding homes. Brian Pearce, the Mission Coordinator, prayed over the students before he sent them out to their work sites for the week. Brian encouraged the students to consider making disaster recovery work a habit in their life so that the Church may be known for the way that it is quick to help those in need. The Collegiate Staff waved students good-bye as they left Kingwood First Baptist Church. The majority of the Teams served in trailer parks either doing heavy demolition work or installing metal roofs. Bouncers maintained positive attitudes even amidst the heavy rain.

Bouncers arrived today in Kingwood, TX! Kingwood First Baptist Church, where students will be housed this week, has been participating in Bounce disaster recovery work for several years, but when Harvey hit, several of their church members' homes where affected. While members of Kingwood First Baptist Church experienced damaged and flooding to their own homes, they were quick to respond to the needs of those in their community. The youth from Kingwood First Baptist Church used the skills that they had learned from doing disaster recovery work through Bounce to respond to the needs of those in their community. Many of them know the immense personal loss that comes from the aftermath of a storm like Hurricane Harvey and so they are overjoyed that they can serve others in the Kingwood community in this way. The Kingwood students are filled with enthusiasm and are prepared to go out into this week and build up homeowners through the work that they will be doing.