Worth much more than money

When my home church suggested sending a team to replace our roof, I initially thought about the monetary savings. Estimates for getting our roof done professionally came to $11,500 plus an extra $10 per square foot to replace sheeting. However, with the volunteer crew providing the labor, our only cost was the roofing materials plus the cost of food for meals and incidentals. That came to around $4000. So what we saved in labor was well over $7,500.

But God had a much bigger plan than saving a few thousand dollars. Getting to know Don and Linda, Pastor Gene, and the young men on the crew and seeing what God was doing in all their lives meant more to me than the monetary savings.

Each crew member learned the importance of working together as a team. Even the teenagers could see that one person couldn’t just do his own thing. It was a team effort – not only on the roof, but also for meals, for sleeping dorm style in our home, and for just living together.  What an incredible real-life example of being co-laborers! 

Friendships, relationships and the experience of working as a team will last a life time.  You can’t put a value on that.

For those who like statistics:

• Roof size: 3400 square feet
• Sheeting replaced: 15 pieces of 4 by 8 plywood
• Rebuilt the trusses in three areas where the old trusses and sides were rotted out
• Approximately 300 man hours of labor

Thanks to all who had a part:

• 8 volunteers from Faith Bible Church in Michigan stayed at our house from Tuesday through Saturday, and one man from FBC paused on his truck route to work with the group for a day. And a snowbird couple from FBC came for a few hours to offer their encouragement and help in the kitchen.
• Numerous local friends lent us tools, beds, sleeping bags, etc. And one local friend donated a day’s labor to the project.
• Co-workers at NTM shared their experience with me as I was researching regulations for replacing a roof in Florida.
• Prayer partners around the world were upholding the project before God’s throne. 

Praise to the Lord for answered prayer. No significant injuries, only a few cuts and scrapes and hammered thumbs.  And God gave us wonderful weather for the whole time.