| Well, after 6 months of working together to help rebuild homes in Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota Counties, Mennonite Disaster Services and FLUMC have completed working on over 40 homes and we have wrapped up this phase of the project. Our new friends with MDS have closed up shop for the season. The trailers will be moving to Lakeside Lutheran Church in Venice for their summer youth teams to work with United Way of South Sarasota County. MDS is still discerning where God will lead them to set up to continue to help communities rebuild after the devastating 2024 hurricane season.
The past 6 months have been a wonderful adventure in partnership to help rebuild homes and lives impacted by Hurricane Ian. The work done by the mission teams who came from across the United States and Canada was so incredibly impactful that there are not words to express the depth of gratitude from the homeowners. Developing ministry partners in long-term recovery work has been an essential piece in the ministry of Wintergarden these past 2.5 years. Now our facility is set up and prepared for the next time we need to respond to help our community. As we explore moving forward, we will be working on more disaster preparedness for our community, emergency response, and continue with long-term recovery work as we are able to do so. God truly has been guiding us on this journey and will continue to prepare us for what is next.
On Saturday, April 12, we will have a work day from 8am until the afternoon. We will order pizza for lunch and work into the afternoon. In addition to outdoor garden projects, we will have a significant amount of work to do inside. Our hope is to get the kitchen organized and up and running, clean up the office spaces and get rooms back in order, clean the sanctuary, and just spruce up the place prior to Easter Sunday. We truly need all hands on deck for this day. |
