CORE-Alliance

CORE has moved!

2012-01-23T21:06:00.003-06:00

C.O.R.E. has moved to a new home. Please visit our Web site at www.core-alliance.org.

Waller County Fire Relief Efforts

2011-10-08T17:25:00.002-05:00

Our apologies for not having any posts available with updates on the Texas Wildfire Efforts. It has been a challenge in getting information and a needs assessment together for our response in the Bastrop area.

Core has decided to stay closer to home and concentrate on the Waller County fires. We have partnered with Texas Recovery Foundation (which is operating a distribution center) as well as Mission Waller in a concerted effort to the needs in Waller County. We are currently locating our tool trailers and storage units at (The Big Fan Ice House). Yes, God will use anything he chooses to get his work done. Please stay tuned and check in for updates as we will be up and running within a week or two.

Thank you to Gloria Dei Lutheran, Clear Creek Community Church, and Gateway Community Church's for their continued support of Core-Alliance and our efforts to provide assistance to those in need around the world and here at home.

2011-09-14T11:11:00.003-05:00

C.O.R.E is still working through plans to help those in need in Bastrop and surronding areas. Plans are int the works to create a basecamp in Bastrop.

2011-09-08T10:41:00.001-05:00

C.O.R.E Alliance is working with Bastrop to provide community support as a result of the Bastrop fires. Currently, we are not ready to receive volunteers. We will post more information as it becomes available. Please continue to check back.

Our New Web Store in Online!

2011-02-16T19:05:00.003-06:00

CLICK HERE to check out our new online store where you can buy CORE Alliance t-shirts and other gear and have it shipped strait to your door. Support CORE Alliance and our mission to Renew Lives after Disaster Strikes buy buying a t-shirt, pocket knife, "koozie", or magnetic clip. More merchandise to come soon!

Homes for Haiti Status Update

2010-10-21T10:55:00.003-05:00

Friends and Supporters of CORE Alliance,

It has been an amazing 10 months since we launched the Homes for Haiti project. Through our volunteers and partners, we have built nearly 700 prefabricated homes for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. Dozens are already being lived in in the Haitian cities of Leogane and Jacmel, and hundreds more are on their way. In Houston, San Antonio, Myrtle Beach, Washington, DC, and Denver over 2,000 volunteers have showed their love for the people of Haiti. Hundreds of individuals, churches, schools, and organizations have given generously towards the project.

All of our build sites have shut-down construction operations. Our Houston site is preparing to ship the remainder of the homes built in Houston, San Antonio and Denver. 100 homes were shiped inside 10 containers on Tuesday, October 26th, and 130 more homes will be leaving later in November. For more information about opportunities to still be involved in the Homes for Haiti project, contact Michelle at michelle@core-alliance.org or 877.684.CORE (2673).

I recently made two trips to train the local churches in Haiti how to assemble these homes. it was amazing working side-by-side with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Haiti. See the slideshows below for pictures from the trip.

We are still seeking individual donations and corporate support to help cover the expenses incurred for the Homes for Haiti project. Donations are tax-deductible, and can be made by check or PayPal donation. See below for info on how to donate, or e-mail Michelle@core-alliance.org.

Thank you for your prayers and support. Without you, nothing we are accomplishing now would be possible.

In Service to Him,

Matthew Schultz

Executive Director

Haiti Trip

2010-08-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

Our Executive Director, Matt Schultz, recently travelled to Haiti to train the local churches how to assemble the Homes for Haiti. Here are some of his pictures from the trip.

Homes Shipped, Construction to Pause in Houston

2010-06-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

On Friday, May 14th, the first 100 Homes for Haiti shipped from the Houston Warehouse to Haiti! These homes arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Friday, June 4th. Davenport Trucking donated the trucks and drivers to haul the bundled houses to the Port of Houston. Homes built in Houston and Denver were part of this first shipment. These 100 houses are going to LCMS World Relief and Human Care (http://www.worldrelief.lcms.org/), who are establishing a temporary village in the Haitian port city of Jacmel.

Thanks to the overwhelming support of our volunteers and donors, we have compleated 225 homes in Houston, 130 homes in Myrtle Beach, and 35 homes in Denver! 70 homes were built in San Antonio Memorial Day weekend. For the time being, our Houston Warehouse will pause construction. We will shift our focus to shipping the completed homes, and once funding allows we will resume construction in the warehouse. Donations are still needed to fund the construction costs and to ship the comepleted homes. See below for how to donate now! Check in often to http://www.core-alliance.org/ for updates.

Homes For Haiti - Houston

2010-03-10T15:23:00.001-06:00

CORE Alliance’s Homes for Haiti project is now building in Houston! We have opened our League City Warehouse to begin the construction of modular housing for the victims of the Haiti Earthquake. Warehouse is located at 100 Gulf Freeway North, inside the storefront formerly used by Academy Sports.

No skills or tools are needed. Volunteers must be 12 years of age or older parent supervision required for volunteers under 18 years old and sign a liability waiver. Open volunteer times are Wednesday nights 5-8pm and Saturdays 8am-5pm. Large groups 10 or more people can be scheduled for other times in the warehouse. Contact the CORE Alliance Hotline at 877.684.CORE 2673 or e-mail Leticia Garcia at leticia@core-alliance.org to sign-up to volunteer in the warehouse.

Donations and corporate sponsors are still needed. Many non-construction administrative and leadership volunteer opportunities exist, too! Contact Matt Schultz at matt@core-alliance.org regarding donations, sponsorships and non-construction volunteer opportunities.

CORE Alliance's In-Kind Donation "Wish List"

2010-03-03T12:05:00.004-06:00

In the disaster relief field, so much is done by our volunteers with just simple tool and a lot of sweat. To help facilitate our efforts and increase the productivity and impact of our volunteers and staff, below is a "Wish List" of items that would help CORE Alliance provide relief to the victims of disaster:

4WD Diesel Pick-Up Trucks
Cargo, Equipment, and Utility Trailers of all sizes
Hydraulic Dump Trailers
Laptop Computers & Office Equipment
Husqvarna and Stihl Chainsaws
Large Generators
Donated Use of Private Aircraft for Access to Remote/Difficult Locations (i.e. Haiti)
Satellite Communications Equipment
Heavy Equipment (i.e. Bulldozers, Skid-Loaders, Forklifts, etc.)

If interested in helping CORE Alliance acquire these or other donations, please contact Matthew Schultz, Executive Director at matt@core-alliance.org.

Haiti Update #3

2010-01-22T11:13:00.001-06:00

I was listening to a song by one of my favorite artists this week. For those that don’t know of Steven Curtis Chapman, he’s a Christian recording artist that has spanned several decades. He lost his 5 year old daughter in a tragic accident not too long ago, and his most recent album chronicles his struggles through grief and hope. His song, “Beauty Will Rise” spoke to me this week in regards to the tragedy in Haiti:

But buried deep beneath
All our broken dreams
we have this hope:

Out of these ashes... beauty will rise
and we will dance among the ruins
We will see Him with our own eyes

If you’ve been hearing the stories coming out of Haiti, you have heard of the struggles of the people and the desperate needs that seem insurmountable. But we also hear stories of miraculous rescues from the rubble, of children feeding the elderly, and of people praising God in the wake of this disaster.

CORE Alliance, in partnership with Christ in Action and FriendShips, will be helping contribute to being part of that hope that will rise out of the ruins. Plans are underway to partner together to build “mini-homes” for the people Haiti. While not designed to be long-term permanent housing, these mini-homes will serve as temporary, stable, and secure shelter for people living amongst the ruins of what was once their home. These homes will be built here in the US by volunteers, flat-packed “IKEA”-style and shipped to Haiti by FriendShips to be assembled by volunteer teams at a base camp established by Christ in Action in Haiti. Each home will cost approximately $600 to build.

We are locating a warehouse here in Houston for volunteer teams to construct these homes, and there are already commitments from organizations in Florida, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. We would love you to partner with us in this project. CORE Alliance hopes to build 1,000 of these mini-homes. We need donations of a local facility or warehouse, materials, tools and equipment, transportation, and most importantly prayers, funds, and volunteers. Additionally, our CORE Partners outside Houston can organize your local community to build these homes in your area. Contact me at director.corealliance@gmail.com or 877-684-CORE (2673) for more information on how your Church or organization can get involved.

This is my challenge to you and your Church: How will you get involved?

Haiti Update #2

2010-01-15T11:08:00.001-06:00

The Relief efforts in Haiti continue to progress. I just finished a conference call with the leadership team of World Vision, and heard first hand accounts of the desperate needs in Haiti, and the impact the relief efforts are already having. As we continue to assess the situation and support our partners on the ground, I ask you to pray for those aid workers, flight crews, warehouse staff, and logistics teams that are working tirelessly to get the relief supplies to where they are needed most.

CORE Alliance continues to support our ministry partners on the ground. CORE Alliance board member Kim Reed will be taking 3 surgeons and medical supplies to Haiti in the coming days. If you have access to surgical and medical supplies, please contact us at director.corealliance@gmail.com. Our ministry partner Angel Flights will be transporting the team and supplies into Haiti.

We have been in contact with our partners at Orphan Grain Train (www.ogt.org), who had sent a semi-truck load of food to Haiti just one week before the earthquake. They are additionally sending 2 semi-truck loads of food immediately (1 by air, 1 by sea), and are making plans for additional relief shipments. Additionally, FriendsShips (www.friendsships.org), a non-profit humanitarian shipping organization, has a ship docked in Lake Charles, LA collecting 170 tons of relief supplies and will be departing for Haiti in the coming days.

The highest priority that our partner churches can continue to help with is Emergency Aid funding. CORE Alliance has a strong relationship with World Vision, and we encourage churches looking for an immediate impact to raise funds for World Vision, or for the ongoing relief effort with CORE Alliance through our ministry partners on the ground.

Continued updates will be made available through e-mail and updates on our website, www.core-alliance.org. Feel free to contact me at director.corealliance@gmail.com if you want to know more about how your church can get involved.

Haiti Update #1

2010-01-14T11:05:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti. A country already devastated by violence and political turmoil, this disaster has leveled much of the capitol city, Port-Au-Prince. Casualties are estimated in the tens of thousands.

Already positioned with an office and staff in Haiti that survived the earthquake, World Vision has deployed their Global Response Teams to Haiti, and is already actively serving the victims of this disaster. Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and CORE Alliance have had a strong partnership with World Vision for many years, including during our most recent disaster deployment for Hurricane IKE. We have already been in contact with representatives from World Vision, and we are receiving regular updates on the status of the relief effort, and the needs of the relief workers and victims.

At this time, the most pressing need if for Emergency Aid Funding. As the Global Response Teams from World Vision assess the situation, resources are being assembled and delivered where they are needed most. Please provide financial support to our ministry partners at World Vision. I encourage our partners to solicit donations for funding the relief efforts of World Vision and CORE Alliance through special offerings and gifts during this weekend’s worship services. Partners can send funding to Haiti through CORE Alliance or donations can be made directly to World Vision online at www.worldvision.org.

Additionally, doctors, nurses, and medical supplies are desperately needed. CORE Alliance Board member Kim Reed is organizing an effort to get these professionals and supplies to the island ASAP. Please contact us at director.corealliance@gmail.com if you can help in this area.

Updates on how CORE Alliance and its partner churches and volunteers can further support the victims of the Haiti Earthquake and the relief efforts of World Vision will be posted on our website www.core-alliance.org when available. Feel free to contact me about the Haiti Earthquake and the World Vision and CORE Alliance relief efforts at director.corealliance@gmail.com.

Dear CORE Alliance Supporters and Volunteers,

2009-03-05T13:38:00.002-06:00

WOW! It’s been an awesome 6 months of blessing and serving our community! Now that CORE Alliance has brought this disaster response deployment to a conclusion, it is time to recognize the amazing work God has done through CORE, and show our appreciation to the volunteers and the community.

Please join us this Sunday, March 8th in worship at Gloria Dei. We will celebrate the volunteers of CORE, and give thanks to God for the work he accomplished through them. Come to any of the 3 services: 8am (liturgical), 9:30am (traditional), and 11am (contemporary) and wear your CORE t-shirts. Invite your friends and neighbors to join us! If you have taken pictures of CORE activities, would you share those with us?

We will be constructing a CORE slide show for Sunday, and would love for you to send us your 2 or 3 best pictures of you working alongside your community. We need pictures of every phase of the CORE deployment including set-up, clean-out, and rebuild. Please send them to mschultz@gdlc.org ASAP, preferably before Wednesday March 4th.

Katrina Photos

2009-02-27T10:22:00.002-06:00

So many pictures were taken during our visit at Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It's hard to caption and catalog them all. Enjoy the slide show!

Katrina Summary

2009-02-26T12:15:00.005-06:00

CORE – Christians Organized for Relief Efforts was established by two churches from Houston, Texas to assist in meeting the needs of people hit by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast area. Gateway Community Church and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (both located in the Clear Lake area of Houston) partnered together to provide resources to establish the Base Camp that currently sits on the property of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

We organized our first CORE Base Camp as a staging platform to organize and mobilize volunteers to serve in Mississippi Gulf Coast devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Over 8,300 Volunteers from every state in the United States as well as 15 foreign countries have served through the CORE Base Camp... giving days and weeks of their time to serve everyday people impacted by Katrina.

In 10 months, CORE volunteers cleaned and sanitized 541 homes, rebuilt 68 homes, and re-roofed 81 homes. Literally, tons of debris has been removed from yards, neighborhoods, and beaches.

As of July 31, 2006, CORE had completed the first stage of sevice for Ocean Springs. However, the ministry continued on as CORE maintained a "readiness" status to be first responders for future disasters.

Thank to all the volunteers that have donated their time, prayers, talents and money since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast as well as St. Paul's United Methodist Church and all it’s members who have contributed countless hours and energies supporting the base camp.

Special thanks to Orphan Grain Train and Chevron without both of their support the base camp would have a hard time existing.

Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz helps CORE

2009-01-25T10:56:00.000-06:00

Sundays are the only day off for Alex Rodriguez Mercedes-Benz. Yet, they chose to spend the time helping the community recover from Hurricane Ike. Yes! Hurricane recovery efforts continue. The work day was fueled by General Manager, Garrick Hattfield, Connie Barhan, and Angie Vaughn. Sixteen people came out to volunteer their time and muscle to help Ike victims. Alex Rodriguez also donated a percentage of their December sales to CORE IKE disaster relief and presented a check to CORE for over $2,000. Pictures are coming soon!

CORE is Visited by the NASCAR Angels

2009-01-18T10:52:00.000-06:00

What a way to start the New Year! Eric has his old Geo Prism souped up and modified by the NASCAR Angels. What a great opportunity to tell the world about CORE and witness to anyone who watches NASCAR Angels. You can follow along in the slide show below.

Hurrican Ike Update

2009-01-16T10:51:00.000-06:00

As of yesterday, we have cleaned and sanitized 237 homes accounting for an estimated $1.5 million in contractor fees!! Consider the gravity of these savings and consider the number of people we were able to touch; both homeowners and volunteers alike! Thanks to all of the hard work in Galveston the past few weeks, we really increased our total number.

Thank you, CORE

2008-11-11T10:46:00.000-06:00

Pictures always speak louder than words so I put together a slide show so you could see my family's personal Ike experience. This is what Hurricane Ike left us...A lot of people got a lot worse than we did. Just three blocks over by the water, homes got between 4 & 5 feet of water and even more damage. Down the road about 2 miles from my house in Seabrook, folks got between 5 & 8 feet of water. When we came home there had been 2 foot of water and mud all through the house and debris all around. I was told the water had risen twice knocking things over as it rose in the house. The carpet in the living room had floated around and settled down on top of things. Boxes had exploded and contents floated all over the house. Stuffed animals from Melanie's room had found their way all over the house. Bags of dog food had exploded and spread all over and had already begun to mold. Mud in the cabinets, drawers, bath tubs,dishwasher and refrigerator and on all the floors and carpets, furniture and beds ruined. , Etc. But THANKS to a dear friend giving my family's name to a group called "The CORE" (Christians Organized Relief Effort) and them sending eleven wonderful volunteer members of the Baylor University Baseball Team to come help me clean, empty and tear out my walls in my house so I can try to get our house rebuilt and our life back to normal as soon as possible...Heartfelt thanks goes out to these wonderful guys for all their help. And to "The CORE" for their loving kindness to those in need!

Signed,
Anonymous

CORE gives hope

2008-10-07T12:52:00.001-05:00

...They [CORE team] gave me hope. Nathan, Jake, Jerrick, Jeffrey, Steve their children and all the others whose names I did not get, worked their hearts out for me; a stranger. I was so impressed with how hard the children pitched in; and with a smile on their faces. Never having children of my own, they really amazed me. They were delightful. the members of your congregation were all so warm, with no "holier than thou" attitudes. Just good people helping ease my task. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I asked for strength and you were my answer. I know there are many, many more people who suffered much, much more than I. Hopefully, God will answer their payers as well as He did mine. May God bless your congregation and keep all of you in the palm of His Hands.

Signed,
Anonymous

California Susie

2006-01-28T09:04:00.001-06:00

One of many testimonies from our volunteers. This testimony was scanned and inserted as an image. Click on the image of the letter to read.

Testimony

2005-12-20T10:27:00.000-06:00

Volunteer Roll Call

2005-12-01T09:34:00.005-06:00

It's not known when we saw our 2,000th, 3,000th, 4,000th, 5,000th, 6,000th and 8,000th volunteers. The work was just too hectic to track the dates. Nevertheless, we posted these photos for posterity's sake.

2,000th Volunteer

3,000th Volunteer

4,000th Volunteer

5,000th Volunteer

6,000th Volunteer

7,000 Volunteer

8,000 Volunteer

Sarah Emily's Journal

2005-11-25T11:48:00.002-06:00

I came home today after spending a week at the C.O.R.E. Base Camp in Ocean Springs, MS. It was harder to come home than I thought but not necessarily for the reasons most people would think. While it was hard to leave because there's just a staggering amount of work left, it was harder to come home because everything looks so normal here. In Mississippi, I was constantly reminded of the hurricane's destruction and learned how to deal with seeing it every day. Now my home is some 1500 miles away and as I drove into town it just seemed so odd that everything is intact. It made my greatest fear about this situation surface which is that people will forget how desperately the Gulf Coast needs help.

I spent the first eighteen years of my life in Mississippi and will always be proud of my home state. It was utterly heartbreaking to watch the Hurricane Katrina story unfold on TV and feel so completely useless. I soon found that the Mainers I now live among exhibited the same grief and sorrow that I felt. We needed an outlet for our feelings of uselessness so we began to plan a relief trip to the Gulf Coast. Even though all of the government agencies warned civilians not to do this very thing we knew that it would be the regular citizens and churches that would form the majority of the outreach programs.

Through a Mississippi friend I heard about the C.O.R.E. Base Camp at St. Pauls United Methodist Church in Ocean Springs, MS. While we were concerned about daily logistics of eating, sleeping, showering, etc, our biggest concern was that the relief effort would not be organized. But after speaking with our C.O.R.E. contact, Mike, the group seemed to be a committed, organized one that was truly serious about helping the community in the most effective way possible. After having spent a week there, I feel confident in saying that if you come with a willing spirit and a can-do attitude, C.O.R.E. will provide you with the opportunity and the tools to truly change someone's life.

Our group worked on gutting family's homes which involved taking out all of their furniture, appliances, debris and drywall. Even though it's been six weeks since the storm, many of these families haven't been able to go back inside their house until a C.O.R.E. group arrived. They are often anxious to see if there are any hidden treasures that just might have survived this horrific storm. I never realized how heartbreaking it would be to haul a couple's belongings out of the house and to the trash pile while they watched. Can you imagine 84 years of your life piled on the curb waiting to be picked up by the garbage man? And yet there are moments of grace when you are able to find a possession that did survive and by giving it to the homeowner, you can see that it eases their pain just a little. As tough as this destruction process is on the homeowners both physically and emotionally, it has to happen. At the very least, we are able to give them a clean slate so they can begin again. At the very most, we are able to demonstrate that they are not forgotten, alone or unloved. We care, God cares and we will help them carry their load.

I have every confidence that C.O.R.E. will continue to be a leader in the hurricane relief efforts for a long time. I'm sure they will continue to evolve but already this camp offers everything you really need for the week from hot showers, tents with a/c, three meals a day, tools, organized tasks and a staff that is knowledgeable, friendly and genuinely concerned about the well-being of the homeowners and the volunteers.

The devastation on the Gulf Coast is truly incomprehensible. As we are won’t do, we will continue to go about our daily lives but there's also room in our lives to reach out to those who so desperately need it. There are multitudes of ways to remember and help the Gulf Coast victims, C.O.R.E. can provide you with many of them. Please don't forget about Mississippi.

"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." Hebrews 13:1-2,16

Mike Malkemes' Journal

2005-11-25T11:46:00.001-06:00

CORE and St. Paul UMC served and ate thanksgiving dinner with over 800 people almost all from the community and people that CORE worked on their house. This was the 22nd. Over the 23rd and 24th CORE and St Paul took over 900 Thanksgiving meals out into the surrounding communities. Signs, Miracles, and Wonders are as common around here as anything else.

Today Myself and another volunteer took food over to a 70 year old couple who had to deal with two alligators inside there living room that were eating all the seafood that spilled out of their deep freeze when a 12 foot wall of water hit and flooded their house. The two alligators now live in what used to be their catfish pond. We got to feed them today as well.

We sat in their FEMA trailer and as Bob looked out over his ruined house and the pile of junk that used to be everything he owned, he said that they lost everything material but none of it is worth what God has given them since Katrina. The friends, that are now family, the blessings, the joy, peace, and high spirits they have, inspired me like nothing else ever has. We found out it was there 44th wedding anniversary today. We had to leave them to make it over to the Gospel Giant the only Christian radio station that wasn’t destroyed in the hurricane to do a live interview with CORE's 2000th volunteer, a man who shut down his business and brought his son down here to work for the week. We asked Bob and his wife to listen to the show.

We told their story and mentioned their anniversary. For dinner 6 of us went to a lady's house whose husband divorced her after 24 years marriage the week after the hurricane. Two weeks ago she was so angry and bitter you could not talk to her. Today she cooked us a traditional Mexican dinner in a house that we had to bring our own table and chairs to sit in because she has nothing in her house but one chair and a small TV. She was full of joy and praise for the Lord. We had no desert so all 7 of us piled into the truck and went to the Sonic and ordered banana splits, the bell hope took a very nice picture of all of us eating our desert in the truck.

The 22nd when we provided dinner at the church a 91 year old man whose 93 year old wife drowns in his arms the night the hurricane hit came to eat with us. It was the first time he has been in church in over 40 years. Sunday we are picking him up for his first church service in over 40 years. His wife was a believer and is in Heaven now. He has been so touched by the incredible outpouring of Gods people that he is one small step away from committing his life to Christ.

Broken people are being healed and delivered everyday, all day, all over this place. Miracles are commonplace. You can listen around the cafeteria at dinnertime and hear 4 or 5 stories of Gods miracle power that the volunteers witness each day. I’ve never experienced anything even close to what God is doing here. This is the kind of God thing that books are written about.CORE and St. Paul UMC served and ate thanksgiving dinner with over 800 people almost all from the community and people that CORE worked on their house. This was the 22nd. Over the 23rd and 24th CORE and St Paul took over 900 Thanksgiving meals out into the surrounding communities. Signs, Miracles, and Wonders are as common around here as anything else.

Today Myself and another volunteer took food over to a 70 year old couple who had to deal with two alligators inside there living room that were eating all the seafood that spilled out of their deep freeze when a 12 foot wall of water hit and flooded their house. The two alligators now live in what used to be their catfish pond. We got to feed them today as well.

We sat in their FEMA trailer and as Bob looked out over his ruined house and the pile of junk that used to be everything he owned, he said that they lost everything material but none of it is worth what God has given them since Katrina. The friends, that are now family, the blessings, the joy, peace, and high spirits they have, inspired me like nothing else ever has. We found out it was there 44th wedding anniversary today. We had to leave them to make it over to the Gospel Giant the only Christian radio station that wasn’t destroyed in the hurricane to do a live interview with CORE's 2000th volunteer, a man who shut down his business and brought his son down here to work for the week. We asked Bob and his wife to listen to the show.

We told their story and mentioned their anniversary. For dinner 6 of us went to a lady's house whose husband divorced her after 24 years marriage the week after the hurricane. Two weeks ago she was so angry and bitter you could not talk to her. Today she cooked us a traditional Mexican dinner in a house that we had to bring our own table and chairs to sit in because she has nothing in her house but one chair and a small TV. She was full of joy and praise for the Lord. We had no desert so all 7 of us piled into the truck and went to the Sonic and ordered banana splits, the bell hope took a very nice picture of all of us eating our desert in the truck.

The 22nd when we provided dinner at the church a 91 year old man whose 93 year old wife drowns in his arms the night the hurricane hit came to eat with us. It was the first time he has been in church in over 40 years. Sunday we are picking him up for his first church service in over 40 years. His wife was a believer and is in Heaven now. He has been so touched by the incredible outpouring of Gods people that he is one small step away from committing his life to Christ.

Broken people are being healed and delivered everyday, all day, all over this place. Miracles are commonplace. You can listen around the cafeteria at dinnertime and hear 4 or 5 stories of Gods miracle power that the volunteers witness each day. I’ve never experienced anything even close to what God is doing here. This is the kind of God thing that books are written about.

Testimony - Orange, California

2005-11-24T10:29:00.000-06:00

The 1,000th Volunteer Hard Hat

2005-10-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

A close-up of the 1,000th Volunteer Hard Hat.

Celebrating our 1,000th Volunteer

2005-10-28T08:49:00.007-05:00

We honor our 1,000th volunteer with a party and the ceremonious awarding of the 1,000th volunteer hard hat.

The Troy, Illinois Team

2005-10-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

The 1,000th volunteer came from Troy, Illinois and brought a team!

CORE's 1,000th Volunteer

2005-10-21T16:37:00.001-05:00