LYNCHBURG—Two-year-old Iyanna Tyler didn't like getting her fingers muddy as Habitat volunteer Tom Gerdy helped her press a hand print into the wet cement of the sidewalk. But thanks to scores of volunteers like Gerdy who were willing to get their hands dirty, that sidewalk now leads to a new home, built for Iyanna and her mother, Tianna, in less than a week during the 2007 Virginia Baptist Blitz Build, July 23-28 in Lynchburg.
Organized as part of Virginia Baptists' MC2 Missions Connection Celebration, the Blitz Build was sponsored by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, the Virginia Baptist Foundation, the Lynchburg Baptist Association, and Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia, all of whom partnered with Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity to raise money and enlist volunteers for the project. Together these partners raised $60,000 and contributed more than 2,300 volunteer hours.
Alice Rusher
On Monday of the Blitz Build, volunteers help erect the walls of the house.
Participants from MC2 were joined on the Blitz Build by members of churches in the Lynchburg area, as well as by other Habitat volunteers and even some of the Tylers' new neighbors.
“I've been so excited,” said Gladys Dickerson, who lives a block away, “I just can't stay home.” While some neighbors worked on the construction of the house, Dickerson and Arnetta Read arrived each morning at 6:30 to help serve breakfast to the volunteers and stayed through midday to serve lunch as well.
The Blitz Build began on Monday morning and concluded with a dedication on Saturday. By the end of the first day, the walls and roof trusses had been constructed on the foundation, which was completed prior to the week, and volunteers had begun nailing on the siding and shingles, while skilled crews installed the electrical wiring and plumbing. Work progressed rapidly through the rest of the week, and by Friday evening the building crew was putting the final touches on the house.
Reflecting on the week, Gerdy, a Lynchburg contractor and longtime Habitat volunteer, smiled as he looked at the new house and the volunteers who built it. He thought about the rewards that come from serving others. “All these people came out here thinking they're giving,” said Gerdy, “and they don't realize until later that they've received much, much more than they gave.”
Alice Rusher
Tianna Tyler (right) watches as Tom Gerdy shows Tyler's daughter the handprint she just pressed into the sidewalk of her family's new home.
At the dedication, Tianna Tyler stood on the front porch of her new home and thanked the sponsors and Habitat and the all of the volunteers. Speaking on behalf of the VBMB, Jerry Jones, team leader of the VBMB's glocal missions and evangelism team, noted that almost 1,000 Virginia Baptists were involved in various construction mission projects around the world over the past week, including those who participated in the Blitz Build.
Alice Rusher
“Not a single one of those volunteers is doing it for their own honor or glory,” said Jones. “They're doing it for the honor and glory of God. God uses our hands, our willingness, our availability. God is still in the business of miracles, and I think we're looking at one right now.”