The Adult Mission Team of Christ United Methodist Church, Farmers Branch, made its fifth trip to Operation Rita Recovery in Southeast Texas on February 24 to 29 to do repair work on homes damaged by Hurricane Rita.

The team, consisting of Joe and Doris Williams, Richard Ramsay, Mark MacDonald, Stan Everett, Connie Bouas, Soila Escamilla and Kathy Guier did an extensive kitchen and bathroom renovation on the house of Ben and Deborah B. of Port Arthur. Ben is 67 and on Social Security and Deborah has various health issues. Because of Deborah’s health issues, the team did not have a lot of interaction with her, but Ben with his bubbly personality and optimism was an absolute delight to work with. His favorite saying as the work began to take shape was "Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus".

The roof on the house had been replaced shortly after the hurricane and the week before the CUMC team arrived, a team from another church had replaced the floor in the bathroom which had rotted out. Our illustrious carpenters then removed everything in the kitchen down to the bare walls and floors, removed and repaired a rotted section in the kitchen floor and rear wall along with realigning some of the plumbing.

Once a clean slate had been established, a new sub-floor was put down, new kitchen cabinets, counter top, sink and faucet were installed; new marlite paneling was installed on the back wall of the kitchen; and a new vinyl tile floor was laid down in both the kitchen and bathroom. Additionally, the exterior doors at the front and rear of the house were replaced with new steel-clad doors and storm doors. All of this work was done within a materials budget of $1,900 which was made possible by your gifts to UMCOR and grant monies from other relief agencies. Personal contributions from various team members also helped to pay for new curtains and other enhancements to the kitchen.

The program, Rita Recovery, is a joint effort of UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) and the Texas Conference. Rita Recovery’s headquarters are at Wesley United Methodist Church in Beaumont and a satellite operation is run out of St. John UMC in Port Arthur. The Beaumont office schedules and coordinates repair efforts in northern Jefferson County, Vidor and Orange County while the St. John office handles southern Jefferson County. The Christ Church team worked out of St. John UMC which provided sleeping and cooking facilities.

Plans have already been made to return to Port Arthur the week of October 19 for another week of work. We encourage all members and friends of Christ Church to seriously consider going. It is an experience which can change your life and significantly improve the lives and living conditions of those impacted by Hurricane Rita. (Article by Joe Williams.)