The Potts family lost their home in the May tornado that struck the Shawnee area in May. As I recall the story, Paul rushed just ahead of the tornado as it approached his home. He arrived home just in time to pick up his son and drag his ailing mother to the storm cellar before it hit. As he shut the door to the storm cellar he witnessed the tornado ripping through his home he had just moved his family into a short few months before. He lost everything.
To be honest they are thrilled to have simply survived but at the same time devastated over the loss of their home. They hadn't been making payments long enough to even start building equity. Now they had nothing.
The Oklahoma FWB response to the Tornados that ravaged through Central Oklahoma was overwhelming. We received plenty to fund our operations in Moore and much more. As usual we were determined to use donated funds as designated. We did replace worn out generators and such, but there was much more to disperse.
The needs were great as we looked for worthy causes. One thing we did which we have done before in previous disasters, was offer compassion grants through our local pastors. Numerous affected families were helped through these gifts. They were very appreciative and it brought glory to the Kingdom of God and Oklahoma FWB's.
Even after that though there was more money to come in. Don't misunderstand me, these gifts are greatly needed when disaster strikes. We could have supported hundreds of worthy efforts yet we wanted to do something really worthwhile with these funds. Something that Oklahoma FWB's can be proud of.
We decided to fund a home rebuild for tornado victims. We had done efforts similar to this in the past. We had replaced a couple roofs and did an add on at a church that had survived Katrina. We even funded recovery efforts for tombs that were washed away from a FWB Cemetery in Louisiana. This was the first time we would do a complete home rebuild though.
Through various connections, primarily Americas Disaster Relief, we came in contact with the Potts family. They seemed to be a perfect fit for what we like to do, being a single parent family with an elderly grandparent living with them. So there we began last August.
We got the dirt work completed quickly but then the weather interfered. We finally got the slab poured a few weeks ago, and then weather struck again. We are now well underway with the framing though and should be in the dry soon. We are very thankful for Mark Cole and Vaughn Pirtle for their tireless efforts in getting us this far. A special thanks goes out to Stuart Branscum and family as well for doing the framework over the past week or so. They were a Godsend!
Well, we still have a ways to go, but we are well on our way to providing this family with a home. Understand once again, this has all been done with funds designated for the May tornados. We have used none of ACM's budgeted funds, though I cannot imagine this being outside the scope of our mission, to offer relief to families affected by disaster. Also understand, we are depleting our funds fast. Any further gifts for this project are greatly appreciated.
Now an explanation how our disaster relief ministry works...
We currently have four generator teams strategically located throughout Oklahoma ready to respond in need. We are in the process of developing another. When disaster strikes, the team closest and most available responds first. Then they through communication with me as director determine the need and scope. Sometimes there is a need for generators, sometimes there is not. Generators are our niche, but not our only response. They are per se our foot in the door. We simply respond as needed. Along with everything else I mentioned, we also coordinated several cleanup exhorts in the Moore area after the storms.
I hope this clarifies why we used disaster relief money to fund a home rebuild for a family devastated by disaster. I also hope it clarified why we spent the last eight months ministering to the spiritual needs of a community traumatized by the recent tornado, with plans of building a church and relief center for these devastated families. It is what we do. We embrace those in need...
I apologize for not informing our supporters better of what we are doing. Please understand though, I do not make a living directing Arms of Compassion. I get my expenses paid and when a few hundred dollars is available to do so and I have missed work to serve ACM, I might receive a little bit of housing reimbursement. That is rare and little. I must work full time to support my family. Because of my commitment to the church at Steelman and to supporting my family, I simply haven't been out and about as much as I would wish.
A couple things we are doing to remedy this though are, one, my board members have agreed to represent ACM in their home association and maybe another association they are affiliated with. I will do my best to visit as much as possible, but to be quite honest my kids are involved on sports and such, and I refuse to neglect them. Also we are working real hard at revamping our website and it's interact ability with social media and such. Other than that we will continue. to submit our semi monthly reports in the promoter.
Friends, I really do appreciate your continued support of the ministries of Arms of Compassion. Because of your support thousands of lives have been touched with the compassion of Christ over the last decade. As you continue to support, lives will continue to be touched...
Thank you!
John M Hewett, Director
Arms of Compassion
