MDS Re-visited

While we were on holiday in Palm Springs, we received an invitation to attend the dedication service of the first home finished by MDS in Dulzura CA. As we were on the ground there when it was started we decided we would make the trip out, and see the finished product . It was great to meet Steve and Elsie again, and to be there with them and others to bless their home. It was a warm and windy morning but quite a number of people showed up for the event, representing many different groups that had made this home a possibility and a reality.

Steve and Elsie cut the ribbon for their home, with the project director, Charlotte looking on, as well as Mel, the California MDS rep who was quite instrumental in getting MDS going here. There were also many presentations to Steve and Elsie as well. Shown is the quilted wall hanging presented to them, thanks to MDS partnering with Mennonite Women USA, who make and provide these hanging to us to present to clients for whom MDS has built new homes. Other presentations included a comfort made by the ladies of a church in Oregon, a Bible and a copy of the MDS book, A Hammer Rings Hope, as well as a framed certificate naming all the organizations who had a part in this home becoming reality, and some gifts for the home from the Harris CRT, and a welcome mat for the front door from the Salvation Army.

There were words of Dedication read by the project director and the construction foreman, as well as a response by the crowd. The picture shows the pastor of the church the clients attend, reading scripture as well as offering the prayer of blessing and dedication for the home. Once the formalities were over, we were all invited inside for coffee and cookies and visiting and a chance to see the finished home. It looked really good and we were happy to have been a part of the whole process and to be able to get a place for our clients to move into. Steve and Elsie are looking forward to settling in and having their lives get back to 'normal', more than a year after losing their other home in the fires.

Some pictures of the inside of the house that MDS built.