H******7
发帖数: 34403 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 Joke 讨论区 】
发信人: Huan2007 (胡绵涛), 信区: Joke
标 题: 老墨真能生，single mom with 9 kids
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Mon May 12 11:40:56 2014, 美东)
When the blindfolds came off, the tears poured.
Emotions exploded when the Chavez family saw its house for the first time
since it was completely remodeled. The 89-year-old dwelling had fallen into
such disrepair that plywood covered holes in the floor and trash cans were
brought in catch water from a leaky roof.
Gone is the decay, the power failures and the sound of kids waking up crying
in the cold winter night.
“I don’t see any more dark, I see light,” Laura Chavez, 45, said after
the tears had dried Thursday evening, May 8. “I see happiness. I see my new
life.”
In less than a month, about 200 volunteers, including licensed professionals
, gutted and rebuilt their house in Riverside’s Casa Blanca neighborhood, a
low-income, predominantly Latino area off Madison Street. The Evans Street
home was built in 1925 and has been in the family since 1928.
Sandals Church in Riverside made it possible.
The church learned of Chavez, an unemployed single mom with nine kids, when
a member visited the Mexican restaurant next door about two years ago. He
told the restaurant owner he wanted to serve Thanksgiving dinner to a
neighbor in need.
The owner pointed to Chavez’s house.
When a church community group arrived with a meal, they realized the family
had no working stove. Members later got the family a refrigerator and
invited them to church. They’ve attended ever since.
A couple years later, when a church Christmas gift team dropped off presents
for the kids, they discovered unacceptable living conditions, said Brian
Boyd, a church member and real estate broker who managed the repairs.
It had been raining, and there was water in the four bedrooms. There was no
heat source. Multiple windows were broken. The rooms lacked light switches.
A central cord hanging from the ceiling provided electricity. The bathroom
floor supports were rotted out.
“It needed everything,” Boyd said. “We needed to do it all.”
On April 12, 80 men arrived and took four 40-yard dumpsters of trash from
the house and yard. They cleared out the belongings and began overhauling
the house from top to bottom.
They installed a new roof, kitchen, bathroom, plumbing, interior walls,
flooring, lighting, electricity, heating, windows, doors, concrete patio/
sidewalk, patio cover, landscaping, interior and exterior paint. Most of the
labor and many of the materials were donated.
The church set up a gift registry at Target. Church members bought clothes,
shoes, backpacks, groceries, bathroom and kitchen supplies, and other
household items. The church purchased beds and mattresses. Other furniture
was donated by church members and California Baptist University in Riverside.
“I’m totally blessed,” Chavez said. “I’m very grateful. This is
beautiful.”
At first, church leaders didn’t tell the 5,000-member congregation where
the gifts and donations were going. Lead Pastor Matt Brown weaved the story
into his Mother’s Day sermon about the Good Samaritan. He said many church
families are in need and hopes this is the first of many such projects.
“The idea is to be motivated out of love, not because I know you,” Brown
said. “Would you be generous to someone you’ve never met, you don’t know?
Because that’s what we feel like Jesus has called us to do in terms of
loving your neighbor.”
Since the work began, Chavez and five of her kids had been temporarily
living in a house belonging to church member Scarlett Czarnecki, who has
been staying with her parents.
Chavez knew she was getting a new roof and other improvements, but didn’t
expect the extent of the repairs and the furnishings. Still, the biggest
surprise was waiting in the living room.
Jonathan Chavez, her 18-year-old son who attends Cal State Monterey Bay, was
home for Mother’s Day – unbeknownst to his mom.
When the front door opened, mom and all the kids embraced and wailed in
ecstasy for several minutes.
Tears fell fast. Words weren’t needed.
They explored each bedroom. Zachary, 9, and Xavier, 10, admired the sports
decor, desk and bunk beds. Alyssa, 16, loved the closet with sliding
mirrored doors. Savannah, 8, gushed about her new doll, pillows and white
boards on the wall.
“It’s amazing in every way,” Alyssa said.
David Roa, Laura’s 71-year-old uncle who is legally blind, smiled when he
saw the large TV, digital clock and freestanding dresser in his room.
The kitchen is Laura’s favorite spot. Before the renovations, she couldn’t
cook or wash dishes because the floor sank. She’s already planning the
first meal in her new home.
“I’ll probably cook a big pot of menudo to start the house off warm,” she
said. “I’m going to make a chocolate cake.” |
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