East Cullman Association volunteers build church in remote Oklahoma area

Hardships like a remote location, rain and even wild bears could not prevent Osmar Morris and his team from completing a church building project in Honobia, Okla.
   
The team of 63, mostly from the East Cullman Baptist Association, recently spent several days building a new church for members of First Baptist Church of Honobia, Okla. The 6,900-square-foot facility included a new sanctuary, fellowship hall and Sunday School classrooms.
   
Honobia is a small community 90 miles southwest of Fort Smith, Ark.
   
“This is a very remote area,” Morris said. “You have to drive 23 miles to buy gas. It’s more than 60 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart.”
   
A small advance team went a few days early to prepare for the project.  Work went well, in spite of unexpected interruptions.
   
“The first week we were there, we had a lot of rain, and our people just kept working. The Lord just worked tremendously. We were without power two days. We ran with generators,” said Morris.
   
“The next week,” added Morris, “we were able to complete everything on the outside of the building. We framed it, put vinyl siding on it, put the windows and doors in, and put the roof on.”
   
Rain was not the only hazard the team faced.
   
They had Vacation Bible School the first week we were there, and there was a bear out plundering around a building behind the church one afternoon, said Morris.
   
Some volunteers were nervous about the bear near their sleeping quarters but continued working.
   
While some of the team members had been on earlier trips, Morris estimated that at least 15–18 of them had never been on a missions trip before.
   
“They were awestruck to see what God did. I’ve been in this since 1979, and I never cease to be amazed,” Morris said.
   
Morris, chairman of the missions committee for the association, attends Lake Catoma Baptist Church in Cullman. He generally spearheads the projects, putting together teams and gathering materials.
   
According to Tom Williams, director of missions for East Cullman Association, the three-man missions committee plans one major trip per year for the association. He said that six–10 churches in the association usually participate.
   
“It does something in the life of the people who go as evidenced by the fact that they go back again and again,” said Williams. “If you want to get a good conversation going, just talk to one of these people about the trip or another need somewhere. They will just bubble over with what God has done.”
   
According to Williams, those who did not go were able to help in other ways.  In addition to providing the labor, churches in East Cullman Association raised $14,600 to help with materials.
   
And, of course, prayer is central to this undertaking, Williams added.
   
Morris and his wife, along with other volunteers, participate in one to five other projects each year besides the one planned by the association.
   
The Cullman County team and the members at Honobia have developed a relationship through previous projects. Vester Benefield, another member of the Mission Committee, recalled earlier trips to help the Honobia congregation.
   
“I went when we built onto the old church, then we went back and carried pews that we got out of the First Baptist Church in Huntsville. We sawed them apart and took them out there and gave them to the church.”
   
Morris expects the church in Oklahoma to grow. “The congregation is small, but they have a vision for the future. They have a facility there now that will be able to meet the needs of the community as the Lord adds to the church.”