My quilting machine will go over in that corner,” Fannie Brown said as she pointed with her right hand toward the far corner of the bare wood walls and floor. The 8-by-12 area will soon become her new sewing room.
Brown and her husband, Lawrence, had to leave their home of 45 years after the April 27 tornado swept through the Bethsaida area on County Road 436 and damaged their home beyond repair. The 180-mph winds ripped parts of the roof completely off as large trees finished the job and punched a hole through the roof above one bedroom and the living room. Debris from the tornado ripped the walls off the backside of the building. The entire structure was pulled and shifted on its foundation.
But Fannie, who turned 73 in July, is thankful for the protection found in the storm cellar out back. She, Lawrence and seven relatives made their way to the cellar before the storm hit and could hear the roar as it passed over the 29 acres of land. Although the home was condemned, most of the Browns’ belongings were left undamaged, including Fannie’s sewing machines.
Director of Missions Jack Collins was in charge of assessments for West Cullman Baptist Association after the storms and could clearly see the Browns would need assistance and wanted to show Christ’s love to the couple.
So Collins contacted Jimmy McClendon, pastor of Missionary Grove Baptist Church, Cullman, and together they came up with the idea to witness to the area as an associational rebuild team. West Cullman Association was one of the first associations to request assistance through the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions’ rebuild project, an online resource detailing specific needs across the state.
McClendon was a bivocational pastor but was laid off late last year from his electrical maintenance job. He continues to lead Missionary Grove Baptist and now serves as the lead contractor on the Browns’ home.
“God freed me up to [lead the construction],” McClendon said of his layoff. “If I had a full-time job, I wouldn’t be able to do this, and it’s been such a blessing [to me].”
West Cullman Association churches like Mount Nebo Baptist, New Freedom Baptist Church, and Baldwin Heights Baptist all in Cullman started working on the Browns’ home in early June.
But they were not alone in their efforts. East Cullman Baptist Association’s Lake Catoma Baptist Church, Cullman, also worked on the site. Other churches such as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Cullman; Palmetto Baptist Church in Georgia.; Eagle Heights Baptist Church in Somerset, Ky.; and Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon, Ga., also worked on the home at different stages, one for framing the house and another for putting on the roof.
The new 1,690-square-foot home, which is located where the Browns’ garden area was and just behind the damaged home, has a one-car garage, three bedrooms and two baths.
More than 160 volunteers have worked on the house “from the floor up,” according to Collins. The Browns have supplied the materials, and the volunteers have provided the labor.
McClendon said he and other volunteers are on-site from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday through Friday and sometimes on Saturday.
At the end of July, the windows and doors were in place and teams from Eagle Heights Baptist worked on putting vinyl soffit under the hangover of the roof. At press time, a local brick mason was scheduled to lay bricks the first week of August. West Cullman Association plans to finish the home by the middle of August so the Browns can move in as soon as possible.
“[West Cullman Association] started the work, and God brought in the volunteers,” McClendon said. “We didn’t plan it; it just happened.”
To learn about other rebuild projects in Alabama, visit www.sbdr.org/rebuild.
Share with others: