Sulligent team reaches out, repairs roof

The men of First Baptist Church, Sulligent, in Lamar Baptist Association recently accepted the call of Acts 1:8 by going into their Judea. For them, Judea was a few hours south — in Summerdale in Baldwin County — and the missions experience was the church’s first in more than a decade.
   
“The church has always talked about going and being involved, and I am impressed that I am actually here now and doing the work,” team member Chad Wheeler said while working in Summerdale.
   
Two groups of men from First, Sulligent, repaired the roof of Ada Subel’s house, which was damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and further damaged by hurricanes Dennis and Katrina in 2005. Subel was unable to receive federal assistance for repairs and, being a widow, was having trouble financing the project herself.
   
“I felt compelled to go to those folks who felt forgotten,” said John Nicholson, pastor of First, Sulligent.
   
A few days after returning home from the missions trip, Nicholson noticed it was raining. “I just stopped and said a brief prayer of thanks for the fact that I knew there was a widow lady in the south part of our state who was now sleeping in a dry house,” he said, noting other members of the team agreed. “They expressed the same thoughts and clear satisfaction of knowing they had been used by God to help meet a real and pressing need in this lady’s heart. 
   
“They had the real satisfaction to contribute not only with prayers and money but also with their hands to make a difference in someone’s life,” Nicholson said. “That is what it’s all about, not just talking about it but doing something about it.”