The Word of God in James, Chapter 2, verse 17, says that faith without works is dead. This past week, more than 2,000 volunteers from all parts of the country displayed how faith with works can impact a community.  
The group called “Eight Days of Hope” is a faith based, non-denominational organization dedicated to helping communities devastated by natural disasters. They invaded St. John Parish last Saturday and immediately started repairing homes damaged by Hurricane Isaac.  
Bethany Bergeron, coordinator of the rebuilding project under the Long Term Recovery Group of St. John Parish, stated that more than 200 homes were visited and assisted in recovery. Throughout the parish, Christians from all walks of life with their bright orange T-shirts came to our parish to get blessed. That’s right! They came here to get blessed by helping those in need. God’s Word says that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Steve Tybor, president and co-founder of the group, said, “When you give, it’s priceless. It’s a treasure you can’t imagine.”
One young man, 17-year-old Jacob Williams from Virginia, is credited to have said, “We’re not here to build houses. We’re here to build relationships.” I never met Jacob, but Thursday morning at PJ’s, God allowed me to meet a couple from Longview, Texas, Randall and Martha Arnhart.  
Seeing the excitement and satisfaction this couple had for being a small part of “Eight Days of Hope,” almost made me envious. Their 17- and 15-year-old boys were with them. Their other two boys are students at Baylor University.  
As we ended our visit, two young men, also members of the group, walked in. Both were students at the University of Kentucky – Andrew Colburn, a psychology major with his eyes set on being a minister, and Nicholas Scott, a chemical engineering major. The two had never met the Arnharts.  
That’s the beauty of God’s people coming together for His Glory, not knowing each other or caring about getting any credit.
As I was about to leave, my friend, Mike Brouwer, came in. We visited for a little while and briefly discussed the people with Eight Days
of Hope. Mike summed it up with these words. “It was good to see all the people in orange T-shirts working, helping people, having fun and not drinking beer or using vulgarity.”
Evidently their mission was accomplished, not only by doing construction work but also by sharing the love and joy of the Holy Spirit. Come to think of it, they were also busy constructing their heavenly homes that will never experience any natural disasters.
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