HANCOCK COUNTY — With his hands covered in paint and his T-shirt drenched in sweat, Mike Lowe couldn’t think of a better way to spend a day off from work than toiling out in the hot sun.
Lowe was among the dozens of volunteers from Wilkinson Christian Church who spent last week doing household renovations for strangers throughout Hancock County, as part of an annual outreach done by the church.
This year’s effort was called “Extreme Makeover: Jesus Edition.”
The team spread out across 13 projects, helping a number of people in Wilkinson, Shirley, Knightstown and rural Greenfield.
“It’s always a fun week,” said Ryan McCarty, senior pastor at the church.
“To see the people’s reactions is great. You see some tears and a lot of gratitude, all kinds of emotions,” he said.
Neil Floyd sat on his porch and watched the crew work — with his dog Rose on his lap — and was amazed at the generosity of strangers.
A crew of 10 were at his house on Wednesday, July 28, rebuilding his deck, painting baseboards, cutting grass and pulling weeds.
“It’s wonderful they’re doing all this for me. It’s a real lifesaver,” said Floyd, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident in 1984.
He cherishes the sprawling ranch home he built in rural Greenfield 30 years ago with his wife, who died in 2012. “I drew up the designs and served as general contractor while my wife was planning our wedding,” he said.
Jessica Lowe, who took two days off work to volunteer, said it was a privilege to help people like Floyd spruce up and maintain their homes.
“We get blessed through this community outreach as much as they do,” she said.
Sixteen-year-old Cade Morgan couldn’t think of a better way to spend the last week of summer than by working out in the sun with fellow members of his church, who taught him a thing or two about light construction and power tools.
“I just like being able to help the community,” he said.
This is the fourth consecutive year for the church’s community outreach, but its roots started much further from home.
On a previous missions trip to Puerto Rico, church members met a team of follow missionaries from Texas who said they had once traveled to help people in nearby Rush County, Indiana.
“That made us realize that the people in our own backyard need help,” Mike Lowe said. Thus the annual local outreach began.
Most of the recipients of last week’s efforts aren’t members of the church, but were nominated by church members or others through word of mouth.
A leadership team met with each homeowner to see how they could best be of help.
“Typically we walk through with them to see what needs to be done. A lot of times we’ll see things ourselves that can be done and offer to do that, too. People are sometimes hesitant to ask for the help,” said Lowe, a construction supervisor by trade.
“We’ll do various projects of various complexities. We help out several widows and widowers who could use a helping hand with some upkeep or their honey-do lists,” he said.
Lowe, an elder with the church, said the week-long outreach is a church-wide team effort. “Even those who can’t come out and help are supporting us in one way or another,” he said.
Many donate financial resources, while local individuals and businesses will donate materials and supplies like Dumpsters.
A team of volunteers prepares breakfast each day of the week at the church, where the team fuels up before heading out for a full day working on various projects around the county.
Other volunteers take the children of the homeowners getting work done on field trips to places like The Children’s Museum or the Indianapolis Zoo. Sometimes they’ll take children of families who received help in the past, too.
Church members also make a habit of stocking the pantries and providing toiletries and school supplies for the families they assist each year.
“We love to build and maintain those relationships,” said Jessica Lowe, as she painted baseboards in bright white paint.
McCarty said the outreach is a great way for church members to spend time together and get to know each other better. It’s also heartwarming to see how much their efforts are appreciated by the homeowners they help.
“The reactions are priceless. You see some tears, and all kinds of emotions,” said the pastor, as he fastened boards onto the deck behind Floyd’s house.
