There is a blessing in the midst of every storm that comes into a believer's life, and for the Family Church pastor of the Pine Bluff campus, Roosevelt Brown, he knew his trust in God would bring sunshine after the Easter storm brought disaster to a resident's home.
On April 12, Easter Sunday storms with winds up to 70 mph wreaked havoc on Jefferson County causing several power lines and trees to fall, knocking out power to thousands for days and even resulting in one person's tragic death after a tree fell on a home just north of White Hall.
As Brown rode around the area near his church in the 700 block of West 23rd Avenue, he noticed a huge oak tree had fallen on a home.
"The Police Department looked around hoping we didn't find any tragedies," said Brown. "We didn't."
What was tragic was the disarray the storm had left the home in. It belonged to Cathy Cole, a resident of the area for more than 35 years, and fortunately, she was not home during the incident.
But her house would never be the same.
"Her home was destroyed," said Brown.
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Brown said Cole, who is in her mid-60s, didn't have home insurance, did not want to move and she didn't know where to turn.
"I just began to pray and look and ponder what could be done and how it could be done," said Brown, who didn't want the city to condemn her home.
Brown called and a few weeks later God answered.
Brown said that a few weeks after the storm, he received an unexpected call from Jeff Miller. Brown had met Miller, who is the Christian Aid Ministries' south Arkansas team coordinator, a year ago during the flood cleanup in the Delta,
"When I saw that disaster, I thought maybe I should call him and let him know this is going on, but it just so happened, God is so good," said Brown. "It was about three weeks, maybe a month later, Jeff called me."
Miller said he was notified by Jefferson County's Office of Emergency Management about the storm and reached out to see if anyone needed help. Christian Aid Ministries is a nonprofit rapid response ministry that offers cleanup services to individuals and communities affected by natural disasters. Each team is made up of local believers who are ready to respond when the need arises.
"When the call comes, we try to answer," said Miller.
Once Christian Aid Ministries and the United Methodist Relief Team were secured, Brown said he reached out to Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington in hopes that she would support the cause.
"I just kind of went to her and said mayor we got a situation here. If you come alongside I think we can make some things happen," said Brown.
"I said I'm pretty sure I got a crew that will come in and demo that house. I need those dumpsters to be in place and to be hauled off. I said but Mayor what I need also is for it to be free of charge because we don't have money to pay for it."
Brown said Washington jumped on board and got Maurice Taggert of Urban Renewal involved. Taggert then took care of every request needed for this labor of love for Cole, which included making repairs to the house.
"Pastor Brown, in conjunction with the church, does a lot of community outreach," said Taggart, Urban Renewal Agency executive director. "They do such a great job in the community, and we were excited to help."
Taggart said the dumpsters were provided, and it was pointed out that the home was in the city's urban renewal area.
"We take that seriously to provide assistance when needed," he said.
The home is expected to be turn-key ready for Cole to move into by the end of November, but Brown says volunteers will still be needed to put in Sheetrock, electrical and plumbing before then.
"At that point to get licensed people to volunteer their time may not go as fast as for the people that have been involved so far," said Brown, who added that the no-cost project is estimated at about $150,000. "We just believe that we are at this point right now -- we're just trusting that God is going to keep it moving along."
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
For Brown, he said he believes his faith brought actions to life, adding that simply believing in God's goodness and believing that he rewards the people who seek after him has provided a new home for a community member who didn't know what the future of her living situation would be.
"I never thought none of this would fall into place," said Brown. "I just trusted God."