A Hurricane Harvey Remnant

Last week CFC co-founder Boyd Martin received a call for help from a homeowner in Docena, Alabama who had been impacted by Tropical Storm Harvey - the residual winds of Hurricane Harvey - that came through Birmingham in late August / early September.  Upon inspection, he concluded that it was a job that fell within our team capabilities and scope of service, but one that would require some careful planning.  There was no way the skid steer would be able to assist in the limited space where they would be working; and the site was even further compromised by the presence of a neighboring house and a chain-link fence nearby.

The upper story of this tree was brought down during the storm.  Others before us cleared away the canopy debris that fell.  Our assignment was to remove the remaining 20' tall "totem" and move the pieces into which we cut it to the fence line where the city agreed to then pick them up and haul away.

Boyd felt a small team could best accomplish the task and elected to call a few of the CFC regulars to field a team of just three cutters and one safety officer.  The team of four - consisting of Boyd, Buddy Williams, Tim Smith and Henry Averyt - convened at the job site at 8 am on Friday morning, November 17.  They worked diligently, sacrificing several chainsaw chains as they encountered nails, spikes and chain links that had become embedded in the tree over its many years of growth.  They were eventually able to bring down the tree to a level about three feet off the ground where the diameter of the tree was measured at 43-1/2"!

This photo of Buddy in front of the tree along the fence line may give you some perspective of the size of this matchstick!  Also note the device attached to Buddy's trailer hitch.  He calls it "Abelette," a portable winch that worked to help guide the tree down right where they wanted it to fall before they cut it up in movable-sized pieces.

The tree was bucked into sections which were then laid against the chain link fence for the city to remove.  Job done and job site departed - all by 12:00 noon. Our disaster response ministry has been blessed by a quiet storm season thus far but we remain prepared and at the ready to serve when needed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

In His Service, Bob Bob Thompson Cutters for Christ Disaster Response Ministry Deployment/Team Coordinator _________________________________________________________

The latest news letter from our CFC member Chris Williams and family

News from the Williams family, OMS missionaries to Colombia. View this email in your browser

Williams Family Update November 2017 Greetings from Colombia, They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so we would like to share some photos with you in this update. We praise God for you and always give thanks for family, friends and partners in the ministry. May you and your family experience blessing, joy and peace in this special season. Love, Chris, Heather, Kenley, Madison and James Williams Chris traveled to Apartado, Colombia to teach Missions and Culture in the Bible institute. The majority of the students are  pastors or key leaders in the churches of the region, which has been adversely affected by the violence of Colombia's decades-long civil war. The Bible institute is an option that enables pastors and leaders the opportunity to study without the large (and often impossible) barrier of relocation and expenses associated with formal study in the One Mission Society founded seminary in Medellín. We take the courses to the students and their class fees are very low, making this a great way to train pastors for the local church. The Bible institute has three locations in Colombia which enables the students from various regions of Colombia to study without extensive travel. Kenley, James and Madison participated in a missions conference at their school. Madison represented Saudi Arabia, Kenley represented Japan and James participated by playing guitar in the band for the assembly. After the general assembly, parents visited the classrooms where the students presented all they had learned about the governance, society, culture, traditions and religions of a their assigned country. It was one of the best missions conferences we have ever attended!

Jaider is a student at the Seminary in Medellín and a recipient of one of the ten scholarships provided through One Mission Society. He and his beautiful family left their town to come to Medellín for the sole purpose of attending the seminary. They followed the leading of God without the assurance of a job, place to live or a scholarship to pay for his education. They lived for two years in a Sunday School classroom in one of our churches while Jaider worked nights and studied in the daytime. We learned of Jaider and his family's extreme faith and were able to provide a scholarship for his education. They have since moved to an apartment on campus and Jaider no longer works nights. Please pray with us for our seminary students and that God would provide more resources for additional scholarships at the seminary.  The family traveled to Bogota to apply for our visa renewal. The process is arduous and lengthy, but we are happy that we have visas for two more years. Madison really knows how to travel...LIGHTS OUT! Chris had the privilege to preach in an evangelistic service as part of the national day of missions celebration in the Interamerican church of Colombia. The church in El Bagre seats around 500 people and there were people standing at every window and filling the street outside. El Bagre is another area that has been adversely affected by violence and it is not often that a gringo comes to speak in their community.  Heather continues making progress teaching the children of the public school in Niquia. She teaches English and Bible to the children in this challenging area of the city. Word is out and everyone wants to learn...even Jorge and his chicken. Please join us in praying: for a movement of Colombian missionaries led by the Spirit that impacts other nations  for a teenage girl that Heather is currently mentoring for Karen - the only evangelical Christian in the school in which Heather serves for our family to thrive in whatever situation in which we live Thank you for your prayers and your support. It is your prayers, encouragement and financial partnership that make this ministry possible. We pray that God will bless you richly and that you will experience his peace every day of your life.  Contact Us Magic Jack   (205) 687-1861 cwilliams@onemissionsociety.org   Follow Us   www.facebook.com/chrisheather.williams.3   One Mission Society www.onemissionsociety.org (317) 888-3333 941 Fry Rd · PO Box A Greenwood, IN 46142  Missionary # 802473

View Bio / Online Giving Copyright © 2017 Chris and Heather Williams, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you expressed interest in our ministry. Our mailing address is: Chris and Heather Williams 7256 Self Rd Pinson, AL 35126 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences