By Fred Guarino
The Lowndes Signal

Some 82 volunteers representing 10 local churches (three from Montgomery) were dispatched throughout Lowndes County last Saturday to repair homes for elderly citizens as part of Operation Inasmuch, volunteer Wendy Sherker said.

“We help those who can’t do the work and are in desperate need of repairs,” Audrey Marlette, organizer of Operation Inasmuch, explained.

Before the volunteers were dispatched to target homes, Pastor Darrell Paulk of Hayneville Baptist reminded those who met at his church on Saturday that they were doing all this for “God’s Glory.” Many pastors and religious leaders who came to help all joined in a group prayer and offered more inspiration, Sherker said.

She said that Operation Inasmuch is by no means a government program. “It takes about a year or more of planning and fund raising to complete such a task,” she said.

“There is no one church that heads this program, and the funds that are raised are donations from churches and neighbors who want to help,” Sherker said.

Jonathan’s House of Prayer and Mt. Zion AME Zion Church, both in Hayneville, made all the lunches and delivered them to the workers, Marlette said.

Among the volunteers were Lowndes County School Superintendent Dr. Daniel Boyd, Lowndes County Commissioner Carnell McAlpine and Lowndes County District Court Judge Adrian D. Johnson.

“When we began meeting to discuss Operation Inasmuch about two and a half to three years ago, the goal was to find some way to minister to the needs of the people of Lowndes County,” Johnson said.

He said Christians send ministers around the world “but seldom do we send somebody down the street to minister to the needs of the lost in this community.”

He said it was decided that one of the ways to minister to the needs of the people was the meet their physical needs by repairing houses.

Johnson participated in a project where a wheelchair ramp was repaired, a front porch was stabilized, a roof was placed over the ramp and the back portion of a trailer was reroofed.

“It’s a blessing for the folks that did the work more so than the people that the work is being performed for,” Johnson said. He noted that the lady of the house who was in a wheelchair was “just as delighted as she could be” that she has a cover over her ramp, which was also repaired.

“At the end of the day, we’re there to demonstrate out faith in the Lord by our efforts on behalf of other people,” Johnson said.

Fannie Rush of Mary Jane Jackson Road in the Black Belt Community of Lowndes County saw her home repaired by Carpenters for Christ from Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Montgomery on Saturday.

Six volunteers from the church were repairing the vinyl on Rush’s house and painting it for her.

Operation Inasmuch was set to repair 18 homes for the elderly in the county.

“Well, I appreciate them coming to help me,” Rush said. While the work was still in progress, Rush had a huge smile on her face. “I haven’t seen the work that they’ve done yet, but I’m pretty sure when they finish will be a blessing to me and a good job,” she said.

When asked if this was work she could not have had done on her own, she replied, “No, I could not afford it because I would not have had the money to do it with.”

Steve Fuller, who was one of those working on the Rush home, explained that Eastern Hills has a group called Carpenters for Christ.

“We go off every year and do a building project someone in the United States,” he said.

Van Nunnelly, who was in charge of the Carpenters for Christ said someone contacted them about Operation Inasmuch. “It’s a good needy project. Every summer we go somewhere and build a church for needy congregation. This is extra, kind of a small local project that we’ve doing,” he said. “We’ve got six out here that are ready willing and able.”

The group from Eastern Hills apart from Nunnelly included, Larry Kennedy, Fuller, Mitch Marshall, Crews Reaves, and Harry Brash.

“We truly regret that we were not able to get to all the homes that applied,” Marlette said, “but funds ran out quickly. A large part of our budget was used on lumber for wheel chair ramps.”

If Rush is an example of those whose homes were repaired, Operation Inasmuch was a huge success.

“I’m grateful, very grateful. Thank God first and then thank them,” Rush said.