Using Your Gifts For God

Some projects start with a phone call and a set of plans. This one started with a community that refused to look the other way.

Jacksonville resident Scott Helfrich met Renee through a personal connection. When he saw the condition of her home, he went home that night and prayed about it. Then he got to work making calls.

Renee had lived in her Jacksonville-area home since 2001 and bought it in 2003. What she had not been able to do in all the years since was get ahead of the problems quietly taking the house apart around her.

The roof had been deteriorating for years. Water had worked its way in, rotting out the floor trusses beneath the kitchen. The range had sunk an inch and a half. The bathroom, where most of the leak damage had concentrated, had become a hazard. What started as a housing issue had become a safety issue.

Tony Gillette, Founder and President of Cabinetry by MAG, was among the first people Scott called. From there, the circle grew. Members of Scott's Bible study group committed funding and labor. Tradespeople from the extended Bluewave network gave their time. Paul and the Bluewave team came alongside to make it a reality.

What the Work Actually Looked Like

This was not a cosmetic project. Bluewave came in and completely reframed the kitchen with an all new floorplan. From there, the scope expanded to give Renee a home that functioned the way a home should.

The kitchen was reimagined from the ground up. Cabinetry by MAG wrapped the new layout, creating functional workspace where there had been almost none. The range was reinstalled level. The wall between the kitchen and the rotted bathroom cavity was rebuilt.

The bathroom transformation was the most dramatic change in the house. The old tub and shower combination, the source of years of water damage, was replaced with a walk-in shower. Chris Tate, a tile craftsman and friend of the team, came in and executed the tile work. A new vanity with a banjo top added counter space Renee had never had.

A new deck replaced the old block steps at the entry, making it easier for Renee and her family to come and go. The ramp built alongside it was specifically designed so that Renee's aunt, who uses a motorized scooter, could finally come inside the house for the first time.

Paul donated all of the insulation, drywall, framing materials, deck materials, labor, electrical work, and more. The team sealed every window and recaulked the entire envelope to make the home as energy efficient as possible. Both bedrooms were repainted and refloored. The project touched nearly every room in the house.

All of it was done at no cost to Renee.

Gifts you are given will not only be a blessing in your life but also when you share them, they will also be used by God to make a significant difference in the world or in someone else's life. It is important to try to be God's hands and feet if you ever hear the calling or find the opportunity to do so. 

Why It Matters

The team that made this happen was not just a construction crew. It was Scott's network, his Bible study group, fellow tradespeople, and the Bluewave team itself. People contributed money. People contributed labor. Paul contributed materials and labor. The whole thing came together because a lot of people asked themselves the same question and answered it the same way: what can we do?

Renee has lived in that house for more than two decades. She raised family there. The floor was giving out beneath her and she had nowhere to turn.

She has a safe, energy-efficient, functional home now. That is what this project was.

We are sharing this because the people who made it happen deserve to be recognized, and because we believe the communities we build in are part of what makes this work worth doing.

That is The Shoreline Standard.