As we pulled into the small driveway not more than a mere trail with some gravel, I knew we were in trouble and unprepared. The afternoon August sun was broiling and I was only prepared to stay possibly 30-45 minutes-yet again, unprepared. I thought we were at the wrong house and mentioned to Clark and Christina who were helping me that afternoon, that I wasn’t sure which house it was. Except that everything matched the description of a gray mobile home with a locked fence around it. And when this little lady stepped out of her home and flagged us with a warm wave, we were indeed in the right place.
Here’s where I messed up. When you say “mobile home†to me that typically means a long, single wide, metal, roof trailer. Sometimes it might be a double wide and have shingles. No matter, all we were going to do was tarp it. My fear was that this was so big with such a large addition, we were going to run short on plastic. Ms. Betty is on disability and has heart problems. She was putting off surgery because every time it rains, water pours into her home. And I could see why. It was covered in felt paper that was old and tattered-no shingles. Her home was like no other I had ever seen. You walked into a front door…but were blown away. Inside the “front door†sat two mobile homes completely framed in and covered by the pole barn type roof. You walked down a plywood hallway but able to touch both mobile homes on either side. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen.
The mobile home on the right was what she was living in. Part of the exterior siding was peeled off revealing the pink insulation. A lone lamp sitting on the floor lit the long, hallway between the two structures. She walked us into a set of French doors into a room that had freshly hung drywall and was very nice, cozy, and comfortable. This was her small living room. What used to be a front porch had been enclosed to create more space. To the outside it looked like a small addition, almost making the entire house structure look like a big capital “P†if that makes sense. Needless to say, that is where the bulk of the water was pouring in-and it was on the west side of the house making it most vulnerable to storms.
Ms. Betty is a veteran of 14 years and runs a small ministry. Health problems have hindered her physical process but not her mental capabilities or her spirit. Throughout our visit she always smiled, offered us glasses of cold water, and told wonderful stories. We learned that the surgery she needs is to remove a large tumor in her uterus which will also require a hysterectomy. The recovery time is anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. Now we could understand her fear of not being at home. She lives alone and has never married so would have to stay with others while recovering. Plumbing is not hooked up to her bathroom commode so she has to “pour flush†her toilet. Also not a good way to recover from surgery.
Why did her roof get so bad? It’s a classic story unfortunately. She literally inherited this other mobile home through a bankruptcy. The home she lived in was in more dire need so she began to think of a creative way to use both of them. That is where the idea of enclosing them and making one big home-almost like the old “shotgun†house, came into mind. Over time she has used the little money she has each month-about $850, plus taken out small loans to hire people to help her. And others have volunteered. The saddest part is her roofer who really caused her the greatest grief. He has used unmatched shingles and they do not line up. Plus, he only completed 1/3 of the entire roof before just quitting.  Took the money and ran. It happens all the time. The roof will have to be re-stripped and completely redone.
Yet Ms. Betty just smiles and speaks her dream. She talks of the love and faithfulness of Jesus. She talks about friendship. And mainly, she praises God for what health she does have-although she has a large tumor, it is not cancerous. What faith! That afternoon, we tarped what we could. I was fearful we had not brought enough plastic to cover it-and actually we were going to have to come back. Fortunately, Ms. Betty had another large tarp which we were able to use. We began to think of ways we could work with Ms. Betty to help her. Christina, who is in architecture, walked through her home while Ms. Betty asked her detailed questions on everything from structure to design. It was simply beautiful. She was going to use these resources and she was thinking big.
We walked away that afternoon inspired. Tarping the roof was great and may help keep most of the water out for now-until we can get a team that wants to serve with Ms. Betty. But there was so much more to this visit. I was yet again humbled and inspired. Now we can just pray and thank God for beginning this friendship. It was a hot day in August and we were unprepared…but oh, it was so much more.
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