This journey that I am going to tell you about started in March, 2024 with a visit to my good friends, Jody and Trisha, who are more than just friends. They’re my Texas family. My home is in Ohio. I experienced a delay of a few weeks for my original trip. Only God can orchestrate the timing of things in such a remarkable way. He did this by coordinating my schedule to coincide with something special. During our visit, Jody and Trisha took me to a Bible conference in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Little did I know how God was going to connect me with Larry and Lori. They are the stewards of Daysprings Campground Ministries in West, Texas near Waco.
Before I am too far into this story, I will tell you about OH-TX Construction Missions, a 501c3 non-profit. The path to this seemed to start when I went to Panama City, FL to volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse doing disaster relief work in 2017 and 2018. It may have started long before that, but I’m not aware of that just yet. Jody and Trisha, and I all served in Panama City, FL. They were the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) Chaplains on several of the sites where I worked. We have a connection that was by God’s grace. Ultimately, that friendship and connection led us to OH-TX Construction Missions. I’ve taken a somewhat long time, in my mind, to decide to move forward with this, and I’ve gone my own way a few times. (I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15:5)
The idea of OH-TX Construction Missions (OTCM) is to help ministries, individuals, and families that don’t have the ability or resources to make needed repairs. These can be construction needs or trees that need to come down from storm damage, structural damage from no maintenance, or just worn out and decaying from age. The labor for these services is free. The recipient furnishes supplies. The main reason and really the only reason for this is for God’s Glory and going out in Jesus’ name to show people what Jesus did on the Cross. If I don’t accomplish that, then I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do.
The Bible conference was good timing for several reasons, one of them being the construction needs of Daysprings Campground Ministries, which is a non-profit that does summer camps for 100’s of lower income kids that have never been to a camp and maybe have never heard what Jesus did for them! There were several projects underway, but they needed people to help. I visited Daysprings the week following the Bible conference. The projects were minimal in my eyes, and the original plan was to complete them within a couple of weeks. I returned to Ohio with a decision to make. I take a while and a lot of praying and thinking before I make a final decision. I returned to Texas in April and arrived at the camp ready to jump in and help my new-found friends with the projects that were already in motion. And then it happened. God changed the plans on me and put a major construction project on my plate. It was a complete addition on one of the existing houses on the camp property. God has been preparing me for times like this from my work in disaster zones, plus several years of building experience. The intensity of the Texas heat and humidity caught me off guard! I’m a northern guy and that’s where I operate in milder temperatures. No sense complaining, but I still did, and I always pay for complaining.
The work started almost immediately after some friendly talks with Robert, Mike, Eric, and Ronny. Soon the spring storms began rolling in, so the project was off to a slow start. I used the 4wd on my truck more in TX than I have in the cold country. It was soggy and so was most of the wood. Once I got materials gathered, I finally started building. The plans for this build were in my head and thankfully God put them there. I started taking off the old siding and found myself in another TX battle. Scorpions! They, literally, were crawling out of the woodwork and they’re much faster than I figured! When I received my first helper for the project, Eric, I felt thrilled because he had building experience and, most importantly, a servant’s heart. I’ve learned through the past several years that the only reason we’re doing this work is for God’s Glory and to do our part in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ! Eric and I quickly learned our life paths were similar and both our lives took drastic turns that turned our lives into a pit of quicksand. But for both of us, in God’s mercy and grace, he carried us through it all and set as on a path to recovery. The first couple of days, I’m sure we did more talking than work, but it was necessary. We then got to serious building and over the next few weeks we had the addition under roof and as of May 18, 2024 we completed shingling on half of the house roof. We took a couple days off to let our bodies recover, then completed the roof on May 20 and 21. I forgot to mention the other change: the entire roof of the house, new and old section, was to be shingled. Eric and I started the shingles on May 17 and, by God’s goodness, he sent two roofers on the 18th who helped finish that half of the house. It was a true God-send. I’m not saying that just because we finished the work, but the two men were so grateful for the opportunity to serve. They enjoyed the fellowship, and it was equally beneficial for them as it was for us to get to know them. Gotta love it when a plan comes together, and it wasn’t mine. This is my opinion, but when you see supernatural things happening on a worksite or disaster zone or your community and in your life and church, you are on the path he put you on. I guarantee there will be all kinds of things thrown at you to slow or stop you, but our God will cover and carry you through it all. I am witness to that fact and have experienced it firsthand. I can’t do this life without him and neither should you. God sent his son Jesus to be the sacrifice and Jesus did just that!! That is what I long for when I’m on these sites is to see someone accept Jesus! I hope this story will help you see God’s goodness and accept the Savior Jesus Christ into your life! Amen.
For information or to make donations to this ministry
OH-TX Construction Missions
P.O. Box 432
Ashley, OH
DavidFergusonMissions@gmail.com
+1 (937) 935-5763