Woody & Michelle

Out Of Town Couple

During the past year, SEARCH’s Mobile Outreach team was able to rescue a couple from Peoria, Illinois.  Woody and Michelle, both in their late 30’s, packed their suitcases and drove to Houston following a job lead promised by a friend. Like so many situations in a nervous economy, the lead fell through. The couple had spent their savings on just the hope that they could change their luck in our city. With no friends or family in Houston, paying rent for a hotel was eating away at the rest. When their car caught on fire; it finally broke them.

That’s where SEARCH stepped up.

Our team located shelter for Woody and Michelle. We provided food, blankets, and even soap and toothpaste. And then the next morning, through a coordination of efforts, the couple received bus fare from Main Street Ministries. This coordination got the couple home where relatives will help them until they get back on their feet. Luckily this couple had a support network to break their fall.

Civilization depends on those networks for survival. Tight, well-coordinated communities can move quickly and powerfully to avert challenges. During Hurricane Ike, we all had the opportunity to observe how bound together Houston is as a community. You could actually see it represented by those electric cords stretching across our streets, sharing electricity with neighbors. We saw how one small element could change the very nature and quality of our lives.

Now it’s time to throw that line out to help guide members of our community who have been affected by today’s economic challenges.  We need to help them get back to a regular life, a life with homes and jobs.

After he’d settled back in his hometown, Woody wrote to us.

“ I would like to thank all that played a part in helping me in my time of need. For you all are a god-send for everyone you come in contact with. Your program is a blessing. We all don’t realize, until it hits home, how tough life is. You all help to make it easier with your endless help. Thank you for helping us get home.

May God keep blessing you and your program.

Yours truly, Woody