BY BETHANY BROADWELL Special to the Record-Eagle

Freedom Builders of America in Traverse City takes on a number of construction projects, but the volunteers also builds a sense of worthiness.

Skip Brown, president of Freedom Builders, said housing repair demonstrates to the region's most impoverished people that they are cared for and that they have value.

"We believe that the greatest difficulty of the most disadvantaged is that they have either forgotten or never really know thathey are valuable," Brown said. "We know that there is a great disconnect between the 'church' and the disadvantaged of our area and we see our ultimate goal as breaking down that 'wall' and establishing a bridge."

Averaging approximately 125 projects a year, Freedom Builders currently has 78 projects on its to-do list, which the organization schedules on the basis of urgency, not on the order in which people make requests.

"Urgency," according to Brown, "is defined both by the needs of the physical home as well as by the emotional needs of the family."

Lucinda Savage, 58, of Traverse City, explained how last year Freedom Builders was a tremendous help in her case.

Six family members, several with medical conditions, were living in her household when Savage's roof began leaking, causing significant damage to the ceiling. She found a way to afford the expense of the roof repair; but for Savage, who uses a wheelchair, that expense was her absolute limit.

She heard about the Freedom Builders organization on the WLJN Christian radio station, but it was her caseworker who contacted the group for assistance on Savage's behalf. A team of about 15 volunteers made the needed fixes to her ceilings and, she added, they handled the entire situation with compassion.

"They were very good, very nice people." Savage said, "The day they came to do it, they set up a tent in the front yard and moved all our living room furniture out there. It only took them a day to do the work."

Upon completion, Savage said the volunteers returned the furniture and the group's leader made the offer to come again at a later date and paint her home exterior.

"They returned in August and brought a group of young people back and in two days completed the project," Savage said. "The group is just godsent."

Her description is precisely what Brown said

Freedom Builders intends to have as its purpose: "It is a demonstration of the love of Christ."

Terry Berden, owner of Grand Traverse Refrigeration in Traverse City, is someone who volunteers and supports Freedom Builders. He discovered the group through a friend and said it is a "great fit" for him to help on jobs by providing materials and labor as well as recruiting others to do the same.

Berden recalled instances where his efforts helped an area woman with brain cancer heat her home, helped an 80-year-old woman who was legally blind repair her leaking roof and helped a woman using a wheelchair feel free with a new wheelchair ramp.

The organization serves families in such need, according to Brown, their living conditions can make them feel inferior, unworthy or inadequate. Frequently, as a community, he said, we unintentionally affirm that flawed belief.

While Freedom Builders does use some used materials for their projects, they refrain from using any items that might prove problematic, because they do not want what they do or give to reinforce the misconception these families are only worthy of leftovers.

In describing the typical work Freedom Builders performs, Brown said, "The vast majority is repairs to deplorable mobile homes that in many cases should be demolished but is often all the family has or can rent."

Brown estimated Freedom Builders has more than 300 occasional volunteers and as many as 50 who contribute regularly."

I believe that serving without any hope of getting anything in return puts usin a place where God can bless us in amazing ways,"he said. "Our greatest hope is that more church

families partner with us to serve."

In the last seven years, government and social service agencies have helped Freedom Builders determine the necessity nearly all of their projects.The organization does take some calls for assistance directly, but potential clients are strongly encouraged to work through their assistance agencies.

"That allows us to partner more effectively with those agencies and use the combined resources of both of us to solve the problems the families are having," Brown said.

The single greatest need, he said, is for prayer, but Brown acknowledged financial provisions and physical assistance empower the Freedom Builders to complete projects. Volunteers taking part in the ministry are not associated with any particular church and at least 10 different churches are represented by the board of directors.

He added, "We seek involvement by all Christian churches."

Those who are interested in participating, according to Brown, need only have patience and a willingness to serve with a joyful heart. People may contact the ministry office at941- 4171 or visit the Freedom Builders Web site at www.fbmissions.org for more information.

"We truly believe that we are to preach always and use words only when we must, because so often, actions speak so loudly those words cannot be heard." Brown said, "It is our prayer that our actions are screaming that the Lord loves us all, especially the disadvantaged."