Volunteer puts faith into action through Operation Home Delivery

Every evening Doug Shade of Phoenix, Ariz., says a prayer of thanksgiving for his family and home. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, leaving thousands homeless, Shade knew that he wanted to do something tangible to help.

“I wanted to help in a way I knew would be lasting,” he says. “When I heard about Operation Home Delivery, I thought that this was my chance.”

In responding to God’s call to help those who have lost so much, Shade has found that his own faith has been strengthened. As soon as he took the leap of faith to come to Jackson, Miss., immediately after Katrina, Shade began experiencing God’s provision in a powerful way in the forms of a donated plane ticket from Phoenix to Jackson, a place to stay in a city overflowing with Katrina evacuees and even food for the week.

“When you’re in God’s will, he’ll take care of you,” Shade says.

Shade plans to continue volunteering with Habitat after returning to Phoenix and hopes to involve his family in Habitat’s work. He also says that in the future he will be even more attentive to God’s call: “This experience has taught me that the next time God puts an idea in my head, I should listen to him.”