Based on an email by Emmanuel Baptist Church, Victor Simpson, senior pastor
Thirty folks from Emmanuel boarded a bus at 5:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning and traveled to Staten Island to spend the day “mucking out” houses, serving Thanksgiving meals to those who lost everything, and just encouraging and praying for the residents so hard hit in Staten Island.
The group joined up with 1,300 other volunteers coordinated by Liquid Church, N.J. Emmanuel’s group of thirty became four different teams spread throughout the neighborhood.
Three teams removed water-soaked sheet rock and insulation from homes, and the fourth worked with a “block party” team and spent the day cooking, serving meals and offering the hope of Jesus Christ. All four teams returned telling the same story; resident after resident came up to the team members with tears in their eyes thanking them for the hope and the help they were giving.