A Knock of Hope
Marshall Gonzales
“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me,” Matthew 25:40.
Francisco’s house had already been flooded in the 2016 Tax Day Flood when in 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, Texas, and flooded it again.
No one had checked on him before, but after Hurricane Harvey left Houston residents struggling to recover, members of the Houston Spanish Little York Seventh-day Adventist Church went door-to-door to offer help to their neighbors.
When they knocked on Francisco’s door, he stated that he did not need to hear about Jesus. Little York members told him that they were not there to talk to him about Jesus but to help him any way they could.
Shocked, he told them that he had been taking showers outside because his bathroom was ruined in the prior flood.
The members pitched in and not only remodeled his bathroom but his entire house!
Francisco was so overwhelmed by their show of love and compassion that he asked them to tell him about Jesus.
Thankfully, I was able to be there the day Francisco was baptized and become a member of the Little York church.
Today, Francisco shares his story with anyone who will listen—all because someone took the time to knock on his door and ask, “How can we help you?”
There are still people trying to recover from Harvey. If you would like to help, please email acs@txsda.org or call 817.641.7679. Donations can be given at texas-acs.org. Thank you for your prayers and support.
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Marshall Gonzales and his wife, Julie, are Adventist Community Services directors for Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and Southwestern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
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This first appeared in THE FLAME Special Miracles Issue 2019, a Texas Conference quarterly magazine. Find the entire issue at issuu.com/texasadventist.