Anthony and his wife, Myrica, holding her newborn daughter, are overwhelmed with emotions as volunteers welcome them into their newly-renovated home that was damaged by floods earlier this year.

POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. - Coming home has never been more exciting for 5-year-old Aalon of Atlanta.

Standing next to her mom, dad and 3-day-old baby sister, she waited patiently as a set of Operation Blessing construction trailers rolled away, revealing a completely restored house and more than 160 cheering volunteers welcoming her and her family back home. View photo gallery

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“I thought everything was so beautiful and so shiny,” Aalon told local reporters. “Everything that’s in here just makes me so happy.”

The dramatic reveal was part of an Extreme Blessing home make over project by Operation Blessing to renovate 4 homes that had been heavily damaged by flooding earlier this year in the Atlanta area.

Volunteers from The Home Depot, along with Master’s Commission students from Rockford and Atlanta, renovated 4 homes in 5 days.

Volunteers from The Home Depot, along with Master’s Commission students from Rockford, Ill., and Atlanta, spent 5 days completely restoring 4 homes.

“The homeowners were asked to stay away from their home for the week and told that we would just be putting up a little sheetrock,” said Jody Herrington, OBI’s U.S. director of disaster relief.

“When they came home, however, the entire house was completed with carpet, vinyl, paint, furniture and special touches from the hearts of our team and volunteers.”

For Anthony and his wife Myrica, the day was particularly special as they were able to bring home their 3-day-old baby daughter, Lauryn, for the first time.

“You think you have a house, but that fact that you can’t come home to it is something else,” Myrica told reporters. “We’re ecstatic. We’re very excited and ready to come back home. Operation Blessing has definitely been a blessing.”

Morris and Margaret were another family who received an "Extreme Blessing."

OBI President Bill Horan and volunteers give a warm "welcome home" to Morris and Margaret.

After the entire first floor of their home was flooded, Morris—who relies on a wheelchair—had limited access to their kitchen, living room and bedroom. The couple had spent their life savings on medical bills for Morris and with no flood insurance, they had little means for renovations.

Still worse, a heavy load of shingles intended to fix their roof were placed in the wrong spot and the ceiling caved in onto Morris, sending him to the hospital. Miraculously, he suffered no major injuries.

Teams not only renovated and furnished their living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, but they also built a wheelchair ramp and a new play area in their backyard for when their 7 great-grandchildren come to visit.

“Wow, I tell you, I can’t believe this,” said an emotional Morris after seeing his new home.

In addition to the makeovers, OBI teams helped nearly 98 percent of the families in the community over the course of several weeks, gutting and sanitizing their homes.

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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