KINGSVILLE, Tx — A group of about 50 kids from First Baptist Church in Ardmore, Oklahoma, headed south for their spring break to serve the Kingsville community through outreach.
They’re working on projects like fixing up the free community library at Kings Way Family Church.
“There have been stacks and stacks of books. I mean hundreds, thousands of books that we’re organizing. We’re tossing the ones that aren’t good and fixing up the ones that are good. We’re also painting the library so it will look nice,” Oklahoma Church leader Jack Sheamen said.
The group is also making more space for donations and separating different items of clothing in different bags.
“We built a 36-rack shelf, so it’s huge. People will be able to come in and grab all the supplies they need for free. And oh goodness, there were bags and bags of clothes. I mean, we had a stack taller than us,” Sheamen said.
But they are also working on projects that hit a little closer to home for some, like Priscila Camarillo. Camarillo grew up in Kingsville and wanted to return to her roots when buying a house she planned on fixing up. But as life went on, her plans went in a different direction.
“My dad passed away in 2013. I had plans for me and my mom to come back. Then, my mom ended up getting dementia. Then, I got the news that I have follicular lymphoma, so even more financially, I didn’t see it in the future, so I had just lost hope,” Camarillo said.
But after hearing Camarillo's story, the church group grabbed their tools and got to work.
“They were able to fix the sheetrock, and some of it was destroyed from water leaks. They also fixed my steps. They were falling apart. I don’t know how else to say thank you to them. I can’t ever repay them back. It’s gonna be so good to be able to move into my house finally and live in it,” Camarillo said.
The group plans to head back to Oklahoma Friday morning.
“We are just so thankful to be able to reach out to them, share the gospel, and bring the community together. We love the people here… our goal is to hopefully come back and do this again and make it an annual trip,” Sheamen said.
For those interested in picking up free clothing and toiletry items, the pick-up location is Kings Way Family Church, located at 1727 Senator Carlos Truan in Kingsville, Texas.
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