My last post was posted to the ACS website. If you missed it, please read below:

5.13.2014 ACS Family Helps Gerosquieta Family

ACS family,
My heart is truly touched by your willingness to minister to the Gerosquieta family. ACS has raised $2,000 to assist this family with their expenses. In addition, an ACS family has committed to acquire a headstone for Pedro’s grave. This gift will prove to be a great blessing to the family and will assuredly aid in the healing process.

God has called us to reach out to our community and to share the love of Jesus. Situations such as this one prove to be perfect opportunities for our light to shine brightly. I cannot express how much I appreciate your generosity. I’m sure my appreciation pales in comparison to the family’s gratitude.

Moving forward, we would like to take an active part in helping this family remodel the home that Pedro had purchased just a month before his death. Please read my last post for specific information about how you can help us with this effort.

God Bless!
David Poston

5.9.2014 Helping the Gerosquieta Family

As most are aware, God has laid it upon the heart of ACS to reach out to the Gerosquieta family. Pedro Gerosquieta, whose family lives directly across Highway 29 from ACS, was killed by a falling tree last week. Mr. Bamford and I met with the family earlier this week to offer our condolences for their loss and to investigate how ACS can best help. Beyond the obvious emotional toll of losing their patriarch, this family is left in a precarious situation as expenses accumulate and this tragedy took the life of their primary provider. We will continue to raise funds through Tuesday, May 13th and present them to the family in hopes that these funds will help with some of their expenses.

However, I believe there is a much greater way the ACS family and surrounding communities can assist. We have an opportunity to do something in this situation that will truly have a lasting positive impact. One month before his death, Pedro purchased a house on Helican Springs Rd.  He had been working to repair the home in hopes that his family could soon move in. Though the house was in need of much work, Pedro knew that the home would provide stability and security for his wife and five children. There is no doubt in my mind that God providentially saw fit for Pedro to purchase this home before his death. Following this tragedy, the house carries even greater importance and significance to his family.

Yesterday, I met with Pedro’s wife, Rufina, and her brother, Jesus, who is visiting from Indiana to help his sister during this time. We visited the house and discussed what needs to be done before the family can live there. The house is in need of a great deal of work but does have great potential to be a source of pride for this family. I want to share some specific things with you that I believe we can get done to help them. I believe that God will work through us to see these needs be met. If you work in a certain field that corresponds to one of these needs, would you consider how you could help us get this house remodeled? Or perhaps, you’d like to give funds to buy the materials needed for one of the projects. Either way, consider what God would have you to do.

**The house needs a new roof. I believe the structure would best be served by an aluminum roof, but I am not an expert in that arena.

**Its water source is a well. Jesus has replaced some parts and now has water running in the house. However, there seems to be a leak around the pump. One who is knowledgeable in working on wells could probably quickly tell what is needed for their well.

**The house needs new flooring. Rufina mentioned what kind of flooring she feels would best serve her family. If you are skilled in this area, I can provide further details. It will not be many square feet needing to be covered.

**From my perspective, their bathroom could use a lot of work. At a minimum, a new sink is needed and carpet should be replaced with more appropriate flooring.

A couple nonessential items that would prove to be significant:

*Rufina mentioned that Pedro had secured a good amount of fencing and had planned to build a fence for the children to be safe as they play. They have some fencing toward that project already. I can’t speak to how much or what quality.

*Pedro had planned to build a storage building to house his tools, equipment, and extra household items. A storage building would prove to be a great blessing.

*Their driveway is a slight hill and currently is quite uneven. A bit of grading and/or gravel would greatly improve it.

*Any playground equipment would serve the smaller children in a great way.

If a contractor visited this house, he would see many additional needs than those I have mentioned. Perhaps God will touch your heart with an idea that is not something mentioned here. Please do not hesitate to contact me!

Finally, while some of the costs of the burial have been provided, the Gerosquietas were not able to purchase a tombstone for Pedro’s grave. Any help with securing a proper gravestone would be a great blessing and provide a bit of closure to this tragedy.

If you can help in any way, please contact me for more information!

David Poston

dposton@athenschristian.com   706-403-7259