BIG CREEK | Dan

I’m remembering God moments from our recent mission trip to Big Creek. There were many. But I am going to give you just a few, from this one day, that I am still marveling at. 

The project that we were dispatched to was to help a client named Tammie with her yard. Tammie had been living in an abandoned trailer that her brother had given her. She also had some health issues and was just plain overwhelmed with where her life was at that time. Our mission was to clean up the yard. When we showed up, we were faced with weeds and briar bushes that were 6 feet tall and among these weeds were multiple items that had been tossed out over the years such as microwaves, TV, a mattress, old carpet, 2 hot water tanks, a pile of old wood etc. We had a crew of 6 people, and one was a man from Alabama named Jordon. 

We were told to help ourselves to equipment we would need for the project from the warehouse at Big Creek. We brought 3 gas string trimmers, fuel, and many other tools we thought we would need. 

Upon arriving at the property, we met with Tammie, the owner. She was very tentative about what we were setting out to do, and I could sense she didn’t have a lot of hope. She informed us that we needed to be very careful because, “There were copperheads and rattlesnakes in the yard,” especially under the debris. 

Now, me and gas engines don’t get along, so I knew that starting the string trimmers was going to be an issue. Jordan was an expert! (God Moment) We had 3 different makes of string trimmers, and it quickly fell into place that Natasha and I would run the trimmers with Jordan replacing line and powering them back up. The brush was so thick it would tear the line from the trimmer if we hit a large briar bush.  We “carefully” (because of snakes!) moved the debris to a pile by the road to be picked up later. Anything that could be burned we burned in a fire. We did not see one snake the whole day. (God Moment). I asked Tammie if there was anything in her house that she needed help with, and she said it would not be good for me to come inside because she had “soft floors,” meaning at certain places the floors were rotted from roof leaks, and you could fall through. She informed me that her hot water tank fell through the floor and broke all her water lines. She had been living without water for quite some time now. 

Tammie was impressed and overwhelmed with what we had accomplished. At the end of the day, we mowed the entire yard with a lawn mower, and the yard was clear. You could see her confidence returning from the time we met her in the morning. In a matter of 7 hours or so, we gave her hope. (God Moment). 

Upon returning to Big Creek, I informed Kevin of Tammie’s water situation.  He said he was not aware of that but would send people out from the next crew to do the repairs.  

Dan Krivoniak, Big Creek 2025