September 25, 2000

Habitat has 101-house blitz
___JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP)--Jimmy Carter joined 1,600 volunteers Sept. 13 in Jacksonville, Fla., for an unprecedented 101-house building blitz by Habitat for Humanity.
___Sweating under a Florida sun, the 76-year-old Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, worked alongside fellow Baptists on a framing crew for a new home for Johnnie Williams.
___"It was such a great testimony for Jimmy Carter to be here," said Ron Henson, minister of education at Southside Baptist Church in Jacksonville. "Jimmy Carter and other Habitat leaders told the crowd about their faith and belief in Christ."
___Carter described revisiting Habitat homes built years earlier. "I've never seen graffiti on the houses, any broken windows, anyone's lawn not mowed," he said. "They take pride in their houses."
___In comments to the Florida Times-Union, Carter gave a clear testimony of Christian faith. Asked to compare his volunteer work for Habitat with his peacemaking efforts around the world, Carter told the paper: "As you know, the Savior I worship is a Prince of Peace, and it just happens that Jesus was also a carpenter. I don't think there's any difference between waging peace among nations at war or people at war on the one hand, which is very gratifying, and also giving people a decent life and letting them exhibit in their own existence basic human rights."
___During an interview in Jacksonville, Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller said he wishes more Baptists would follow the Carters' example and get involved in Habitat.
___"Some Baptists want to know, 'What does this have to do with evangelism?'" Fuller acknowledged. "Jesus said first to love your God and to love your neighbors as much as yourself. This is loving your neighbors. This is a practical touch of your love in the name of Jesus."

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