July 15, 2002
Silver Hammer Awards honor
two who laid a strong foundation
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___Abner Bryant and Loyd Gist spent a combined 30 years building "for the glory of God" with Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders.
___Age and illness keep them off the job sites now. But the two builders--honored this year by Texas Baptist Men with Silver Hammer Awards at a Retiree Builders reunion--cling to their memories and pray for their former coworkers.
___Bryant, from Westwood Baptist Church in Tyler, turns 89 in September. He served as a lead carpenter on projects that took him down most of the back roads of Texas, as well as to Alaska and Minnesota.
Jim Furgerson, recently retired executive director of Texas Baptist Men, presents Silver Hammer Awards to Abner and Ann Bryant of Tyler and Loyd and Helen Gist of Midlothian during the Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders reunion at Latham Springs Baptist Encampment. Bryant and Gist spent a combined 30 years building churches and other mission-related structures as volunteers. Those years have provided precious memories, they report.
___In Saragosa, when Texas Baptist Men led in rebuilding a West Texas town destroyed by a tornado, Bryant helped turn an abandoned cotton gin into a mill where door headers and trusses were manufactured. Under his direction, volunteer builders produced 400 trusses. At one point, they turned out two 24-foot trusses every 10 minutes.
___But it's not the sawdust and nails that Bryant misses most. "I miss being able to witness to the people who came around the job sites," he said. "I miss being able to ask them, 'Are you a born-again Christian?'"
___Gist traveled the world as a Merchant Marine and in his work with an oil company. But those experiences can't compare with the memories of a decade spent on rooftops and scaffolds with Texas Baptist Men, he said.
___"This has been the most exciting time of my life," said Gist, 78, a member of Oak Crest Baptist Church in Midlothian.
___In 10 years with Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders, Gist worked on 60 job sites, beginning with a church sanctuary in Whitney. One-third of the projects were outside the United States, from Japan to Jordan. His wife, Helen, often accompanied him and served as cook for the building crew.
___Gist was instrumental in helping with rebuilding projects in the Caribbean, particularly St. Croix, after Hurricane Hugo. And when he raised a steeple on a Baptist church in Japan, he was told it was the first time it had happened in that country.
___For Mrs. Gist, Jordan was the most memorable location. "We got to see all those places we've read about in the Bible--where Elijah was fed by the ravens, where Jacob wrestled with the angel, even the home of Jeremiah."
___The six weeks spent in St. Croix made the most profound impact on her husband, as he saw God answer prayers. He recalls one challenging moment when the team had to tie together three levels, and they were uncertain how to proceed. While Gist was at a lumberyard discussing the problem, a passerby overheard the conversation. He donated $250 worth of materials and told the volunteers how to fix the problem.
___Six years ago, after completing a building job in Jasper, Gist was diagnosed with cancer. He has endured two surgeries and continues to have medical problems.
___"I'd literally give my right arm if I could get on top of a roof again," he said. "But we have to just do what we can where we can and live one day at a time."
___Mrs. Gist stays busy working with Mission Midlothian, a ministry to low-income children she started last November and modeled after Mission Arlington. She previously had volunteered with that ministry at First Baptist Church in Arlington.
___Gist has to severely limit his activities now. But he keeps up with the Retiree Builders through the job list, making it his prayer list. And he remembers the good times.
___"I did things I never dreamed I could do," he said. "The Lord has used everything we've given him. Memories get us through tough times. It's a strength to me."
___
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