Every Clear Springs Free Will Baptist Church member set out Sunday to help their neighbors and to prove they can move mountains.
Altogether, more than 100 adults volunteered for projects ranging from home repairs and painting to building a wheelchair ramp so an elderly woman could safely get in and out of her home.
Meanwhile 30 of the church's youth took to the streets with advisers and repainted more than 250 of Mustang fire hydrants. They still have about 430 hydrants to go.
The congregation called their mission, “Be the Church.” Pastor Jim Harris said they bit off huge projects, some that will take several more weeks to finish, but the volunteers are committed.
He said their goal was to involve every member of every age in some way they could help.
“A lot of good was done, and a lot of people were impacted,” he said. “That was the goal.”
One hydrant at a time
Firefighter Tom Lewis slathered bright yellow paint over a Mustang fire hydrant, which had faded to a pale orange, as teens watched him. As a youth painted tentatively, Lewis told the child there is no way they could damage the hydrants.
“Thank you very much for your help on this project,” he told the children. “It's overwhelming.”
Mustang City Council members voted earlier this year to repaint all of the city's fire hydrants bright yellow, and firefighters planned to finish the project before the year's end. While they had all of the materials, Firefighter Jonathan Sprague said crews have been busy. Firefighters planned to do the painting during their down time, but if they get a call, they have to leave the hydrant half painted, pack up their paint and supplies and speed off toward the emergency.
“This is a big help,” he said.
Youth broke into teams to tackle the task with adult drivers taking them from hydrant to hydrant. Even at an adult's pace, Lewis told them it would take at least 15 minutes to paint each.
The youth tackled fire hydrants along Mustang's section line roads and started venturing into neighborhoods. Others came by once in a while, making sure the teams had plenty of water and sunscreen as the youth labored in triple-digit heat.
Youth director Nathan Braudrick said they are planning more work days to finish the project.
“It's enormous,” he said.
As he painted a fire hydrant in the 100 block of East state Highway 152, teen Christian Hopkins said he voted for the project because he wanted to help improve his city.
“We want to reach out beyond church and reach out into the community,” he said.
Home's blessing
Tears welled in Cindy Alexander's eyes as she thanked the Clear Springs volunteers, who were working to give her Meadows Addition house back to her family.
Alexander is a single mother of six children and is job hunting. Her parents helped her afford to finish her college degree to become a certified teacher, so she said her life is looking up. But she still didn't know what to do about her home crumbling around her.
“I have been really depressed going through all of this,” she said. “I am sitting here looking at everything falling apart. I have no money. I have no time. I have no idea what to do. I was overwhelmed, and everything was going crazy.”
Termites ate through studs and sheet rock. Alexander had sink problems several years ago in her kitchen that damaged cabinetry, and her air conditioner started leaking into her home. She said there was so much to do, she didn't know how or where to start.
A family friend helped Alexander get in contact with Clear Springs church members. Volunteers helped repair her air conditioner, rebuilt her cabinets, replaced drywall, poured concrete for an outdoor patio and pumped water from her storm cellar. They installed a ceiling fan in her daughter's room, replaced flooring, and recaulked her bathroom.
Volunteers cleaned up her yard and trimmed trees away from electrical lines.
Alexander said she never could have afforded the repairs on her own.
“It's lifted this cloud from me,” she said.

Other projects
On Saturday, Harris got a call. “Are you the church that's helping people?” a woman asked.
Harris said he doesn't know how the elderly woman learned of their project, but he knew they could help her.
The Mustang senior told him she is wheelchair bound, but the ramp into her home had become warped. Volunteers stepped up to add this project to their plans.
Clear Springs members also repainted an elderly resident's home, repaired another senior citizen's air conditioning and repaired several cars for needy families.
Meanwhile, youth visited seniors at Arbor House Assisted Living Center, sang with them and gave the elderly crafts they had made.
Harris said members felt like they made a difference during Be the Church, although some have asked to move the outdoor projects next year to the fall with hopefully cooler weather.
“I was very pleased with the day,” he said. “When you have that many fronts and projects, it took a lot of planning.”