Operation Restoration lets teens aid San Antonio needy

Youths from near, far
spend summer fixing
inner-city buildings

By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
Perry Sedgwick of San Antonio wants to provide hope to those living in his city.
Sedgwick, member of University UMC, San Antonio, first got involved helping homeowners and organizations unable to afford repairs to homes and buildings hundreds of miles away in Memphis, Tenn., at Christ UMC’s Service Over Self program.
But his eyes soon focused on San Antonio.
Realizing that many San An-tonians were in need, Sedgwick and his wife, Deedee, began Operation Restoration. That’s a project of Blueprint Ministries. It targets homeowners and churches that need help making homes and buildings livable and operable for minimal cost.
“It dawned on us that San Antonio needed it,” Sedgwick said. “So we copied (the Memphis) program.”
Sedgwick and his wife, who was youth director at University UMC, typically took 150 kids to work on homes.
Two years ago, the couple purchased the old McKinley Avenue UMC building. The two are converting it into a dormitory and retreat center that can house as many as 150 students for a week. He estimates the renovation work will cost about $750,000.
Sedgwick has been scheduling youth teams to work in San Antonio for the past three summers. But the operation has been running on a much “smaller scale” than he plans for once the building is finished.
“We keep calling every year a pilot year because we can’t put the people up,” Sedgwick said. “But next summer we hope we can take on some major projects.”
Students from all over Texas and surrounding states—anywhere from 300 to 500 miles away—join Sedgwick and other construction supervisors on a Sunday and work until the next Saturday morning. Students install new roofs, do frame repairs, paint or tackle whatever else is needed.
Each volunteer pays tuition for the camp. The fee covers room, board and materials used to repair homes and buildings, Sedgwick said.
Currently, students are housed at University UMC and take showers at nearby Clark High School.
Sedgwick said he hopes to have the McKinley Avenue building operating by next summer, but he is still raising money for the renovation.
Each youth group that comes during the summer works on the same project, Sedgwick said. When one group leaves, another steps in to take over.
Sedgwick chooses homes and churches based on recommendations from pastors in the area.
During the past summer, Sedgwick and student teams worked on Manantial de Vida UMC, a 38-member southside congregation recommended by Church Connections, a San Antonio District group.
“It was a project that was probably too big for us,” Sedgwick said.
Renovations took seven to eight months, Sedgwick said. The work is still not finished. Teams have only made the building safe.
Pastor Jose Guadalupe Gonzalez said he appreciates the work students and Sedgwick have done.
“They did it with all their heart,” he said. “They worked hard.”
Teams worked on what the church uses as its Sunday school classrooms, Gonzalez said, but the building still has much work to be done.
Nevertheless, Operation Restora-tion’s help will enable church members to reach out even more to the community, Gonzalez said.
“Our church is growing little by little,” Gonzalez said. “We work hard and are doing our best. My hope is that people will come, receive Jesus and grow and that people will be saved.
“I want our doors to be open so people know it’s a place they can find Jesus and rest for their souls.”
Gonzalez said he hopes to receive some grant money to help finish the extensive work that still needs to be done on the church.
Sedgwick said students who participated in Operation Restoration this year and the previous two years have been deeply blessed.
“The greatest thing about this is the changes that it makes in these kids’ lives,” Sedgwick said. “Most of them come from affluent backgrounds. When they walk into these homes and see how happy the people are who live in these conditions, their focus becomes not what they have but that they have Jesus in their hearts.
“Every single year, 15 percent of the kids either renew or make a commitment to Jesus. That’s the neatest part of the whole deal, that they’re exposed to this and are blown away by it. And it helps develop a heart of service within them.”
For more information about Operation Restoration or to inquire about donating to the organization, contact Sedgwick at (210) 213-3398.