2010 Annual Report

2010 Annual Report

A few years ago, a staff member’s wife painted this verse on a canvas that hangs in our bathroom… “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” – 2 Corinthians 4:1. Every morning when we are brushing our teeth, preparing for the day, we read that verse and remember that by God’s overwhelming mercy we have the ministry of Grace Klein and we will not lose heart. And as it says in verses 8-9, we must admit that some days we do feel hard-pressed on every side, but praise the Lord we are not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but never abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. God is teaching us we can trust Him and that He gives joy in adversity.

In January, nine of us went to serve the Lord at an orphanage in Livingstone, Zambia. We loved on a young couple, newly married, who care for nine orphans and are trusting God for the resources to care for more. We were able to serve them by completing some needed repairs to their home, playing with the children, and helping with community outreach. We were the first guests at the place where we stayed and were able to worship with the staff and share Christ with them each day. Our highlight was serving the servants, Agrippa, Jeanette and Cornelius. We are also thankful for the closeness that developed within our staff that has continued through the year.

February began months of dealing with identity theft when someone hacked into our personal account, stealing funds. We are now on our third checking account and still cleaning up our credit. We also suffered theft loss of tools three times this year and a trailer tire blowout on the freeway, but thankfully no one was injured. We had our share of company vehicle repairs, tire replacements and front-end work. Plus, our GKC mailing address was changed on us, not once, but twice.  No one is without trouble or difficulty.

We partnered with the Mercedes Marathon to retrieve all discarded clothing from the race and with the help of GKC Friends, we washed and distributed over 20 construction size garbage bags of clothing. We shared clothing with several Hispanic communities and sent tubs of gloves and jackets to Romania.

God has continued to grow our community outreach in Birmingham and led us to begin a nonprofit organization, Grace Klein Community in April. We will use this organization to continue to serve the poor in Birmingham and around the world. We maintain the donation room at our office (many of you have donated appliances, furniture and clothing) and together we continue to meet the immediate needs of hundreds of families. When a family receives assistance other than food we require them to complete a Give Back Agreement so that they too will pass on the love of Christ to others. We are thankful for many of you and several hundred volunteers that are helping us serve over 300 families with the love of Jesus.

We are especially excited about the monthly food distribution ministry that pairs volunteers with families in need. The delivery teams are investing their lives in these families and helping people in countless ways. Over 80 families no longer receive food as they have received help with job placement, budgeting and emotional support. Many new friends are now walking through life together, praying and studying the Bible. Food recipients are also helping us serve other families. God is at work doing what only He can do.

Throughout the year, your business provided for 29 employees, 22 spouses and 46 children. We serviced 399 different customers and 43 repeat customers with the help of 304 vendors. We were able to pay off our latest dump trailer, invest in a new computer and consistently provide 40-hour work weeks in a struggling economy. We maintained a 100% safety record and received Lead-based Paint and OSHA certifications. We are a Master Remodeler and continue to be licensed in Alabama and Mississippi.

Jenny was surprised by Fox 6 News in May when Grace Klein received the Fox 6 News Pass It On $600 award for our outreach in the community. We were able to sponsor food for 30 families with the surprise gift.

In July, we hosted a Backyard Bible Club at a local trailer park and around that time our little girl accepted Christ. A Grace Klein bathroom was selected by HGTV for a show named “Bang for Your Buck” and the film crew came to record the show that aired on January 8, 2011. We also hosted the Briarwood Presbyterian Mission Camp at our office and the kids helped sort clothes and make birthday cards for a friend that turned 100. We also celebrated an “old-fashioned” creek baptism in Old Towne Helena in August.

Throughout the year we remodeled Home Depot contract work for 11 stores in central Alabama, completed several additions, replaced roofs, painted houses, installed new floors, built decks, repaired water and fire damages, constructed fences, gutted bathrooms, replaced full kitchens, finished attics, repaired broken pipes, storm repairs and most anything in between.

We celebrated another year of GKC in September with our traditional cookout.

In October and November we experienced an IRS audit and the retirement of our material manager due to health. Then we painfully watched our brother fight for his life and subsequently die of cancer on December 30, 2010. We were thankful for the time to celebrate him with a retirement party and our final visits with him in the hospital before he went to be with Jesus. He taught us love, loyalty, faithfulness, trust in Christ and hope through adversity. He will always be a dear brother to us. To honor him, several former and current employees came together to build his casket.

We enjoyed our annual tradition of Christmas parades and participated in the Helena, Homewood and Alabaster parades. Our new t-shirt launcher was a hit and shot out the shirts with rounds of confetti. Infinity Group employees helped us wrap hundreds of gifts for children for Christmas and many gifts were delivered. We enjoy these festive times with our coworkers and GKC friends. Come join us next year!

Jason donated his hair to help with the oil spill cleanup in the gulf. A volunteer from Firehouse Transitional Housing volunteered 40 hours a week for over a month organizing our donation room and helping make deliveries. We shared donations with the Garage Giveaway in Alabaster and the Asbury “Grace” Garage Sale. Throughout the year, we also partnered with Neverthirst, PictureThis, CLEATS, Pathways, Men’s Discovery Weekend, Hearts in Hands, LIFE Ministries, Lovelady Center, Samaritan’s Purse, our Compassion International kid, Dream, Inc, First Baptist Woodlawn, Brother Bryan Mission, local libraries and schools and shoes to Haiti. God also provided donations to fully furnish and clothe three fire victim families and other immediate need assistance. (I’m sure we are leaving out someone-sorry!)

Grace Klein participated in the Home and Garden Show, Senior Appreciation Day, Home and Patio Show, serviced local insurance and real estate agents and secured the RESCO contract. We were also added as a Travelers provider and a certified contractor under Crawford Contractors Connections. We have enjoyed keeping up with everyone on Facebook via Grace Klein and maybe in 2011 we will join you on Twitter. You have been an encouragement to us along the way with a glass of ice water when we were hot, a smile when we were tired and positive comments on the workmanship we provided.

We praise God today for a wonderful year of His faithfulness despite the hard moments. As a friend said, “He carries us gently.” What a picture to be in the midst of a storm and it is all calm when we are in the Lord’s arms. We thank you for being a part of our family and believing in us for your home repair, remodeling, additions and insurance repair needs. We know every morning that we unlock the office door it is because of each of you. So please keep the referrals coming as we begin another year in this ministry God has so graciously given us. Visit our website www.gracekleinconstruction.com and let us know how we can improve or any ideas you have for us. The non-profit website is www.gracekleincommunity.com.

Consider your ministry for 2011… where you work, your neighborhood, your friends, your family and pour yourselves into the place God has called you. Come alongside us and serve with us. We need your help, your laughter and your friendship. Pray for us as we seek to be obedient in the little things and the big things; pray we will take every opportunity God gives us to invest in our co-workers, customers and the world; pray we will never lose heart. We will be praying for all of you as well as we forge ahead to the race God has called us. Thank you for teaching us and spurring us on. May God get all the glory!

Working with all our hearts,

Jason and Jenny Waltman