Posted 2:41 pm Sunday, February 28, 2010
Extreme Makeover Community Fest Set Saturday
By MELISSA CROWE
Staff Writer
MINEOLA -- While the reality show construction on a Mineola home continues in sunshine, ABC relocated the homeowners, who were given a Honolulu vacation, away from the coast and the tsunami that hit Hawaii about 3:20 p.m. CST Saturday.
Staff Writer
MINEOLA -- While the reality show construction on a Mineola home continues in sunshine, ABC relocated the homeowners, who were given a Honolulu vacation, away from the coast and the tsunami that hit Hawaii about 3:20 p.m. CST Saturday.
"We have been in touch with the (Carr) family this morning, and as a precaution, they will be relocating off the coast," ABC wrote in an e-mailed statement. "Everyone is doing well."
ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" announced Thurs?day that the Carr family -- Katrina, 37, and Mike Carr, 41, and their four adopted children, Ryanne, 6, Rina, 3, Nikolas, 9, and Haydn, 8 -- would fly to Honolulu while a team of hundreds of volunteers demolish and rebuild their home on County Road 2223 in seven days.
The project remained on schedule Saturday afternoon. A new foundation was set, and volunteers raised the walls.
While hundreds of volunteers ignite Mineola with energy, several area ministries including East Point Missionary Baptist Church, First United Methodist Church of Mineola and Com?munity Christian Fellowship of Lindale, prepare for the post-reality show aftershock.
Karen Stephenson, 48, of Lindale, is the visionary behind the vigil and community fest.
"The builders are going 24/7, so I said, 'Let's do worship and prayer 24/7," Ms. Stephenson said.
The Extreme Community Fest is an effort to harness the regionwide spirit the show generated and channel it back to the community after cameras and production crews return to Hollywood.
The reality show attests that East Texas knows "what it feels like to serve," Ms. Stephenson said. "Let's just keep it going."
The Community Fest takes place from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Mineola Middle School, and the prayer vigil takes place from noon to 8 p.m. every day through Wednesday.
East Texas Food Bank, East Texas Rescue Mission, Literacy Council of Tyler, Heart to Hospice, Mercy Ships, and many more area organizations will table at the event and provide opportunities to branch off the "Extreme Makeover" energy, Stephenson said.
The Carr family and Gary Bayless, owner of Bayless Custom Homes and the builder for the project, will be at the fest, Stephenson said.
She said many East Texans will experience their own inner makeovers and personal revivals from their involvement in the project.
"When you do something like this, it changes your life," she said. "It just blows me away."
The Braveheart March on Thursday was an emotional experience for her.
"I was just crying the whole time," she said. "I looked at Mike and Katrina and just saw tears streaming down their face."
The area ministries' event brings another layer of unity to the community, said Larissa Lee, 20, of Teen Mania in GardenValley, which also is involved in the vigil.
"Let's cover this place in prayer," she said.
