Family In Need Gets A House Indeed!

By Jessica Clark First Coast News

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL -- Kenny and Karen Goodall watched Wednesday as dozens of constructions workers started stripping their home, renovating it, and expanding it.

?Emotionally, you can?t even explain it,? Karen said. ?We?re so glad they?re here and doing what they?re doing for us. It?s unbelievable.?

The Goodall?s St. Augustine small house off of State Road 16 was too cramped for them and their six children. So ICI Homes, Builders Care, a charitable arm of Northeast Florida Builders Association, and the St. Augustine community are adding 1,000 square feet and remodeling the existing house.

They plan to do it all in 10 days.

Chris Simons with Builders Care said, ?We?ve got tradesmen from every trade ? electricians, carpenters, plumbers, concrete workers. And they?re all working on top of each other to get it done.?

The home will be transformed from a three bedroom, two bath house, to a five bedroom, three bath home.

The project comes at a critical time too.

Kenny, the father of the family has Lou Gehrig?s disease. He can?t talk or take care of himself and his disease is quickly progressing.

But as he watched his neighbors, volunteers, and perfect strangers work on his family home, he spelled out a message to his wife. She heard him say ?E? and then ?X?, and she asked him, ?You?re excited, aren?t you??

Kenny nodded. Karen patted him, and said, ?Yeah, you?re excited.?

Simons said, ?Kenny?s heart is right. He knows where he?s going, but his wife and children need to carry on so we want to give Kenny some peace in his heart. We want to give his family some hope to carry on.?

Karen said, ?It?s just a testimony to what God?s people can do, and that?s how I feel about it. They?ve just pulled together. We don?t feel like we?re anybody, but amazingly God is using them to help us out in a mighty way.?

All of the work and materials are donated. The move-in date is scheduled for March 29th.

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