Disappointment comes in many forms. Standing on new carpet under 7½ inches of town sewer and rainwater is one I do not want to experience again.

Hurricane Ivan flew by and placed too many demands on our town's sewer treatment plant. Our church basement was one source of relief for the pressure.

I was home in the early evening hours when my friend Mike, our church head trustee, knocked on my door to give me the news. The carpet in the basement had been installed three weeks earlier. Now it was the liner of our churches new indoor pool - a pool no one would want to wade in, let alone swim in.

At the time we were not sure about the extent of the damage or how much our insurance company would cover. We had simply to take one step at a time and allow our God to encourage us and direct us and supply all our needs - or trust him to keep us faithful in the lack of help.

It is easy to be faithful and thankful when God answers "yes" and all goes well. It is a challenge and a privilege to trust God when all comes unraveled.

The next day my friend Dan, head elder of our church, called a company to assess the damage and make a plan of restoration.

They came on Monday and began cleanup as they estimated costs. In the end, the cleanup, restoration and replacement of lost items would cost nearly $46,000. That is a scary figure for most, especially the small congregation of the Alliance Church of East Brady.

We had to have our entire basement restored, with our inside walls torn off from two feet down, and all flooring ripped up and replaced, along with several appliances and all small items in reach of the flood.

There were many moments of testing ahead and I would say now that God's people here passed those tests by trusting their God to provide and by maintaining a great spirit and attitude throughout.

God answered "Yes" to our prayers and provided for everything and more through two sources.

First, God had given wisdom to the leaders of our past to secure insurance coverage for just such an unhappy event. The insurance adjuster and insurance company were very helpful and easy to work with. The policy covered the cleanup work, and all the items listed as contaminated or destroyed.

There were some other needs that we could not claim that were incidental. These were all cared for by another financial source that was a real blessing to us.

The congregation of the Central Fellowship Church

of Connellsville was led to take up an offering to help out a church that had been damaged by flooding caused by Ivan. They contacted our district office, where our name was given to them.

Through this loving and giving congregation, God provided us with $700, which took care of all the leftover costs and even allowed us to care for one payment on the building project loan taken out in August - part of which involved the installation of the new carpet that was ruined by the flood.

Also, our local plumber, Pat Hedrick, donated his labor to install an anti-back flow valve, for which a local excavator, Bill Hogenmiller, donated the excavation needed. We just paid for materials.

So our God led us out of disappointment and into gratitude and praise.

Our basement facility is now brand new and ready for use. Sunday school classes, children's clubs, fellowship dinners and prayer breakfasts will be enjoyed in this new facility, and we are beginning plans to conduct Christian-based Alcoholics Anonymous meetings here in the future.

We thank all who kept us in their prayers throughout this challenge, and with the love of Christ we thank the Central Fellowship Church Family of Connellsville for being sensitive to the Lord's leading and being such a blessing to us.

I am grateful to a wonderful, spiritually mature and kind congregation, and we are all most grateful to our Lord and King Jesus Christ our God.