HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - Renee and Paul Law sit at a picnic table outside their community outreach center on 9th Avenue. The sound of hammering can be heard inside, as a volunteer mission group from Princeton University helps their nonprofit, ReBUILD, with some renovations. Outside, the Laws' friendly "hellos" ring out every time a neighbor walks by.
They seem to know everyone, extending the same friendliness to each passerby. And it's not just because they're friendly people. It's a deliberate effort to reach out to their neighbors, create some unity, develop relationships and help those in need.
ReBUILD is an organization with a mission to "love like Jesus." It's not focused on recovery or on helping the homeless, Renee Law said. It's simply focused on creating a place in the neighborhood where people can connect and get help with some of their needs.
"There's no difference in any of us and what we've done," Renee Law said. "I don't throw mistakes in anybody's face, and I don't want anyone to throw my mistakes in my face."
At ReBUILD, they have cookouts, ice cream socials and other events for all in the neighborhood, as well as hosting regular weekly lunches and classes on everything from creating merchandise for Etsy to bookkeeping to manners. They also have a men's Bible study, a kids' story hour and a Zumba class. Gatherings are hosted outside for now, as the organization works on the building to achieve necessary city licensure.
Renee said their outreach truly began after she had a health scare. Her appendix ruptured, and she didn't realize it or have surgery for nine days - leaving her in frail health for a long time afterward.
"I got sick in July of 2012 and probably should have died from what happened," she said. "You go through something like that, and you realize that God left you here for a reason and you better get busy figuring out what that reason is."
She started helping out with the Backpacks and Brown Bags Ministry, headed by Necia Freeman at Lewis Memorial Baptist Church, in which she handed out bag lunches to prostitutes in the city. Eventually, she was also making jail visits and getting to know the women.
"We live in Barboursville, and I didn't realize what went on in downtown Huntington, just 20 minutes from us," Renee said. Once she started the ministry, her eyes opened to the needs there.
The Laws befriended a woman who had a baby the day she got out of jail. In fact, they're now fostering the little girl, who is now 3, and her 14-year-old sister. They already have three grown children of their own.
At the time, the girls' mother had been staying at Project Hope, and the Laws visited her often and got to know others in need of help. They wanted to help on a greater scale and started praying for a building in the neighborhood where they could establish a presence and get to know their neighbors.
"We started doing prayer walks about 2013 over the city, looking for open storefronts or a building to do outreach out of," Renee said. One place they prayed was in front of 1128 9th Avenue. Then one day, Renee was helping a friend search for an apartment and started talking to a property manager about available properties. He brought her to 1128 9th Avenue, which was empty and boarded closed.
Initially, the plan was to lease the house for reduced rent, but eventually it and the three buildings east of it were all donated and became part of their new nonprofit, ReBUILD.
"We showed up one Sunday and started grilling hot dogs, and people didn't know who we were or where we came from," Renee said. One woman walked over and said, "My neighbor sent me here to find out who you are and what you're doing."
They've since become a friendly fixture in the neighborhood.
The Laws hope to move into one of the buildings, and they have visions of renovating the properties to have housing for others. They also would like to eventually have a bakery and coffee shop, where neighbors can work and hang out, and to have an office for the Made New ministry, in which Kayla Heffner teaches others in the neighborhood to create jewelry and other projects to sell online and gives them a portion of the proceeds.
A little love goes a long way, Paul said. Law enforcement has a crucial role in helping with the crime and drug-related problems of the city, Paul said. "There is a significant role they play, but as a society, we can't expect everybody to go to jail. The criminal justice system does not offer long-lasting rehabilitation. Only the love of Christ can do that," he said.
He hopes that extending that love to drug dealers and others will compel them to change their lives. They've seen one woman who has walked away from a life of drugs and has begun helping with their ministry, and they've also helped children of some mothers in the neighborhood, by giving them new experiences like field trips and ways to get together socially that didn't exist before.
"Changes aren't going to happen overnight. It's a long process," Renee said.
But change can and does occur, they said - especially if more people show kindness.
"What if everybody helped somebody?" Paul said.