Teams
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Saturday, 12 January 2008 17:20 |
Day 8, Saturday, January 12, 2008 We have been driving since 6:30 p.m. last evening. The drivers are taking 3 ½ to 4 hour shifts with a partner in the passenger seat to help keep them awake. These shifts allow for a stop for a stretch, a snack and a bathroom break, and so the trip doesn’t seem quite as long. Sleeping is a challenge in the van seats, especially when the person seated next to you doesn’t appreciate your head on their shoulder! The one and only glitch on the trip (down and back!) was that we had to make a brief backtrack in the late night hours last night when the navigators fell asleep and didn’t tell the driver about an exit he needed to take. It only cost us about 45 extra minutes and a few of us that were awake during that time saw quite an amazing view of Birmingham lit up in the night sky! There were no traffic jams, mechanical problems… and despite a few thick foggy areas… no accidents or deer on the highway! We thank God for his hand of protection as we worked and traveled. Around 7:45 a.m. (back on PA time), we had a hearty breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Wytheville, Virginia. Then more driving in the gorgeous sunshine and cooler temps. We crossed into Berks County, PA around 2:30 p.m.; and with a timely tip from Sarah’s dad, Tom, we avoided a traffic delay on Route 61. We pulled into the Homm’s driveway just about 3:00 and were met by a smiling Connie thankful to have the rest of her family home safely! From our home there... to our home here...  
Thank you for following our adventures here and offering your prayers. A slideshow will be produced to show a bit more detail about our work… and our play! This blog will also be posted on the website for a good while as well (minus the banner… to find it again, choose the “Blogs” heading and click on MDS team blog. |
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Friday, 11 January 2008 17:44 |
Day 7, Friday, January 11, 2008 Woke up to wet, soggy grounds around the MDS compound. Thunderstorms came strong last night, but only after getting the work done for the day. After another hearty breakfast Ray had volunteered for devotions. During that time he read a few verses, but asked us each to reflect back on the reasons we had shared earlier in the week for coming. The input varied, but it seemed as though each of us will take a little something home with us... besides the paint and pitch under our fingernails and the aches and pains in our muscles!  
Bert had promised to switch up the teams a bit… and he did… but I (LuAnn) must not have squawked loud enough because I ended up doing three of the same four things I’ve been doing all week… scraping paint, sanding drywall and priming ceilings/walls. Ah, yes… it ALL needs to be done. Lucky Sarah got to join the larger crew that went to a project very close to the MDS headquarters, where they tore off the roof and began to reshingle it. Though our day is shorter on Friday to allow for cleanup, the crew was able to reshingle about half the roof and paper the other half. The weather has been gorgeous today… a bit cooler but clear blue sky and sunshine.  
The others… Jay, LuAnn, Bill, along with Marlin and Elsie… went back to the Carson house and primed the ceilings as well as put trim on most of the windows.  
As I type this, some are cleaning the bunkhouses and showers and emptying trash, while a few took a side trip to the local seafood market (excellent products recommended by Jay and LuAnn from past trips to Mobile). Jared's new look:  We had another delicious supper after which Bert completed some final paperwork and gave us a heartfelt, sincere thanks for the work that had gotten done... and apparently exceeded his expectations. Last week they had been expecting a group of another 5-10 guys to be there at the same time we were. When that fell through, he thought he had plenty of work lined up but quickly realized that he had to scramble a bit and rearrange the schedule he had in mind. We all said our goodbyes and some of the long-term crew took over dish duty (which was supposed to be Jay and LuAnn's job tonight!). Our group piled into the van and headed out the road with the trailer doors hanging wide open. Thankfully we didn't lose our cargo of fresh shrimp, crabmeat and oysters stashed there... nor any of our personal belongings! Plans were to stop regularly for breaks and change drivers and hopefully arrive home Saturday between 3 and 5 p.m.
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Thursday, 10 January 2008 20:52 |
Day 6, Thursday, January 10, 2008 Waking up each morning this week we have been presented with foggy, dampness. It almost appears as if it has rained each night, but it actually is simply the morning dew. Today it was very warm and humid when we woke up and there were predictions for thunderstorms, which never came. We had a few showers at the one project, but the weather was nice and dry for those setting the interior walls in the new house. Jay guided our thoughts in devotions this time around. Reporting on the Bush house today, Daniel Homm says: Jared and I put a floor in, put faceboard up and put trim up around some of the windows; and, of course, we took our tot bikes for another spin. At the same project, Sarah reports: More painting today—we got all the walls and most of the trim primed. I had to show Jared how to use the miter saw and was feeling pretty good about myself until I couldn’t navigate the little boy’s bike and fell on my butt!  
Jared retorts: I deny knowing anything about Sarah having to show me how to use the saw; I was very proficient with the saw. Daniel Homm and I took our sweet bikes for a cruise again today. Apparently I am destined to work inside all week, though the weather is nice outside. …Also Gramps attacked me today. I think it was out of anger after he lost his toupee in the shower… Ray’s rebuttal: I am holding up against the enemy (Jared). He had nothing to do with the bruise on the top of my head. Also eating too much again. David reports that we worked on the interior walls at the new build site. Since the house is on piers, Bill and I put up a railing around the deck for safety. (This is a picture of the bayou from the deck of the Heaton house.)  Dale says: Today we worked on sturdy interior walls. More nail gun work. (He has become quite an expert nail gun operator!)  
Jay adds: We got to talk again with Kenny and Brenda today. He had many stories of past hurricanes. They ate supper with us this evening. Kenny over and over thanked us for coming to Mobile and working on his house. He told us he didn’t understand why we would take a week out of our schedules to come down and build them a house. He said we helped to give him hope again. He prayed for us and then told us a bunch more hurricane stories. It was fun to listen to him. Tomorrow we will be working at a different house. 
Bert promises that he has something different planned for us ladies tomorrow… we haven’t been successful in convincing him we would be just as useful on the new build as some of the guys that are there. The lasagna and Caesar salad meal this evening was wonderful with a delicious angel food/strawberries/ice cream dessert. Friday we will finish our projects about two hours early and clean up the bunks and showers. We have talked about heading toward Pennsylvania right after cleanup Friday and drive straight through, however, that decision has not yet been finalized! In any case, we will appreciate prayers for traveling mercies. |
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Wednesday, 09 January 2008 21:53 |
Day 5, Wednesday, January 9, 2008 Another day of hard work and visible progress! Dale led us in devotions after breakfast before the start of our workday. Daniel Homm reports that today our group scraped, put up trim, primered the ceilings and then later textured the ceilings. Jared and I had fun riding little girl bikes around the traffic circle!  
Sarah adds… We continued the work on the interior walls of Ms. Regina’s house. We primed the ceilings and hung plastic so Jared and Daniel Homm could spray on texture. Another day of getting covered in white paint, and I stopped trying to clean it all off since I think more painting is on our agenda tomorrow.  
David reports that today was our second day at the new build site. We finished framing and putting up the outside walls. Dale says he was promoted to nail air gun operator Tuesday and Wednesday at the new house. This is the first time I have started to get a tan in the middle of winter, says Daniel Momose. He continues… the new job site is coming along well, but it is hard to keep Gramps working, he is always sleeping on the job!  
Ray (aka Gramps) comes back with this: Sometimes you have to pose for pictures so these youngsters feel good and have something to write about. The more we are together, the more I like animals… there I know what to expect. No pine cones in my bed or balloons in my shoes! Kenny and Brenda  Bill summarizes the day this way: On the new build home today, we met Kenny and Brenda, the owners, who are really smiling about their very nice new home. Having all four walls up and seeing the interior walls helps them start to see what their home will look like. Across the street is their 20-22 foot travel/FEMA trailer where they have lived since the storm. Kenny told us today about swimming back in to look at the home after the storm surge receded.
We seem to have been visited by a lot of administrative folks this week… Arleta Martin from MDS/Akron was here for two days; the new house site had folks from FEMA and the Mobile coordinating agency as well; tonight the MDS Gulf Coast coordinators from Canada joined us for the evening meal. According to the Volunteer Mobile contact there are about 100 sites remaining to work on, from a beginning list of 900+. Weather continues nice; food has been great; company outstanding. We are blessed.  
Thank you for your prayers, and we look forward to another full day tomorrow! |
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Tuesday, 08 January 2008 20:56 |
Day 4, Tuesday, January 8, 2008 The day started out much like yesterday with with a delicious breakfast (pancakes, sausage and ham) and devotions… this time led by Bill. Temps were warm already this morning and continued to increase to above 75 by the afternoon. There were a few sprinkles in late afternoon, but nothing to interrupt any of our work. Today one group started setting walls for a brand new home at Coden, Alabama, about 25 minutes from Mobile. It was warm, and we have the beginnings of a suntan! The house is being built on a deck that was already constructed that rests on piers rising 10 feet above the ground (the piers also go 10 feet deep). Jay (a.k.a Pops) worked closely with one of the long-term crew leaders to head this project, but the rest of the group (Ray, Dale, David, Daniel M. and the another long-termer) worked well together and were pleased with the amount of progress that was made. Hopefully, it won’t rain tomorrow so we can continue to work on the house. We were able to talk a while with the homeowner. He told us that before the hurricane there were 14 homes on that street. Since the hurricane, there are only 4. He decided to rebuild his because the insurance company would only give him money if he rebuilt on the same spot. Hopefully later this week we will have some pictures of this work site. We learned Daniel Homm is an up-and-coming electrician… within a few minutes he found a problem at the Regina Bush house that one of the long-termers was trying all of yesterday to find. He spent the morning and early afternoon helping the grateful crew leader to get all the power restored in that house. Some of us will be back there later in the week to work at drywall again.  
At the Carson house Jared and Bill finished the second coat of mudding while LuAnn, Sarah, and Elsie (a long-termer) scraped paint from the outside of the house. The disrespected “grandson” Jared spent a lot of the morning framing a vent project that had been started yesterday by Gramps (a.k.a. Ray). The finished project was solid and matched the framing of the windows. Doris and the cooks treat us quite well and brought us fudge popsicles mid-morning! The afternoon found the ladies painting T-111 siding on the back of the house with primer. It was much easier to see progress today than yesterday!  
Jay, LuAnn and Jared were treated by LuAnn’s sister to a dinner of shrimp, jambalaya and Mississippi mud pie, while the others enjoyed an equally delicious meal by the very capable Canadian cooks. Some of us have been enjoying sitting around the campfire last night and again tonight.
Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and another good day of work tomorrow! |
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