There's still a lot of work to do on their job board and more homes will be added as soon as some of these are complete.
Everybody's tired and beat though. Ready to head home. Some of us didn't even make it till dinner without a nap.
Dale's earned the rest. He and the rest of the drywall crew finished all the drywall in the house they had to work on this week.
Johnny Justice (Johnny Law to his friends) and I set another set of kitchen cabinets after clearing out remaining tools and extra materials from another house. Another very thankful homeowner who was just so nice to work for. Everyone has been. This is an amazingly friendly place, but it's almost surreal how much we become hooked into their lives.
The flooring crew laid two full houses of hardwood flooring this week while training others to do it in other houses. They got in after everyone else had dinner tonight so that they could finish their last house. The laminate flooring is the most cost effective solution to drop down on the slabs these houses rest on and looks really nice.
The painting crew finished their 2nd house today for the week as well. They completed one average and one large house from finished drywall, through primer, and 2nd coats all around.
We have the Cure's so close to ready to move in, but stubborn pluming and bathroom finishing problems kept us from finishing. They have a gas stove and sink with cabinets finished in the kitchen and doors hung. They need only the drywall finished, a tub surround, and the vanity connected in a bathroom to move back to their house.
We didn't have anyone mucking today, but I got a couple of pictures from Amanda from yesterday. This the cleaned out house they worked on:
And a crew picture with the homeowners and June White's group from Virginia who are down:
That house was scheduled to be condemned because it hadn't been cleaned, but they swooped in and saved the day. You see the yellow signs with the red X mostly on buildings that were structurally damaged by the storm, but some homes like this one are also scheduled.
I think we're all ready to head home to our families, but I know the inevitable crash will come when we get back. There is still so much good work waiting (on Zack and Liz's board) that is in urgent need of attention. We'll be getting job assignments from them for teams after the first of the year. It looks like our teams will be staying in trailers, but where hasn't yet been determined. Till that is ready I have gained a couple other contacts here in addition to the church in Pascagula who will host teams for work there.
We need construction leads badly. If you have any trade, or you church can sponsor a professional contractor for a week or a month down here to organize unskilled volunteers their time would be amplified many times over. Our biggest problem is the people we have must learn how to lay floor or finish drywall, or mount cabinets before they can do it and then their skills are lost when they leave and more volunteers come in. A couple pros a week would really give a boost to the effort to return people to their homes.
Please be in prayer for God to send those people here and continue sending those without the skills on faith that they will accomplish their number 1 mission, showing people they are not forgotten, by us or their creator. Where else can you do manual labor and be treated with the hospitality Christ himself may receive. It feels good being his hands and feet this week and I know we are all looking forward to a chance to return.
Our schedule for Sunday and Monday is as follows:
Sunday @ 10:30 Church down the road a few blocks
Sunday @ Lunch Lunch, probably in the French Quarter
Sunday @ 3:00 everyone showered and packed
Sunday @ 4:00 all loaded and head for Birmingham
Sunday @ 10:00 arrive at Homewood Church of Christ for overnight
Monday @ 8:00 pack and leave for home
Monday @ 5:00ish arrive at Westerville Christian Church
We're all anxious to see you and tell our stories and get back to our families. Please pray we have a safe and speedy trip.
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