Hilltop Camp Setup - Saturday Report

Things are really moving down here. A complete set of the pictures I took today are here.

Chrissy joined Corky and I last night and Rick White flew in this afternoon.

You'll find pictures of the first few pieces of equipment we moved over from Slidel today - Chrissy's grill and camper, the red shower trailer built this winter, two vans and a trailer. We also set up Corky's trailer on the site and moved the BBC shower trailer over from Sweet Bethel church where the camp was supposed to originally reside.A crew from Texas spent their 2nd day working on the fellowship hall at the new church building. They have drywall up and mudded and have expanded the size of the kitchen adding a nice pass through. We'll be there for church in the morning so more pictures of that tomorrow.

We joined them and some church members for Mr. Rosevelt's "trash in da pot" and great conversation among all.


The last couple of shots are after we got generators up and running at the camp and the sun was for practical purposes gone for the evening. The bugs were horrible without bug spray, but not a problem with.
And so ends the first night of the Hilltop Bayou La Batre camp.

Pray for the power issues to be resolved. Hopefully we can get lines run in rather than depending on generators for the length of the camp. While we want to be prepared with generators and a power management plan for first response, it isn't the most practical in this environment where full services are available.

More people are signing up for more trips into August! The response from volunteers wishing to be hands and feet and from the recipients of our help continue to bless my life and reafirm we are doing His will and working in His kingdom.

Thank you for all you do! Check back for more updates tomorrow.

John McGuire

Tomorrow morning the tents come in

Today in Bayou La Batre

Even though Tropical Storm Barry is heading for Tampa (my friend Barry Raymond must be so proud :-) to start off the hurricane season, the weather was beautiful in Bayou La Batre today. I'll be a certified Wild Blue satellite Internet installer before we are through... I've been working on setting up the unit from the Machen's in Slidell here and for our next response.

Corky and I spent much of the day shopping for parts and staking out the locations of trailers and tents in the park we are inhabiting for a couple months this summer. The pics of the work on the new church building and the location for the camp are here.

Check back for more updates tomorrow!

Hurricane Season Starts

And to celebrate, I'm in Bayou La Batre setting up camp for the summer with Hilltop, testing our disaster response plan, and getting some red cross training. I'll get you pictures and more information later today on the blog.

We have 126 people presently scheduled from Ohio to work in Bayou La Batre the week of July 7-15! That's 26 over capacity, but we'll find room for everyone. Other weeks between June 15 and July 27 are still open if you want to come join in. We'll also be scheduling trips into August and beyond.

June 8, North Canton Church of Christ will be in Chalmette working as will Linworth UMC the week of July 27. Each team numbers approximately 30.

The first day of the season with two storms named so far, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific, plus the much larger response we have this summer make me wonder what God has in store for us. Teams scheduled during season are our first responders if a new storm comes in. Once a hosting organization has a camp set up, the area is safe, and there is work to do on the ground, we'll redirect our scheduled teams and other first response crew into the area.

Thanks for your servant hearts and spirit as this effort continues and we prepare for the next one.

John McGuire

Habitat Opportunity for Saturday 6/2

We need 5 volunteers (on a first come basis) this Saturday, June 2nd on a construction site.

Volunteers assist us in mainly framing 2nd floor walls on Saturday from 8:30am to 4:00pm. No prior skills required, leadership provided.

Volunteers need to wear comfortable clothing that they don’t mind getting dirty. Volunteers must wear hard-soled shoes (work boots preferred) or tennis shoes. Absolutely no sandals or open toed/open heeled shoes allowed on site. Bring a water bottle and lunch. Hats and sunscreen are always a great addition to your work day.

If you have your own tools (i.e. hammer, pencil tape measure, nail apron/tool belt, utility knife, and speed square), please bring them, but label and keep track of tools. If you do not have your own tools, tools will be available on site.

If you are available and interested, please email me for details.

Thanks for all you do!

Deb Light
Volunteer Director
Habitat for Humanity-Greater Columbus
3140 Westerville Rd
Columbus, OH 43224
Office 614-364-7020 (direct line)
Cell: 614-332-9192
Fax: 614-414-0432