Done

Team Sawzall and Broken Drill Bit/Plant the Posts were determined to do the most work possible before the day was done. And we did...BDB/PTP ran out of materials and Sawzall finished all the work inside before the furniture arrived at Captain John's. It was a good day!

Sammy and Brittany made a great team and rocked out on placing the decking for the ramp. Jonathan tried to help for awhile but got kicked out of girl-land. Joe is a master at the chop saw...even had enough time to make some bookmarks for us all. Jonathan helped here, helped there, helped everywhere. Michelle started out on a roll but quickly got overwhelmed by the no-see-ums (whoever came up with that name was SO out of touch with these little biting bugs), took some anti-histamine and wound up sleeping most of the day. It was a bummer but totally understandable!Debbie, Kanda and Harold finished installing the closet shelving, put a shelf in the utility room, got the hot water heater, washer and dryer all in place, installed towel racks and other necessities in the bathrooms, installed a storm door on the back door and prepped the floors before the arrival of the furniture. The truck rolled in around 3:30 or 4 and the attention quickly turned to helping the furniture movers bring in all the furniture, setting it up and getting things ready for Captain John and Joel so that they can sleep in their homes for the first time tonight.Joe worked really hard to get thing set up so that Captain John could enjoy his TV.
Amongst all that there was a trip to Lowes and Starbuck$ (hallelujah!). Oh and a stop for a team picture.
It was SO good to see Captain John sitting on his couch in his house but there was a sense of frustration as well. Though we put great effort into it, the ramp isn't complete. There isn't another team coming in after us that will finish it either. And while that isn't completely our fault, it is hard to leave the job unfinished. So while the joy of seeing Captain John in his house was FANTASTIC, the sense of needing to do more is palpable. And we know that the ramp, while helpful once the waters start to rise, isn't the ultimate fix that needs to happen at this house...Captain John ultimately needs a lift so that he can easily leave his house...which costs money.

There are many things we are contemplating as we head home.

Half a day's work, half a day's play

Team Sawzall and Team Broken Drill Bits/Plant the Posts all headed out to Captain John's today for a fabulous half day of work. On the list of things to do was plant two posts, secure boards to the side of the poles that will eventually hold the planks for the ramps, put dirt back into the post holes, drill holes and lag in bolts to the posts and put in closet shelves. It was a productive morning with all of that being done. Word on the street is that the furniture for Captain John's will arrive Thursday between 12noon and 3pm. Yippee!!!

We broke for lunch about noon and headed over to Ben's house for a Crawfish Boil. 44lbs of Crawfish to be exact. And Cajun deer sausage and Italian deer sausage and potatoes and corn and celery and onions and garlic and fruit salad and deviled eggs and sweet tea and...oh goodness. There was a ton of food for the crowd that gathered. It was a great afternoon, the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze keeping the bugs away and good food for all. I think we all needed the afternoon off. I know we all enjoyed a new Southern experience! Unfortunately Harold wasn't feeling so well and missed the whole afternoon to go back and sleep...hopefully he will be up to one more day of work tomorrow!

Time for bed! We've got one last day ahead of us and it's a biggie! Nighty-night!

Good news!!!

Today was Waffle House day. We headed out for a special "treat" this morning...which made Team Plant the Posts late to work. That didn't stop us from working hard though! Ben and Tom arrived and we were well into our work. Ben noticed on the way down Captain John's driveway that there were some stickers on the permit sign at the front of the driveway. He hiked back out to check it out and then yelled back to Captain John "Order your furniture!". These green stickers mean that the house has passed inspection! It was a goose bump kind of moment. There is only one issue with the heating and air conditioning unit that needs to be figured out, but that doesn't need to be fixed before he can move in. Hopefully the furniture comes before we leave so we can help with that process.

The good news continued as Team Plant the Posts got on a roll. We placed 7 posts in 4 hours! Yes! We have the outline of the ramp and will hopefully be placing planks on it tomorrow. Hallelujah! Ben can't seem to stay away and has to get his hands in the work as well. Don't tell him, but we like having him around too.
Team Sawzall finished up their work at Ms. Donna's today. They arrived to a beautiful note of Thanks from Ms. Donna and were able to say their goodbyes before leaving the site. The siding has been replaced, the vents fixed and both sides of the house that needed to be painted are done. It's looking good over at Ms. Donna's house!Team Sawzall will join up with Team Plant the Posts tomorrow and will be installing shelving at Captain John's house. It will only be a half days work though, cuz Ben and Tom have requested our presence at a Crawfish boil at Ben's house. It promises to be a fun afternoon!

Please pray for the team in the next couple of days, that we can be efficient with our time, accomplish more than we anticipate and that we will be the light that God desires us to be to those we work for and with. We're tired after the week and the excitement of last night. Here are the promised pictures from last nights celebration. Harold created the "award" himself...not sure it's gonna make it home on the plane with the doorknob, screws, latch and all the various items on it. Might have to leave it for someone else to be "awarded" with! The tiara and the scepter are a nice touch, no? They even light up!

Monday's excitement

Oh, what a day. We have worked hard, laughed a lot, been frustrated, had new adventures and shared in the ups and downs of the day.

Team Sawzall has done a great job at putting up new siding, painting, taking down the scaffolding, putting back up in a new place and then starting on the 2nd side. Harold cut three times for the one cut he needed for every piece on an octagon shaped vent but it's beautiful in the end! One more day at Ms. Donna's and they believe they will be ready for a new adventure! The diligence of this band of workers is spectacular...so glad they came with us to bless Ms. Donna!

Team Broken Drill Bits gained a new name...Team Plant the Post. It's a frustrating job but we work for a very kind boss who dealt with the slowness of it all. The stink coming up from the swamp hole wasn't lovely but once the pole was set and cemented in, the stink went away. The wind whipping through the swamp didn't help...in fact it was strong enough to shift the posts off level but we powered through. I will admit that I let frustration take over my body at one point...a level almost bit the dust. But determination won out! There are plenty more posts to plant tomorrow.

Tonight the house had a mini-celebration. It's awkward to write about it but tonight was the Reception and Award Ceremony for the Jefferson Award that I was honored with for the Central Coast back home. I had a few friends represent me and they called and sent texts all night with the fun that was happening back home. The house here created an award of their own...pictures will have to wait until tomorrow...and had a celebration.

And then the text message came..."You won! You are going to DC!" What???!!! I sent a text back..."don't joke with me about this". The response was a phone number...it's true. I was chosen to go to Washington DC this summer for the National Jefferson Award Ceremony. Oh.my.goodness!!!!!!! What an honor! It's capped by the fact that the reason that I'm even being honored with this award is because of the work that we do here in Mississippi and here we are, on trip number 9. Words fail.

Thanks for your prayers! Time to go to bed. We have a Waffle House adventure in the morning!

The day's go by...

Team Sawzall (Kanda, Harold and Debbie) headed up to Ms. Donna's house today for another round of scaffolding and siding. They went up three levels on the scaffolding and kept finding more and more rotted siding. Ain't that always the way it goes? The sun was favorable, though, which was a good and bad thing. No rain, good, sunburns, bad. They also took an antenna down from the roof, fixed an electrical pole, primed the siding and enjoyed their lunch out on the porch swinging on the porch swing. All in all a productive day...with lots of laughter, I'm sure knowing this team!

Team Broken Drill Bits (Sammy, Jonathan, Joe, Michelle and Brittany) finished up the kick boards on the stairs and got started on the ramp at Captain John's. We are hoping that the inspectors that come through after all the work that went into the kick boards! Mr. Ben kept working on the railing and had a little help from Michelle. It's always nerve wracking to work when Ben is standing over your shoulder watching! We dug, sunk and leveled four posts and poured in the cement as well. There are many more posts to go! There were a lot of visitors at Captain John's today. His daughter and grand kids came by to say hi along with many friends. Amongst the work and the visitors, Sammy learned how to square dance. I have video...just haven't transferred it yet.

Tom D. from Mountains to Mississippi arrived today. It was good to see him after two years. His first question to me was "Are you ready to go to Haiti?". Their group has sent doctors to Haiti in the last few months and Tom is contemplating sending work crews. I'm not promising anything.

As usual, there are things that we are enjoying and things that we are struggling with. The tools are there, most of the time, but it's slow going at times. This trip we seem to be doing more people therapy as well. We know that God is working and are constantly praying that we are doing and saying the things that God asks us to do and say.