Day 2--MS 7

Paint scraping, downspouts, insulation and sheet rock were the name of the game today.

We spent the day at the Yellow House and Captain John's, with a stop at the Dawsey's for Lee and Ben D. (Tom's son). That was the highlight of the day for Lee...not putting in the downspouts but taking the Dawsey's puppy for a walk. Though the collar was too big and the puppy kept escaping. The very excited puppy was just happy to have some attention and Lee was happy to give it to him!

Gail, Debbie & Meggie spent the morning scraping paint at the Yellow House. There is a lot of peeling paint that needs to come off before the primer can go on. But it's a labor of love. Meggie diligently worked on the front all day long while Gail worked on the back and Debbie on one side.

Steven, Douglas, Jonathan and Brittany headed over to Captain John's this morning. Finishing insulation in the walls was on the list as was cleaning the swamp. Brittany sent Jonathan in places that she wasn't willing to go...for good reason! It's muddy and slippery out there! Douglas and Steven finished up the insulation and joined in the fun for awhile. Ben T. came pulling up, though, with a load of sheet rock to be unloaded from the trailer to the Bobcat and from the Bobcat to the house. All four joined in and got it done. Steven decided half way through that tonight would be an "aleve" night.

After lunch at the Tiki Bar & Mini Barn (the new addition to the Yellow House property as named by Tom D. and Ben T.) Steven, Douglas, Jonathan, Lee & Debbie went back to Captain Jack's to start installing sheet rock on the ceiling and then put in insulation in the ceiling. Brittany, Gail & Meggie continued to scrape away paint and shoo away bugs. Meggie experimented with killing a bug on her hand and leaving it there. It kept the bugs from that hand!

It was breezy this morning but gradually warmed up through the day. Tomorrow is another day of paint scraping, sheet rock and insulation. We're all a little tired but happy to be working! Nighty-night!

Always an adventure--Day 1

Our plane was supposed to leave from SJ yesterday at 2:15pm. We had a connecting flight in Houston with only a little over an hour layover. As we gathered at church the phone call came in...your plane is delayed due to weather. Instead of rushing, we moseyed to the airport.

Then we learned that we might not make our connecting flight...and the last flight out of Houston to NOLA was full. If we didn't make the connection we would have to stay in Houston overnight and catch the 7:30am flight the next day. Sigh. We waited patiently, camped out in the food court, boarded our plane quickly when called and the pilot flew as fast as the plane would fly. We stepped off the plane 9 minutes before the next flight was scheduled to depart and were all relieved to see that it too was delayed. Yea! Real bathrooms!

We arrived about 45 minutes later than planned but it worked out perfectly. Lee & Gail (who were already here) were pulling into the airport as we deplaned, our luggage came off the plane first and we were out the door! Rental car was smooth. Miss Nina made sure we had a nice ride and kept saying "Thank y'all for coming." Our drive into the Bay was punctuated by heat lightening (Ben informed me today that the lightening that strikes across the sky is heat lightening so I'm passing along my new found knowledge.) And Meggie can attest to the fact that the thunder here is loud.

It was 1:30am before we made it to bed, lulled to sleep by the sound of the down pouring rain. 6:30 came awfully early but the smile on Ben's face when we pulled up was worth it. We split into 3 crews. One crew to the Dawsey's house to put up gutters (which was then delayed because they didn't have the materials), another crew to the Yellow House to pressure wash and scrape it for painting and the last crew headed out to Captain John's house to install insulation. Captain John's house was the one that we dug holes for the foundation last trip. It's so great to see an actual house and be able to help get the inside done too. It was a good day, with a few minor hiccups but we're flexible and just found something else to do!

For those Miss Ana fan's her house has been painted! We didn't drive by today but we will sometime this week. Miss Maria and Mr. Lee both still have their Katrina Kottages. And word on the street is that the Cat Lady hasn't changed.

The bugs are out in force. It's muggy but not too hot. We're tired but so grateful to be here! Pictures may be added later...I didn't take a single one today!

4 days...

Until 7 of us return to Pearlington and 1 goes for the first time. The news today is the highs are in the 70's and low 80's during the day, high 50's at night and there are thunderstorms. Which isn't great because the Pearl River has been above flood stage for about a week now and it's not receding super fast. More thunderstorms brings more water. Pray for receding water...there's a house that we could work on if the water recedes!

News from Slidell

Rain is falling in the south which is creating a problem along the West Pearl River. Go here to read the news for yourself. From how I read the article the problem area is along the route that we would travel to get from Pearlington to Slidell. One more headache that they don't need.

A walk down memory lane

Yesterday I had the opportunity to share a little of our experiences in Pearlington with a church youth group in Santa Cruz that is heading to Galveston at the end of the week to do Hurricane recovery work. All week my mind raced with what I was going to say to this group that would encourage them, but also help to prepare them for what they are about to enter. It brought back some great memories and some pretty tough ones too and made me realize that we have a lot of stories and experiences to share with people. It also made me realize that we should be proud of all that we have accomplished!

Here are a few numbers that we need to remember--for all 6 trips that people from the church have taken:

• April 8, 2006 was our very first trip which means we have been going to Pearlington for 3 years this April.
• Over the 3 years we have raised/spent over $91,000.
• 51 people have gone on the trips total. 5 have gone 6 times, 1 has gone 5 times, 5 have gone 4 times, 5 have gone 3 times and 12 have gone 2 times. Wow!
• We have logged over 4800 working hours on 20+ houses in Pearlington...a couple homes we have worked on multiple times.
• We have purchased 118 round trip tickets to New Orleans, rented 21 vans and been to Wal Mart in Slidell and Waveland way too many times to count.
• We have been to Missionary Baptist Church for 5 catfish fridays and lots of lunches.
• We have driven miles and miles...I put 600 miles on my van the last trip alone!

That's pretty impressive! What are the memories or numbers that come to mind for you?