Ooh, flat tire!

So not much happened today. We arrived safely in Biloxi at around 8:45 or 9:15. The 8:45ers were the advance team who were able to scope out the premises. The later group spent time building team spirit on the side of Interstate 10 changing a flat tire and dodging fire ants. Despite leaving late and taking longer stops than expected, we were able to make good time.

The tire blew on the Bayer van only a few minutes after leaving our last (or so we thought) stop for the evening. Mr. Hatton expertly guided the car off of the road and he and Mr. Diepenbrock put the temporary spare on for the last fifty miles (or so we though again). This was a very temporary spare. It turned out to be as flat as the blown tire. After discussion amongst the four other vans at the Shell station 2 miles down the rode, it was decided to send a rental van and (good) spare tire back to the stragglers, while the rest of the group forged ahead. Hence, the two arrival times. The Lord protected everyone involved and everyone arrived unscathed aside from a few fire ant bites.

The accommodations are incredible!
We have....
1. doors
2. windows
3. completed sleeping quarters
4. mattresses that fit the beds (some beds have two!)
5. Bathrooms in the same building as the sleeping quarters and multipurpose room
6. A non leaking roof
7. An incredible ocean view from the front lawn

We don't have....
1. the Lagniappe wave
2. skylights in the sanctuary
3. Anheuser Busch water
4. an ice box with a chicken problem

Things to pray for...
1. Biloxi Bob has not been feeling well
2. A new tire for the Bayer van
3. Discernment as we scope out the work sites tomorrow

Praises...
1. Safe arrival
2. According to Anna the kitchen is amazingly well organized and easy to work in
3. Good weather
4. Beautiful moonrise over the water
5. Great accommodations

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers already.
(You can dialogue with us through the blog, or just leave comments - as in please do!)
What follows is a photo collage of the day.

Ooh, pick me!

Well, we had our last prep meeting for Biloxi Sunday night. Lisa reminded us that we have our plans and God has His. We'll pray that our's jibe with His. When they don't, we'll go with His. Smart, huh?

Lisa read out of Isaiah 6, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted...". After Isaiah's close encounter with the living God, he responded to the call "of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" with "Here am I. Send me!". The Ginger-ism being "Ooh, pick me!" To remind us of, and encourage us in, that attitude Lisa handed out little, smiley, hoppy guys. A great idea! I hope we can survive the 17 hours of hopping to Biloxi.

We covered last minute details - transportation, eating, $$, tools (thanks, Bill!). Still lots of ends to tie up before Saturday. All the sub-teams are covering off their areas, seems to be starting to gel.

It's not totally clear what we'll be doing when we get there. Bob makes up the assignments each Saturday, so our work schedule won't be settled until we're on the road. So we'll definitely need our new, spiffin' T-shirts (Thanks, Jane!), especially the attitude on the logo - says it all.

Thanks for your prayers!

Let's get to work!

The team had many requests for help from the Calvary family, so we put together some work teams to hone our skills including painting, sealing decks, and cutting and moving dead trees. Our first job was at Dale and Kim's where we painted eveything that didn't move. Bill B., Catherine, Col. Mike (shown here kibbutzing with our fearless leader), and others of us were busy bees that day as you'll see.

The following weekend we did the painting thing again, with Team Elise doing an extreme makeover on her office room. That day nobody was drinking the cappucino, we were putting it on the walls!

Practicing...

Saturday was a relatively cool day in Raleigh. Probably nothing like the weather will be in Biloxi. Still, 10 or so of us worked the morning in a church member's backyard, raking leaves and doing general cleanup. I wasn't there when the work started (deacon's meeting) so I don't have any "before" pictures. You can see by the few here that folks were working hard.

We ended up taking four loads in Jay's trailer to the barren soil beside the church trailers. Bill spent most of his time powerwashing the deck and railing, but ended up breaking his power washer shortly after lunch. Unfortunately, he had to travel to the local big box hardware and purchase a new, more powerful one. Too bad!

The back yard looked totally different and we learned some about work and service. We look forward to the lessons carrying over to Biloxi.

Update on funds: as of Sunday AM, the Lord has provided the minimum that we need, plus some. We hope to raise a lot more to be able to bless the work at Biloxi with an additional donation. Keep praying!

Getting Ready for Biloxi

Sunday wasn't the first time we had met, but we wanted to get the blog started for Calvary's mission trip to Biloxi, MS in 2007. There's a great group of 31 people headed to the Gulf June 30-July 7. Lisa's our fearless leader again this year, since she did such a great job in 2006.



We talked transportation, tools, schedule, medical forms, prayer, testimonies, quiet times, team covenant and, oh yes, we ate some good food.

Salads - fruit, chicken, pasta. Bread - Pan Bigio (didn't he play second for the Astros), yummy whole wheat, croissants. Dessert - chocolate, 'nuff said.

We are an excited bunch! Can't wait to see what God's going to do in us on this trip. If last year was any measure, He'll do far more in us than through us.

Rumor has it that we might be very adept at drywall installation and finishing by the time we return. Maybe a little demo thrown in there, too. Lisa's getting updates from Biloxi Bob on a regular basis. It will be an adventure, as any faith stretcher can be - a battle, for sure. Flexibility is key.

Semper Gumby!