Calvary PCA Missions Trip

Home Sweet Home!

2011-07-16T21:08:00.002-04:00

After a 10 hour trip, we have finally made it back to Raleigh! We left Dalton around 9:45 this morning and arrived home at 8 pm. As Lisa has pointed out, we are all tired, but it is good tired. We are so thankful that we were able to minister to the community of Dalton, GA this week! Thank you so much for your prayers and support. You are just as important to this mission as the team that went to serve. We can't wait to tell you all about how God has worked in marvelous ways this week!

Our Last Day in Dalton- Construction!

2011-07-15T20:42:00.005-04:00

Today was our final work day in Dalton! We were tired but excited to be able to do construction all day. It was nice to have time to work on and even complete some projects we had started this week. All of the team members who had worked at the “Putrid Pond” were especially happy because no one had to return today! There was much rejoicing last night when it was announced that we would only be going to the houses.

At the Cherokee Valley house the team was FINALLY able to start siding! The prep work that was done yesterday made the process go smoothly today. The front and two sides now have siding up to the roof line and the back was done as far as was possible without ladders. The long term volunteer here, Clyde, was ecstatic with the progress that was made. He gave the team a standing ovation at dinner tonight! The homeowner and her parents were at the house and were so excited to see such a major change happen to the house. A neighborhood lady stopped by the house to give the team tea and cake, a service she tries to provide once a week. She even got emotional by the appearance of the house and the work of the team. Emily C. was able to help Bert, the homeowner’s father, frame the garage. She said he was a wonderful teacher and very patient!

The front of the house by the end of the day

The back of the house at the end of the day

Look how straight the siding is!

Framing for the garage

At the Robbie Lane house there was a wide array of projects that the team worked on. Lisa and Mike L. were able to finish the handicap ramp up that they started on Monday. The homeowners will be so pleased to have it done, as the wife was having trouble earlier this week on the skinny boards that led into the house. Mike J., Ron, and Norris (S) led two groups that worked on siding the sides of the house. Mike J. was also able to finish the siding on the back of the house this morning. By the end of the day there were only about fifteen more rows of siding left to put up on the house! Ron estimates that it shouldn’t take a full day to finish the rest of the rows. Daniel and Michael H. worked on insulating the crawl space that had been started yesterday and were able to finish at about 4:00. They also hauled a lot of debris from behind the shed. Michael only lost his shoe once to the mud that caked everyone’s shoes. Ashley started and finished insulating the parts of the main floor that did not have wiring in them. Megan had a great servant heart and jumped in to clean the property and the house. She was willing to do anything that was needed all day, but spent most of the afternoon stapling wiring on the main floor. Lisa and Mike L. also ran wire in the basement that included a lot of drilling holes in the ceiling and getting muddy from whatever was on the floor of the basement. Overall, we were able to make a lot of progress on the house. Next week they should be able to start the dry wall, mudding, and taping. We are happy that we will not be here for that process!

Mike and Lisa with their handiwork, the handicap ramp

Ashley working on insulation

Left, back, and right of the house at the end of the day

Tonight we are cleaning cars, sorting tools, organizing VBS supplies, and visiting with our Sparta family. Tomorrow we will be driving back to North Carolina and hope to be there at a decent hour. Please pray for rest tonight and travel tomorrow for both the Calvary and Sparta teams.

We have seen God work in wonderful ways this week. We have witnessed His power, mercy, and blessings in new ways that we never would have expected and we can’t wait to share them with all of you!

Rockets and Raunchy Ponds

2011-07-14T22:45:00.006-04:00

We have reached our next to last night! VBS ended today, and tomorrow we will spend doing construction all day long. Construction went well today as the people cleaning up at the “Putrid Pond” are hopefully finished for the week (for the sake of us all!). Michael earned a star for the day, as he balanced on trash in the pond to reach normally unreachable pieces of debris. We have learned that the pond will be completely filled in, so it does not need to be spotless by the time we leave. There was a glitch as they were trying to dump their last load of trash (out of 5 loads). They were told that they could not continue dumping trash on the side of the road because the city was supposedly no longer picking it up. As of right now, the load has not been dumped, and it is top priority to find out where to dump the trash tomorrow. Just an 125 meters away (an estimate by Dr. Larsen), prep work for siding continued. All lines have been marked, and some siding has been placed. Hopefully, most of the siding can be finished tomorrow. Mud was also removed from the top of the footers for the porch and dirt in front of the house was leveled. Also, Ginger and Emily (S), helped Bert (the home owner, father of the daughter living in the house) build the frame for the walls of the garage, which was a lot of fun. At the other house Mike J. worked on scaffolding to put up siding on the back of the house, and almost completed that entire side. He also had to use his creative juices to fix mistakes from the person who began the siding before him. Megan, Daniel, Marilee, and Ron worked hard to install insulation in a crawlspace (similar to what the other house did earlier this week). The plumber finished today, and they can hopefully finish insulation tomorrow.

Framing for the garage and cleaning up at the "Putrid Pond"

VBS ended with a bang today, and we felt that the kids learned a lot and had a good time. Today they set off their rockets, learned about critters in the creek, put all of their photos into their books, and learned about Jesus being the light of the world (John 8:12). The kids were all thrilled with how high their rockets flew, and will probably have lots of fun with them at home. In the creek they found many interest creatures including blue gill, tad poles, and diving beetles. Our new best friends at Walmart astounded us as they had 21 cameras developed in 2 hours! The photo booklets turned out wonderfully, and the kids enjoyed piecing them together. Kristin, Ashley, Leah (S), and all of the wranglers worked one-on-one with the kids to help them think about how God was visible through the pictures they had taken of nature and their friends.

Critters in the creek and the rocket launch

At the end of the day, we were cooked a wonderful Mexican meal that was prepared for the families of the children who attended VBS. We all ate, fellowshipped, sang for the parents, and presented a slide show of what the kids did during the week. Carlos then preached on Jesus being the Resurrection as Tom translated. We have been blessed this week by the children and their parents, and we would love prayers for them as some are unchurched.

Tomorrow we hope to tell of many completed work projects, and perhaps not having to work by headlights to finish them. We have been amazed to see what God has done this week, and we can’t wait to tell everyone about it.

It's 11:30 at night, and we have run out of creative juices... So here it is! Love, Kristin and Ginger

2011-07-13T23:05:00.006-04:00

Tonight Ginger and Kristin get a “break” from blogging to let some other people describe what our day was like. Ashley and Emily will be describing the new worksite that we went to today. It was humbling and overwhelming. Austin is the designated blogger for the Cherokee Valley House while Marilee and Megan are going to explain the progress at the Robbie Lane House. Tyler is going to dictate his blog post to Ginger because he smashed his finger today. Not bad enough to bandage it but bad enough for it to be uncomfortable to type.

Austin about Cherokee Valley House

The entire team with the home owners (Jay and Sarah) and Sarah's Mother (Gail)

Well today we split up into two teams. One team worked inside hammering nails into brackets that were not completely hammered in yet while another team prepared the outside for siding which we will most likely do tomorrow. We got a surprise visit from the homeowners also, Sarah and Jay. I was told that they were a young couple, which makes me think 25 to 30ish years old, while in fact they were 21. Jay walked around and helped Tyler hammer some of the nails in and pick up debris around the property. Sarah brought their new puppy dog and talked with us while we were on break. We wrapped up the day with some cleanup around the house. Meeting the new home owners was very motivational; we got to see who we were building for.

Megan and Marilee about Robbie Lane House

Doesn't Marilee look so excited to be snipping vinyl siding!

Today Ron, Mike J, Daniel, Marilee and I (Megan) worked on soffits and siding on the Robbie Lane House. We had almost finished the soffits yesterday so we just had to finish up measuring (usually 11 3/8 inches), cutting, and nailing the soffits to the corner of the roof [remember, measure twice, cut once!]. While waiting for more soffits to be delivered, we helped put some siding on the front of the house. It went smoothly and we even got the siding cut correctly around the window (thanks to Marilee). Once we were about 2/3 up the wall we realized that the siding was not straight with the other walls so we had to take it down and straighten it up- we never realized how perfect a house must be! :) Overall, we had a good day measuring, cutting, nailing, and repeating the process! And now for Marilee’s work lessons:

1. Make the house perfect- everything must line up!

2. Many, many things must happen before a house can be completely finished

3. Use the orange snippers!

Ashley and Emily on the “Putrid Pond”

Cleaning up at the "Putrid Pond"

Today a part of our team went to a pond that had gathered debris from the tornado two months ago. Truthfully we didn’t know what to expect, but once we saw the massive mess our mouths were wide open. As we started to clean the mess, we noticed some items that really touched our hearts. We found a baby’s first ornament, lots of ripped clothes, and pictures ruined by water. When we arrived we said to Hannah (the intern at Grace, who takes great care of us) that if she or anyone else sees a snake, to scream. We didn’t see any snakes. Darn! But we found a mother mouse with five babies and they ran into a nearby bush. The one thing that was very nice to accompany us was the putrid smell of the pond that was black and infested with bugs and some rotten food. We all stayed away from the water! We successfully filled two truckloads with trash but those hours of work we put in didn’t even make a dent in the look of the mess. With more hard work and God’s wonderful strength, we can definitely do it!

The momma mouse and babies that were found at the pond

Tyler on VBS at Fort Mountain State Park

Hiking through Fort Mountain State Park

Firstly, the definition of geocaching: Using GPS coordinates to locate hidden boxes. Generally there is something inside for you to take out, and sometimes you are supposed to put something back.

We split up into four groups, and the first half went off to look for the geocache puzzles. Our team (the youngest group), and the next oldest group, stayed behind and snacked. After 10 minutes the two groups that stayed behind started the hike. We found five geocache tins that had been hidden around the trail, and took the puzzle pieces out to make a cross. We then tied it all together telling the kids that Jesus is the great navigator. No matter where we are, we can’t hide from Him. During the hike there was also a fast approaching thunderstorm, but it didn’t actually rain. It was nice, because there was then a nice breeze and the temperature dropped. The kids were also pretty excited, because some had not been to this park before, and were really amazed by the view. After the team arrived back at Dalton, Ron noticed that all of the GPS’s were missing. He went back to the park because he realized that he had accidently thrown them away when he was doing trash. Luckily all GPS’s were found and are now accounted for!

Also, we would all like to wish Kelsey a happy birthday!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA6qDRsEEwE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Soffits, Saturn, and Sonic Blasts!!

2011-07-13T06:56:00.006-04:00

Three words can summarize our day: Soffits, Saturn, and Sonic Blasts (Pastor Wright aren’t you proud of Ginger for thinking of that?). Ok we probably need a few more words but that’s a good start.

Daniel "helps" Ron get down from the deck

We started the day with construction again. We went to the same sites as yesterday to continue the work we started. The first site (insulation and digging yesterday) completed the insulation under the house and prepped the outside for vinyl siding to begin tomorrow. Gwen shared that she is very pleased with the servants’ heats that are being shown at the house. The team is constantly looking for ways to serve when they have a spare moment by sweeping or shoveling or whatever needs to be done. The team was also able to meet the parents of one of the homeowners, which was a blessing to the team. We will share more of their story when we return. The other site was able to finish the roof of the house. Anne was excited to see a project completed because on most of the mission’s trips she has been on she has left the finishing touches of a project to someone else. Great progress was also made on the handicap ramp and, Lord willing, it will be finished tomorrow. Siding should also be started tomorrow on this house, as the prep work has been going on for the last few days. Marilee and Kristin also went to Laundromax to wash and dry the tie dye shirts that the kids made yesterday at VBS. They turned out great and the kids should get them in the next few days (time to be determined tomorrow). Tomorrow we will return to the same worksites to continue the work we have started.

Prepping for vinyl siding

For VBS today we took the kids to the Tellus Museum in Cartersville, Georgia. We were all very impressed with the quality of the exhibits. Jeff started the day by teaching the kids about Jesus as the bread of life. He used the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand to illustrate that temporary things fade away but we need Jesus to satisfy us eternally (John 6:1-15). Afterward we loaded into the vans and headed to the museum. When we arrived we went straight to the planetarium and saw a presentation on the constellations and the planets. Lisa’s favorite moment at the museum was when all the kids gasped when the presenter turned down the lights so they could see the night sky. There was quite a bit of snoring going on during the show, so apparently we worked hard enough in the morning. Tyler only had to be woken up once before he woke himself up by snoring (He was NOT the only one sleeping though! By straw poll it appears that about half of us went to sleep at some point). We then split the kids up into groups and were able to explore the museum. The most popular exhibits were the fossil dig and the gem panning. The kids would have stayed there all day if we would have let them. However, they did also enjoy doing hands on science experiments, looking at rocks and minerals, examining fossils, and seeing transportation throughout time. We had just enough time in the museum before it was time to return to the church.

Playing with magnets and discussing the next exciting exhibit to peruse

Tonight we were able to go to Sonic on our annual “Ice Cream Run”. Someone at the church anonymously gives money every year for us to treat ourselves and we are always very grateful. Not even Lisa knows who the secret fairy is! They are pretty sneaky. It was a great time to relax and enjoy fellowshipping with each other. We were even able to treat some of our friends from Sparta and the Hilton Head twins we have adopted to our team.

Tomorrow will be more of the same on the construction front. For VBS we will be going to Fort Mountain State Park to geocache (the definition is coming tomorrow!). At night we have the opportunity to go putt putting and play laser tag at the house of a family who attends church here. It promises to be a lot of fun! Ginger and Kristin also hope to pass on some of the blogging duties tomorrow so stay tuned to read some other perspectives!

Monday- The Start of Construction and VBS

2011-07-12T07:07:00.006-04:00

Roofing- the whole roof was finished on Monday!

Moving a big pile of dirt from inside the garage

Leah (S) insulating underneath the house (mental image: Emily C. did this too!)

Lisa with most of the kids for VBS

One of the most popular Minute-To-Win-It games, Worm Diving

Monday is done, and much work has been completed! The morning began with the team splitting up between two houses in Ringgold, GA. We were all taken aback by the extensive, yet spotty damage that was incurred by the tornado. You can drive through one valley and see where houses and trees used to be, and then look up on the hill to see a house completely in tack. The two homes that we worked on have had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up, and are fairly advanced in this process. The first team, consisting of Tom, Emily C., Gwen, Austin, Tyler, Ginger, Lydia (S), Leah (S), and Emily (S), worked on installing insulation and leveling the dirt in a soon to be garage. Working on installing the insulation was Austin, Tyler, Ginger, Leah, and even Emily! This house had a small 2-3 foot crawlspace in which we crawled in and laid on our backs to install the insulation on the bottom of the floor of the house. The rest of the team (to the amazement of the Jim, the head of construction) leveled the mound of dirt that was left from digging footers for the garage. They then continued to make sure the holes around the foundation of the garage were filled.

At the second house the rest of the team roofed, moved trash, built the frame for a handicap ramp, built soffits, ran electrical wire, and installed some insulation. Tomorrow their main job will be installing siding, which will hopefully be at their worksite when they arrive in the morning. They also will continue to put on crossbeams on the ramp, and place the railing for the ramp. Hopefully there will be no more roofing to do tomorrow, as Jim was going to finish up the last little bit that was left.

The first day of VBS went quite well and very smoothly! We had around 20 kids, and we would love to have even more tomorrow. The kids played games at the Minute-to-Win-It station, learned about the Lord being their good Shepherd (John 10:11) at the Bible lesson, started to take pictures at the photography station, and built and decorated bottle rockets. We continue to pray the kids will be receptive to the word of God as we continue on this week.

We have also had many adventures today of losing important items. This included an exciting episode of trying to find lost rental car keys. Thankfully, all of the lost items have been found, and we would love prayer that we would not lose any more items.

Tomorrow we will be taking the kids to the Tellus museum. Hopefully it will be an exciting day that runs smoothly. Tune in tomorrow to hear of the adventures that we have!

We hope all of y’all are doing well back in Raleigh, and we are really enjoying hearing from you on the blog. Tomorrow we hope to tell of many exciting construction and museum stories!

2011-07-10T19:46:00.009-04:00

Grace Presbyterian

It’s Sunday, and tomorrow we begin construction and VBS! The day began with worship with the church family at Grace Presbyterian Church. The pastor preached from Ephesians 4:25-32, and spoke on living as a part of the body of Christ. As a part of the Christian church we need to speak the truth, anger is okay when it is a righteous anger, we are to assault the problem and not each other by not using unwholesome talk, and we are to be proactive and not reactive. The team then split into the youth group, Spanish Sunday school, and the adults Sunday school class. The youth talked about the lame man at Bethesda pool and the difference in the rules of the Sabbath from then and now. The Spanish class discussed Jeremiah 43-52 with the applications call on God, follow the Bible, and use your gifts. Tom strongly encourages you to read the story! The adult Sunday school class dwelled in James 5:7-20. The lesson centered around patience with people, the waiting for the Lord’s return, and the power of prayer, confession, and spiritual reclamation.

After church, we were served a wonderful lunch of fried chicken, salad, bread, and different casseroles. We are definitely spoiled with the wonderful meals that are being prepared for us! Right after lunch we had a quick orientation by Jim Boyd, the head of Rebuilding Hope Ministries. He encouraged us to endure through all the difficulties we may have this week by the power of God (2 Corinthians 6:1-10). He also shared some of the stories of the families we will be meeting this week. The families are in need both spiritually and physically. He charged us with working to meet both of these needs.

Jim Boyd and the team meeting after church

The majority of the afternoon was spent on final preparations for the week. Lisa, Mike J, and Emily C. went with Clyde (the long term volunteer here) to scope out the work sites. The devastation they witnessed was staggering. The tornado that came through nearby Ringgold destroyed literally everything in its path. Tomorrow we will be working on two houses: roofing, vinyl siding, insulation, electric wiring, and building handicap ramps. Some of these projects will probably not get finished tomorrow :)

Devastation and two work sites we will be working on tomorrow

The remaining team members worked on preparing VBS stations for the week. Ginger, Austin, Leah (Sparta), Grace (S), and Emily (S) assembled and tested the “Minute-to-Win-It” games. Words cannot describe them. Please see the pictures below. Gwen practiced her Bible lesson for tomorrow which focus on John 10:11. More on this tomorrow. Kristin, Marilee, and Ashley unwrapped cameras and put together the photo books the kids will be creating this week. It should be a great way for the kids to remember the week and remind them who God is. Tom, Ron, Michael, Daniel, Emily (S), and Lydia (S) scoped out Fort Mountain State park and hid geocache boxes (see Wikipedia :) or visit the blog on Wednesday for details). Ginger, Kristin, Marilee, Emily C., Anne, Tyler, and Nate (S) rubber banded shirts to be tie dyed tomorrow. We can’t wait to see the finished shirts! Everyone else (and some of the aforementioned team members) cut out a multitude of wings for the rockets the kids will be crafting this week. As we type, the remaining wings are being cut. Only one Band-aid had to be used on a small finger cut!

Minute-To-Win-It games and the assembly line for VBS materials

We will wrap it up for tonight so we can join in worship. The Larsens should be here within the hour and we are also expecting a group of six men from Hilton Head, SC to arrive sometime this evening. Tune in tomorrow to find out which male has to sleep on the floor due to lack of beds.

Prayer Requests:

Enough rest and thorough liquid libations for the team
Safety to, from, and on the work sites
Timely arrival of needed supplies for work projects later in the week
For the VBS to run smoothly
For the kids to have open hearts
For the hearts of the families, whose houses we are working on
Praise Update: The Larsens and the Hilton Head team both arrived safely

2011-07-09T21:55:00.002-04:00

The Minnow packed and ready

We have arrived! Sixteen of our nineteen total team members arrived in Dalton, Georgia at 5:15, forty-five minutes ahead of schedule. The Larsens will be driving down tomorrow to complete the team. The team from Sparta, Illinois had already arrived. We have had an orientation meeting and are excited to start work on Monday.

The trip was fairly uneventful, other than “The Jack Encounter” and a few miles of traffic. Our fleet includes “The Bruise”, “Moby Dick”, and “The Minnow”. We were entertained by the conversations of other people on our radios for a while until we decided to switch to a more exclusive channel. In-travel entertainment also included listening to songs representing each team member, a sermon on evangelism, and figuring out the new-fangled overdrive on the vans.

Tonight we are planning on fellowshipping with pizza, music, and games. It seems like the Sparta and Calvary teams will become fast friends. There will also be the first official “Walmart Run” of the trip to pick up a few supplies. Tomorrow we will worship at the church and finish planning for the week.

The "before" team photo, all smiles and no sweat :)

Prayer Requests

· Rest for the team

· Rest and safe travel for the Larsens tomorrow

· Final VBS and construction preparations

· Scott Parsons as he prepares to preach tomorrow

· For God to prepare the hearts of the kids and families we will be serving this week

Let the fun begin!

2011-07-08T18:10:00.002-04:00

It’s that time of year again! Tomorrow we embark on our trip to Dalton, GA where we will help with construction and lead a vacation Bible school for the local Hispanic children. All of our months of planning are about to culminate in one week of fun, sweat, and hard work. Please pray for safety as we drive 8 hours tomorrow. You can also pray that we remain flexible throughout the week, because we all know that “a plan is a platform for change!” We are excited to see what God will do this week as we minister to the Dalton community!Make sure to follow us on this blog, and we would love comments to see how everyone is doing back home.

We're Home!!!!

2010-07-10T22:01:00.005-04:00

We left Dalton this morning around 9:20 am and arrived in Raleigh around 6:00 pm. We want to once again thank you for all of your prayers and support. God has blessed us with an "injury- free" trip. Please continue to pray for the people that we ministered to in Dalton. Pray that God will grow the seeds that were planted in the children and that they will become involved with Grace PCA, or another church in the area. Also pray for their parents, that they would encourage their children to grow in the Lord. Please pray for the people we ministered to through construction. We hope that we made in impact in not only their homes, but also their lives.

Build, mud, sand, paint, repeat...

2010-07-10T19:52:00.010-04:00

It’s Friday, and we accomplished a lot today! We all split up and worked on construction projects all day. Following our “divide and conquer” philosophy, we worked at seven different work sites today. We managed to install two handicap ramps, demolish a bathroom, jack a house and fix the foundation, package food, put in shelves, paint, sand, mud, and clean a house so the new owners could move in next week. It was a long, but fulfilling day!

Dr. Mike, Megan, and Christine worked with Tony, one of Rebuilding Hope’s staff members for the summer, to “un-steep-ify” a handicap ramp. Since the ramp’s landing was 19 inches off the ground, and building code for ramps calls for one foot of ramp per inch of drop (grade-wise,) we built a 19-foot ramp to replace the six-to-ten foot ramp that was in place.

The second handicap ramp was installed by Jay, Michael, and Ginger. Jim (the construction leader) had been given the handicap ramp, and he wanted to install it over the steps leading up to the house of an elderly woman who has trouble getting around. The ramp, however, was two-inches too high. After throwing ideas around Michael came up with the most ingenious idea, and the floor of the ramp was leveled starting 16 inches back so the ramp would end up fitting perfectly at her door. They then went into her bathroom to rip up tile and rotten particle board. The bathroom will be finished next week by the new team arriving in Dalton.

Ron, Tyler, and Bobby helped put a house up on jacks and fix the foundation. In the morning they cut shims to finely tune the height of the beams underneath the house. Tyler then got to dig holes for the foundation for the beams (much to his delight). Using hydraulic lifts they then lifted the house and placed cinderblocks and the beams to secure the foundation.

Emily, Marilee, and Austin spent the morning at a food bank packaging food. They were then able to go to a homeless camp to see where most of the homeless in Dalton live. They really had an eye opening experience!

In the afternoon Emily, Marilee, Austin, and Gwen installed shelves and peg board back at the team house. The materials were dropped off yesterday to be installed if we had time to work on them.

At the foster house Tom, Gwen, Jay, Ginger, Michael, and Ryan worked in the morning to finish sanding and mudding. The upstairs is completely sanded and mudded and is almost ready to be painted! In the afternoon Tom and Ryan stayed at the foster house and started to mud the downstairs so that it can be sanded next week.

In Tunnel Hill Lisa, Mike, and Daniel prepared the siding house to be ready for the four sisters to move in next week. They finished painting doors, as well as cleaning tubs, sinks and floors. They also sealed the bathroom floor once they removed all of the grime left over from dry walling and painting.

We want to thank you all for your prayers as we have had a fun, yet safe week! We could not have done it with out you.

Planting seeds, painting doors, and petting dogs

2010-07-09T06:58:00.023-04:00

Well it’s Thursday, and we have finished our program for the kids! We all felt that it went well and that we were able to plant seeds in the hearts of the children and their parents. We did station rotations today and the kids loved to watch Dr. Mike search for critters in the creek, as Austin taught them about different bugs. They were all excited to see what Dr. Mike could catch in his net. The kids also learned about recycling today from Emily and Megan, and then put it into practice when they made bird feeders out of plastic bottles with Gwen and Ryan. After the program, the kids’ parents joined us for a dinner of flautas, guacamole, and beans prepared by some of the ladies involved with the church’s Hispanic ministry. Carlos (Grace’s director of Hispanic ministries) then shared the gospel message in Spanish. We sang some of the favorite songs from the week and showed a picture slide show (prepared by Jay)--the kids loved to see the pictures we had taken of them!

Construction is trucking right along, as projects were completed and new ones started. The theme at the Tunnel Hill (vinyl siding) house was, once again, “Divide and conquer.” Jeff and Daniel tried to see how long it would take them to install a single handicap bar in the bathroom. Two stripped screws, a broken drill bit and 15 holes in the wall later the bar was installed. Jim was patient through it all, insisting that they complete it, instead of passing it off to someone else. Bobby, Ron and Tyler were soffit-installing fiends, with Ron and Tyler taking a break to install a vent pipe though the roof. Drilling holes in a perfectly good roof has now become a favorite pastime for them. Megan and Will started the painting team rolling (pun intended, although no rollers were involved). Lots of doors and closets to paint. The house is looking great. A good cleaning, top to bottom, is in order, along with a small punch list of items before it’s ready for the new owners.

The crew from the other Tunnel Hill house--Dr. Mike, Lisa, Ginger and Christine--finished its trim work project and headed over to the siding house to pitch in; the task proved to be putting a second coat of paint on slightly larger, much more forgiving closet doors. Today they were also helped out by “Fido,” a friendly neighborhood dog who wanted to help them finish painting the trim on the house.

At the foster home, the buzzwords of the day were, “Mudding and sanding, sanding and mudding.” They mudded and sanded all morning long! They’re still staying bright and chipper, though, and Jay finished up some cabinets in the kitchen, which added a bit of variety to the day.

Tomorrow we will be doing construction all day, and attempting to complete as many of the projects (that we’ve started) as we can. We might even take on some new (small!) projects…we have from 8 to 5, right?

We’ve allowed all comments now, so you should be able to comment to your heart’s content J Thanks for your patience, and thanks for continuing to write despite complications! We appreciate the thoughts you’ve sent our way and the prayers you’ve sent God’s way on our behalf. See ya soon!

2010-07-08T12:52:00.002-04:00

Thank you for your comments! We have figured out how to enable them. We would love to continue to hear from you!

Chicken wrangling, mower whispering, wasp eradicating, & scaffold surfing…

2010-07-08T06:57:00.009-04:00

Well, this report may sound a lot like yesterday’s, for work continued at the siding house, the painting/stairs/mowing house, and the foster house--however, there was some additional excitement! Ginger, Daniel, and Lisa helped monitor and recapture a chicken that flew its coop at the painting/stairs/mowing house. Daniel finished mowing a lawn despite having to wait for the mower to cool down multiple times over the past three days; he drove the mower quite artfully (and patiently) through the knee-high grass, and it now stands at a less cricket/tick-friendly two inches. Having finished the stairs, Lisa and Mike pitched in on the trim work.

The “siding house” is being prepared for four elderly sisters who currently live next door but can’t alter the interior of their current home (and thus effectively exterminate pests) because the home is considered historical. Ron and Jeff helped with installing the new home’s siding. Tyler, Austin, and Bobby helped with siding and also picked up sticks to tidy up the lawn. Megan painted cabinets inside some of the home’s closets.

At the foster house, the ever-enduring Emily, Jay, Michael, Ryan, Gwen, Tom, Marilee, and Will continued sanding and mudding. Marilee and Jay took a break from drywall to build a frame for a dishwasher.

This afternoon we took the kids on a field trip to Fort Mountain State Park. We divided the kids into three groups by age and took them on different trails around the mountain. The oldest group went on the longest trail and were able to see a picturesque waterfall. The two younger groups just took a hike around the lake. Throughout the hike the kids learned about different plants and their medicinal purposes (discovered by the Cherokee Indians). The kids especially liked the Bluets (used to make a tea to stop bedwetting) and the Cinnamon Fern (used as a tea to treat snake bites). After the hike, the kids taped pressed leaves onto t-shirts and spray painted the shirt to “leave” designs on the fronts of the shirts.

Late this afternoon the team was able to go to a putt-putt/laser tag course owned by a member of the church. We were fed delicious hamburgers and brownies, and then worked it off with our grueling tournaments of putt-putt and laser tag.

Tomorrow is our last day with the kids and we ask that you pray for us as this is our last chance to minister to them. We will be doing station rotations in the afternoon, and then the parents are coming for a dinner to see what their kids have been up to this week. Also, please pray for the parents as Carlos (the head of the Spanish ministry at Grace) will be witnessing to them and encouraging them to get involved with the church.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! We'd love to see some comments so we know you're out there...and because while we're the "going team," you're the sending team, and you're as much a part of this adventure as we are!

Well it is now late again, and it is time for us to go to bed. Hopefully we will have just as an exciting day tomorrow. Stay tuned, tomorrow’s blog may consist of bird watching, recycling, and ladder safety (as we continue to scaffold surf)…

Fishers of men (of the little variety)

2010-07-08T06:47:00.008-04:00

Work continued today at the foster home, the painting/stair-building house, and the siding house. Progress is steadily being made: we finished a deck (see picture below!) painted trim, mowed lawns, hung siding, and sanded drywall.

We took the kids to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga in the afternoon (see multiple fish, shark, etc. pictures below.) A lot was learned, and great fun was had, but we’re tired! Thanks for your prayers, especially for Ms. Castrodale; as an example of James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” she zipped around the aquarium today with three third-graders in tow, and neither they nor she got eaten by a shark!

Well, it’s off to bed for us as we have completed a long day of work. Tomorrow we avoid getting eaten by mountain lions and bears, since today we survived the sharks, alligators, and sting rays.

Some work, some play--all in a bright summer's day!

2010-07-05T20:22:00.011-04:00

Day 1: "Divide and conquer." 19 team members, 4 work sites. The majority of our team was sent to a 1910-era foster home that needed sheetrock mudding and taping, and great progress was made. Other projects included building a wheelchair-accessible planter for an elderly lady in a town south of Dalton; touching up trimwork and the initial construction of a set of stairs in Tunnel Hill, GA; and installing siding and soffits at a home also in Tunnel Hill. We returned home muddy, painty, sawdusty, and rearing to go for our first afternoon of God's Marvelous Creation camp!

The first day of camp went well as we got to know the kids. We had 26 kids, which was different from any other number we were given, so we are practicing flexibility! All of the different stations went well, and the kids seemed interested in what we had to say. The stations included information on animal tracks, rocks and minerals, birds, and trees. They are all excited because we go to the aquarium tomorrow!

One of the things the kids learned about today outside was all about rocks and minerals BUT even more important, how "Christ is our rock and salvation". We also learned how wise boys & girls "build their house on the rock and not on the sand" and trust in the Lord (like in our song time shown)...

The bird station gave the kids the opportunity to understand God's diversity in creation as they learned about how birds were different from other animals. We did some bird watching with binoculars and listened to some bird calls of common birds in the area. We also talked about how God's care for the birds proves His love and care for us (Matthew 6.25ff).

Trees + hammers + Dr. Seuss = one fun station. We talked about God as CreatOR and creatIVE, using a Cat in the Hat tree book and the trees around us to talk about the tallest tree, the tree with the shaggiest bark, the widest tree, and even why palm trees don't grow very tall! We then used hammers (enter kids' excited screams here) to make leaf prints, which we decorated with a Bible verse, punches, and markers to make bookmarks. The kids did a tree-mendous job not hammering their thumbs (or ours.)

We explored the world of God's creatures which are often hidden except for the tracks they leave. Mike, Austin and Ron found some tracks of raccoons and made tracks in mud to create plaster casts. It gave the children the opportunity open their eyes to world of hidden animals.

Meet Snappy! This is one of the many critters that we have met while we are here. Snappy lives in the pond beside the church and loves to smile for the camera.

Please pray for safety tomorrow as we travel to the aquarium, and we try to keep our heads above the water! We are also looking forward to hearing from y'all through your comments. Please tell us your hopes, dreams, thoughts, ideas...

We're here! Can't wait for what's next...

2010-07-04T22:12:00.000-04:00

We've made it! We have arrived safely in Dalton, Georgia, and are settling in nicely to our new abode. It was an exciting trip, as the Larsens played catch-up the whole way. Will (Megan's friend) came down with a fever Friday night and had to go to the doctor Saturday morning. They were only about 30 minutes behind us, but they did not catch up to us until 30 miles before Dalton. Will is doing well, and we continue to pray as he recovers.

Other excitement on the trip included non-existent rest stops, an Eggs and Bacon Moth, and Mrs. Smith's bakery (we thought of you Uncle Bubba!). We thank God for our safety and amiable attitudes after our long 10 hour trip to Dalton.

Dalton celebrated the 4th with fireworks on Saturday night. Most of us went downtown and found a grassy area by a strip mall for the show. We saw a good show, but made us hanker for the Garner fireworks.

Sunday morning provided a chance to meet and enjoy fellowship with the members of Grace PCA, the church that is graciously hosting us. A Grace member named Jim (in green shirt below) is the founder of Rebuilding Hope Ministries, through which he and we are reaching out to the people of Dalton, and he spoke with us before church about the projects for the week and goals of his ministry.

We also spoke with Carlos, the pastor in charge of Hispanic ministries, and some of us had a chance to go to a sermon and Sunday School session taught in Spanish by Carlos--oddly enough, the class is going through Job just as our adult Sunday School is!

Sunday afternoon was spent planning for the week ahead. We split up and went to work sites, Fort Mountain State Park (to survey the trails), while some folks stayed back at the team house and started setup for our God's Marvelous Creation program. One work site includes a bare concrete slab, just waiting for our team to provide the oomph to raise the walls. There are also opportunities for drywall mudding, taping and sanding, along with cabinet installation and repair of some wheelchair ramps. Lots of work; little time; pray for endurance, patience and people-focus.

Off to bed for an early start tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers - 33 kids will be attending the Creation program (+15 from our last count). Happy 4th to you all and to all a goodnight!

Prepping for Dalton

2010-06-13T22:33:00.000-04:00

Dalton, GA? Where in the world is that? Why would we want to go there? All good questions that will be answered in time here. July 3rd is fast approaching and we have tons of work left. Planning construction projects, day camp themed around God's magnificent creation, not to mention (although I will) all the details to get 19 people from Raleigh to northwest Georgia - this can be a bit overwhelming.

But God is faithful and Lisa's got us running like a well-oiled machine again (although we can gum up the works without much effort). 85% of our support is in. Pray for completion of the planning and support-raising. God has yet to see a recession in His economy. Also, ask for unity of heart and purpose for a group of broken people, trusting in the One who can use the broken to bring wholeness and healing to others.

Update from Omak

2009-07-29T14:43:00.003-04:00

Wake up! It’s Tuesday and we are still adjusting to the time difference. BUT it is getting better each day. By the time we come home, we will be adjusted and then you guys will have to live with us while we readjust!

Today we almost finished painting the boy’s dormitory and it is beginning to look very nice. Pictures to come. The deck attached to the boy’s dorm is still a work in progress but we made good headway on it today. Some of us had a chance to go to Nespelem to sing at various places. The prison was where some of us went to start off the day. We also sang for a community center while they ate lunch as well as a nursing home. All three singing opportunities were blessed in that we had a chance to talk to the natives and they were very open and appreciative of us visiting them. On the way back from Nespelem the team from Vancouver wanted to visit a lady whose house they worked on the first year they came to Omak. They have been back to visit her every year since then. Some of our team got to go visit her as well. She has quite a few grandkids and pets! Some sightseeing was also done on the way back. You can see the pictures of Sasquatch and Chief Joseph’s grave.

VBS was also held this morning and went really well. The kids have already attached themselves to the VBS workers and we have lots of stories to tell once we return home.
Part of VBS includes a skit for the kids. Ashley, Marilee, Katie, and Chris are four of the members in the skit and the kids really enjoy watching the team members joke around and have fun. A lot of these kids do not have a chance to laugh, and they enjoy the laughter our team members have brought them. Many of the kids do not have stable family relationships and come from broken homes. The fact that our team members are there every day is a great constant for the kids to look forward to each day.

Also, the woodshed that was started yesterday was finished today, and new woodsheds have begun going up. About 6 of us went out to an elderly couple’s house today to start building a woodshed, and finished the entire frame – we will finish the roofing (attaching tar paper and shingles) tomorrow, but everything else on that shed is complete. The elderly couple was really excited to be receiving a woodshed, and gave us a tour of their house. Both of them enjoy oil painting, and told us the stories behind most of the homemade artwork throughout their home, which was very interesting!

And we're off!

2009-07-28T12:29:00.001-04:00

Monday was a day of various activities. Some of our group went to help with a VBS, some of our group went and sang for a community center, some of us painted, some of us got the vision for building sheds, and some of us sprayed wasp nests. God was good—there was not a lot of waiting around for directions. Instead, everyone got right to work and things were pretty well organized!

We worked with several other groups and got the entire boys dormitory painted. There are a few spots that need touching up, but the majority of the building is done! The shed crew built their first shed, and finished it except for the roof. They will head back to finish it tomorrow and they have eight or nine more planned for us to build. Along with painting and building sheds we will also have an opportunity to minister musically to the prison, and senior and convalescent centers in Nespelem. We will be busy this week!

Sunday afternoon fun!

2009-07-28T12:24:00.001-04:00

Sunday afternoon was a fun time for everyone. There is a beautiful lake about four miles from the longhouse and so most of our group took advantage of the opportunity and went swimming for the afternoon. In case you didn’t know, mountain water is COLD! We felt like we were in the polar bear club (you know, those really stupid people who jump in like –32 degree waters). Don’t worry mom, no one has pneumonia ye—ACHOO! Just kidding! The clear lake and the awesome surrounding mountains were a great setting to appreciate God’s creation all around us. Mr. Diepenbrock, the ever-faithful cameraman, has plenty of pictures of us lying around the rocks looking like beached whales (you’ll have to come to the presentation to see those pictures if they don’t get deleted first).

Sunday night included the arrival of the Philadelphia team in one piece (they survived the wild animals) as well as a time of group worship and devotions. Some of the team leaders had the chance to scout out a few of the worksites and plan for the week ahead.

Internetless at Starbucks

2009-07-26T14:33:00.000-04:00

Well, as far as internet connection goes, we are not having much luck. The Starbucks down the road works great for coffee, but for internet connection, not so much. We are posting when we can but it is hit and miss with the connection. Don’t worry, we are learning much patience along the way!

Church this morning was wonderful. We went to Cornerstone Methodist Church. Their 9am service was very upbeat and more contemporary in style. We got some pictures of the interior as well as a group picture standing outside the front entrance of the church. The sun was bright…don’t make fun of us too much for our squinting eyes.

We are still getting used to the time change. Many of us are tired, and the gym was quite frigid last night! We made an after-church run to Wal-Mart (again!) for extra blankets. The bathrooms are nice, but there are only 2 showers for everybody—that’s a lot of fun! The girls have taken over the guys bathroom for showers and the guys are learning flexibility.

This afternoon includes lunch back at the longhouse and orientation as well as visiting worksites. The group from Phillidelphia has not shown up yet…some of us are concerned they got attacked by wild bears; either that or they got REALLY lost.

Well, no pictures for today because of the inconsistent internet but we hope to get better connections somewhere, at some time…..maybe? We’ll try to keep you updated when we can. Thanks for all your prayers!

The Omak 15

Arrived in Omak

2009-07-26T13:54:00.005-04:00

Hello once again from the travel-weary Omak 15. We have once again spent all day traveling, but the good news is we are finally here!!! We left the hotel this morning at 10:45am (1:45pm Raleigh-time) and trekked through the beautiful, scenic mountains of Washington. On the Seattle side of Washington everything is VERY green and lush. Everyone’s yard looked perfect! Imagine that—no dry spots or dead grass in your lawn! Inconceivable! The Omak side of the mountains was different however. We were still very much in the mountains, but this side is very barren and dead. Because of the rain-shadow effect, all of the rain falls on the Seattle side of the mountains, but not much makes it over to the Omak side.

We stopped for a late lunch in East Wenatchee and everyone found something they liked. Some of us saw a sign for 29 flavors of soft serve ice cream and decided that sounded yummy. Turns out the milk delivered that morning was curdled—not one of the 29 flavors. Not deterred, we went across the street to a frozen yogurt shop. Turns out lawyers moved in and forgot to take down the frozen yogurt sign. There is talk about getting ice cream tonight while we are on a Wal-Mart run however, so we may get that ice cream after all!

All in all, it has been a wonderful day of cheerful spirits and safe travel. God has answered many prayers and we know He will continue to be faithful as the week progresses. Posted below are some of the pictures we took today of the scenery as well as a fruit stand we stopped at along the way. The fresh cherries are amazing!

Sleepy in Seattle

2009-07-25T03:47:00.003-04:00

Good Evening,

Or good morning, or good afternoon….who knows what time it really is. We have landed in Seattle and with the time change we are quite confused…but we all are tired! And so it begins.

We began our cross-country trek this afternoon at 3:30 where we met at the RDU Airport. Things went rather smoothly…imagine that! God is good! We boarded our first flight which took us to Boston. After a short layover, we boarded our second flight which took us to Seattle. This one was a bit long (5 hours). As you can imagine, we are all tired but glad to be back on solid ground.

In case you thought we were self-sacrificing dedicated bloggers…don’t worry. We got smart and typed this in Boston so all we had to do was upload it now that we have arrived in Seattle. Now it’s off to bed because it’s REALLY LATE!!!

Goodnight all!
Calvary Missions Team ‘09

We're back!

2008-07-22T13:19:00.002-04:00

We are back from Jamaica. It's taken us a few days to recover (as you can tell by the date of this post :), but we wanted to give everyone a final update.
A big thanks to everyone for their support and prayers! We felt that the trip was very successful, and we enjoyed ministering to the people of Jamaica.
If you would like to hear a full update on our trip you are invited to attend Calvary Presbyterian Church this Sunday, July 27th, at 6:00 pm. We will be giving a full presentation of our trip to Jamaica with tons of pictures and testimonies from different team members.
Again, thank you so much for your support and prayers! Check back soon to see the next Calvary missions opportunity!
-Sarah

A few more comments from the team

2008-07-22T11:22:00.003-04:00

I really love it here at CCCD. I really have enjoyed talking in sign language, going to VBS, doing construction, and most of all just being in Jamaica. All the sweat and tiredness is worth it because I know it has touched hearts (both mine and others around me). I will really miss it here when we leave. God has truly blessed me with the opportunity to serve Him and others here in Jamaica. Miss you all and see you soon.

Megan

We are spreading scum!!!

Marilee

Jamaica has been awesome! It has been a neat experience being able to serve and hang out here. See you soon, family! :)

Amanda

The opportunity to serve here at CCCD has truly been a blessing. This week has been an amazing experience. Thank you for all your prayers and support. Love to all our family and friends. God bless!

Col./Dr. Mike

Uncle Bubba,

Do these two shades match?

Post office red and tile red.

Thursday, Last Day of Work

2008-07-03T22:53:00.003-04:00

So, today was our last day of work. We completed many of the classrooms, which included moving everything out of them, scrubbing them down, cutting and painting everything (including the floor), and putting everything back in them. We also completed painting the front of the building and the entire railing down the front. We completed everything by about 6:30 today (no working by headlights like the Biloxi trip). Yesterday’s VBS was crazy! There were a ton of kids running all over the place and little place to put them. It was hard to keep order even with most of our group and some of another group helping. Today was much more calm and contained, and many of the people working with VBS were much more encouraged by this afternoon. Here’s a bunch of quotes from different people, as well as some pictures (we'll have more later).

This has been a great trip, and it makes you realize the poverty in Jamaica. It has been great to help and also “sign” with the deaf kids. I hope to come back to CCCD some time, because it was great even though I’m exhausted.
-Ryan

This trip has been a BLAST! We have done so much work. It has been very hot compared to NC but not too, too bad. I have loved meeting all the CCCD kids and helpers. Thanks to all that have helped us get here and thanks for keeping us in your prayers. Thanks again and I can’t wait to tell y’all about this wonderful experience.
-Chris
P.S. Y’all is not a phrase they use here.

We’ve had a great week, making friends with other believers from different places, playing with Jamaican children at VBS, and working hard to improve the buildings at CCCD. Everyone has worked well together, with very few complaints about the heat. God has been good, protecting us from the sun and with cooling rainstorms, and kept everyone from serious illness. Some cool flora and fauna too!
-Jay

This week has been absolutely amazing!!!!
-Megan

July 2nd Update

2008-07-03T22:15:00.002-04:00

All is well with the Calvary MoBay team. We have more pictures and stories but no easy way to share them with you. Everybody is healthy, has good attitudes, and is working hard. We have all been rotating through various work projects: painting, yard cleanup, carpentry, cement work, etc. Lisa and Mike have been outstanding team leaders!

Unfortunately, Internet service on campus is down tonight so we cannot post new content to our blog.

May this message find y'all seeing and hearing more of Jesus, we are here!

Tom

Ps I apologise if I have not replied to e-mail sent to tgyori@usa.net. I am about one day behind. I usually only check my BlackBerry once a day, after lights-out.

Another Great Day

2008-07-01T22:34:00.006-04:00

Today was much of the same. More painting, raking and working with concrete. I was able to do a lot of sieving which is definitely hard work but I enjoyed it! The deaf kids never run out of energy helping with the construction work, and it is fun to try to communicate with them. We were able to accomplish a lot of the painting and then stopped at two o’clock to do VBS/soccer camp.
Two Jamaican soccer teams showed up at the same time. So they combined everyone into one huge game. The Jamaicans won 9 to 4!
God’s hand was definitely evident in VBS: about sixty kids attended VBS! It went very well and the kids seemed to love it! We are definitely recruiting more guys from the soccer team to help us with “crowd control” tomorrow.
It is very hot and humid here. We are sweating constantly even at night. So, after a long day’s work we are ready for bed. So, I will sign off with a few pictures and comments from some of the team members.
-Sarah
P.S. Uncle Bubba, the tinted safety glasses came in handy today – thanks!

It is a lot of fun interacting with the deaf children! It’s a new and exciting experience!
- Marilee

I have really enjoyed being here in Jamaica. It has been an amazing experience and I am thankful God gave me this opportunity. It has been awesome to spend time with the deaf kids, the other teams, and the local Jamaican kids at VBS. Miss you all!
- Megan

It’s been a fun couple of days so far! I have enjoyed the work (surprisingly) and the soccer and picking up on sign language. I scored a goal in one of our soccer games! I am looking forward to the rest of the week.
-Rob C.

I have not had time to read any blog entries to date, but I am sure everyone has heard that the trip so far has been amazing. Being blessed with an early morning “body clock,” I was given the opportunity to coordinate all breakfast meals. Besides having the first shot at the shower, this also affords me the added blessing of witnessing some amazing and beautiful sunrises from our vista of the bay here at CCCD. I also wanted to thank God for our youth – their cheerful and willing spirits and servants’ attitudes are a clear demonstration of God’s work in their lives. They demonstrate God’s love through their hard work and love for others in all they do daily with the folks there in Jamaica.
Thank you for your continued prayers. God bless!
-Dr./Col. Mike

Rob C. painting the ceiling.

Singing during VBS

One of the boys from the deaf school giving us a demo of a dance move.

Kyle and Daniel playing soccer this afternoon. It was hot!!!

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:34:00.001-04:00

The kids are singing songs to close the day for VBS. They love to learn new songs and we even learned a few that they wanted to teach us!

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:33:00.002-04:00

Pics from our first day of VBS. It was hectic, but it went well. Here is Megan making a craft with one of the kids.

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:31:00.001-04:00

This is the view we have looking out over the bay. It is beautiful throughout the day, but especially in the morning and evening when the sun rises and sets.

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:30:00.001-04:00

....and the work begins. Here is Mr. Hatton along with Chris (to the far left). He is one of the construction supervisors, and by today has all of our names memorized!

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:28:00.001-04:00

Ahhh...fun in the sun! Mr. Diepenbrock, being the high-tech person that he is brought along a waterproof case for his camera and was able to take pictures of the trampoline out in the bay.

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:26:00.001-04:00

Here is a picture of the church: Rosemont Missionary Church (Building Committee, take note). Their service was excellent and here the choir is singing for the service.

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:25:00.001-04:00

Group picture!

Right before leaving for church we managed time for a group picture. Enjoy this one--it's the nicest we'll look all week.

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:24:00.002-04:00

Here we are schlepping, yep you guessed it-- more food! Notice the cheerful smiles.

Pictures!

2008-06-30T22:19:00.003-04:00

The first thing we did after we got off the plane: we ate. Go figure. We shot our wad on our first meal. It's a good thing we bought our return plane tickets in advance.

The first day of work

2008-06-30T22:16:00.001-04:00

Today was a very good first day of work. We are all exhausted, but pleased with the amount of work that we were able to accomplish.
Our day started around 8:30 by our division into groups. Some of us were assigned to cleaning walls and painting in the classrooms, others were assigned to working with concrete, and others to raking the yard (which is a huge job!). We have had very few problems with sunburn and dehydration which is a huge praise!
The afternoon consisted of soccer camp and VBS with local kids. Two soccer games were played in the afternoon while VBS was held at a nearby church. We had around 27 kids for VBS. Some of them were not able to stay the entire time, but kids came in and out throughout the afternoon. We are holding VBS in a one-room church so we are learning to be creative!
-Sarah

It has been an amazing trip so far. Unfortunately, I have been a bit sick this morning, and therefore unable to work, but I am feeling much better now. Church yesterday was a new and uplifting experience, and the afternoon swim was much needed. VBS was a wonderful blessing both for us and for the children. God bless, all my love to my family.
-Phillip

We're hot, but we're here and we're healthy

2008-06-29T21:57:00.002-04:00

You've already heard that we've arrived here safely, you could probably guess that we're hot, so the only real news is that we're all healthy (healthy bodies, appetites, and expectations for the rest of the week!).
This morning, we got up and went to church where the principal of the CCCD school worships. With our three groups combined, we added significant numbers to the congregation. We arrived at church around 9:30. The service had just started so we slid in about as discreetly as an albino elephant in a tar pit. The service was very uplifting with a warm welcome from the congregation, passionate singing, and uplifting preaching. We left church around noon time and came back to the school to change into assorted aquatic apparel. After lunch we went to a private beach and spent the afternoon swimming, snorkeling, snoozing, and just generally relaxing. We came back around 5pm and were fed another scrumptious dinner after which we held large and small group meetings, and will soon be hitting the sack in preparation for construction/soccer/VBS tomorrow.
Thanks so much for all your prayers for safe travel. Please pray for our first work day tomorrow as we figure out all of the logistics of what to and where to put people. Pray that we'll be able to be efficient and safe in our construction, and that we can minister effectively to the kids we play soccer with and interact with at VBS. We'll see if we can post some of the pictures we took today on tomorrow's post.

~Rob

Arrived safely in Montego Bay!

2008-06-29T14:51:00.003-04:00

The team arrived safely in MoBay at the Caribbean Christian Center for the Deaf (CCCD) Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately the DSL line to CCCD is down at the moment, so updates may be spotty.

Here's the Saturday PM update from Tom (via his Blackberry)...

All the teams have arrived. We have close to fifty volunteers here. Three fifths are guys so we will have plenty of testosterone excitement.

Dinner was fabulous! We had home cooked fried fish with sweet and sour sauce, fancy mashed potatoes, salad, terrific fresh pineapple, watermelon, and danish butter cookies and oreos. We had no trouble finding volunteers to clean up.

Attitudes are being sweetly upheld by our Lord Jesus!

Keep us in your prayers, Tom (for the team)

NOLA Epilogue & Prep for MoBay

2008-03-16T19:38:00.002-04:00

Needless to say, not ALL cellphones change time automatically with the annual "Spring forward" to DST (at least not in Commerce, GA.). After a quick breakfast (very quick) we packed up the Bayer van and headed to church at Mitchell Road PCA in Greenville, SC. By the grace of God, the remainder of the trip to NC was uneventful and we were blessed with great weather for the last half of the 875 mile (+/-) trip to Raleigh. We actually arrived back home while the sun was still shining in NC (first time in 3 years of missions trips). Many thanks to all of our family and friends for all your prayer support during our trip. The opportunity to assist in the ongoing Hurricane Katrina reconstruction efforts was a great blessing to us all. Many thanks to all of our geometry teachers from our "formative years" as well.

Next up for the Calvary Missions Team is "MoBay" (Montego Bay, Jamaica). Preparations are already well under way for the trip upcoming in late June/early July. We have 23 folks traveling to the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD). See attached web link for more information and pictures http://www.cccdjamaica.net/. Looking forward to slowly but surely learning finger spelling and American sign language.

Best wishes to all for a very blessed and Happy Easter next Sunday.

Hi ho, hi ho, it’s home from work we go

2008-03-08T21:58:00.016-05:00

Got to sleep in a bit this morning before enjoying a wonderful meal of breakfast enchiladas and king cake with Jeff, Laura, Jennings and Rhett. Rhett got the baby. We said goodbye to our gracious hosts (thanks for the NOBTS mugs!) and were on the road by 9 AM, only to come to a standstill in a traffic jam of unknown cause just at the Pearl River.

Having already been delayed about 30 minutes, we decided to take a side trip to visit Lagniappe PCA in Bay St. Louis and First PCA in Biloxi (see Hugger house below). Was encouraged to see that progress was being made but was struck by the reality that the Gulf Coast still has a long way to go to recover. (Note to Rich: Waffle House seems to be aggressive in their rebuilding – there are now 11 fully functional between Kiln and East Biloxi).

We are so grateful for all your prayers and words of encouragement this week. It is quite a privilege to be able to serve in this way. Many thanks to Jay & Lilian, Edgewater Baptist, Jeff & Laura (you too, Jennings & Rhett) and Bob & Marilyn (and Rebekah) for hosting us this week. You all were great!

NOLA Final Exam Self-Test

To “c” how closely you’ve read the blog this week, we’ve included a little quiz today on the week’s events. “C” how well you do.

45 degrees + 45 degrees =

45 degrees
60 degrees
90 degrees
Cannot be determined with the information given

Identify the people in the following picture:

Kathy & Lisa
Mike & Kathy
Jay & Jim
Lisa & Jeff

Bonus question: Are Jay & Jim related?

No
Depends on the day of the week
Yes

Was the following picture taken before or after Katrina?

Which of the following tasks did Kathy single handedly complete during the week?

Painting door frames
Painting door frames
All of the above
None of the above

Who is Jay related to?

Lisa
Mike
Kathy
Jeff

What is the name of the NOLA power company?

Duke Power
Entropy
Entergy
NOLA Power & Lite

Where did the team spend the week?

On the beach in Hawaii
Skiing in the French Alps
New Orleans
Scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef

Which of the following is not typical New Orleans fare?

Jambalaya
Crawfish etouffee
Big Mac
Beignets
Red beans & rice
Gumbo
Po-boy

What are some common uses for paintable caulk?

Filling “not so 90 degree” angles
Covering “not so plumb” wall seams
a, b & e
Filling tectonic plate boundaries & crevices (given a large enough tube)
Fill nail holes
Teeth whitening
d & f

What is the name of Baptist seminary in New Orleans?

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

What people group are Josh & Ashley trying to reach with the Gospel?

Iraqis
Auca Indians of Ecuador
Domari gypsies of Egypt
Romanian gypsies

The night the lights went out in NOLA

2008-03-07T23:20:00.012-05:00

Storms last night led to a surprise for us when we arrived at Edgewater to start work, but not for the residents of NOLA (apparently this happens quite a bit). Power was out in the whole church. So, we spent the first part of the morning caulking by the light of an overcast day. Entergy (the local power company) showed up en masse and finally restored the power before we ate breakfast.

"Right horizontal 18 degrees, 82 inches, left vertical 45 degrees..." The directions rang out through the stairwell as the baseboard team spent all day on the stairs - literally. Baseboard and moulding was laid throughout the lobby and all the way up the stairs to the second floor. We coined many new terms, like "caulkable 45 degree angles" and developed our skills at using preprocessed paper (also known as scrap wood) for notes.

After completing the stairs, we realized we still had several hours left to do some additional work, so Jay started us on some chair moulding in the lobby. More measuring, more beveling, more chopsawing, but this time standing up. More geometry, this time to work around light switches and fire alarms. We didn't have time to complete the entire job, but knocked out most of it. Mike made sure he caulked what we completed, so the next group could just finish installing the rest of the chair rail. Kathy completed her eighth door, including windows. She plans to have the paint sandblasted off her skin on return to Raleigh. Now if we could just figure out how to remove Liquid Nail from skin...

We worked a little too long and were late to dinnner with Jay and Lilian and Jim. We had a wonderful meal of (now) famous Creamy Pasta Florentine, salad and homemade foccacia. All was quite tasty, only to be followed by delicious mint chocolate brownies. Thanks, Jay & Lilian.

Tomorrow we plan to leave NOLA before 9 AM headed for snowy Atlanta. We lose not one but two hours on the way home (don't forget to turn your clocks ahead one hour Sunday morning at 2 AM - let me know how that works out for you). Many thanks to our host families - Jeff & Laura, Bob & Marilyn, and to Jay & Lilian for coordinating our efforts and putting up with endless inane questions about the work to be done.

Pleae pray for safe travel tomorrow and that the emotional wheels don't fall off before we arrive in Raleigh. Hope to see you all Sunday afternoon.

Caulk covers a multitude of shims

2008-03-06T23:22:00.008-05:00

Baseboards and painting, baseboards and painting…on and on and on. We’ve learned a lot about installing baseboards, moulding and painting doorframes. We completed installing the baseboards and moulding in the church foyer and started installing up the stairs to the second floor. The staircase work threw us for a loop for a while, but a little geometry review helped us again, not without some frustration and character building.

Jay's twin brother Jim, just in from Connecticut where he works for InterVarsity, helped us with some caulking, in between phone calls from folks needing direction for an upcoming trip to NOLA.

News today was that we were to get power to the second side of the building, but once again emergencies took precedence over routine maintenance and the church power was put on hold. Pray that the power would be turned on before next week, so the teams arriving with electricians can troubleshoot any additional issues.

After a full day’s work that started early (6:30 AM), the team headed downtown to the French Quarter for dinner, Cajun fare for most of us, followed by beignets and chicory coffee at the world famous Café Du Monde. Tomorrow, more baseboards and moulding up the stairs and for a change of pace Kathy will attempt to paint doors only with her left hand.

Semper Gumby and Monsters, Inc.

2008-03-05T22:50:00.016-05:00

It was a beautiful, cool morning in NOLA and work started early, even before the shirred egg breakfast. Mike and Lisa caulked the previous day's baseboard and moulding work. After breakfast, we completed the baseboard and moulding of the raised stage area and the obtuse angles on the front of the stage could be ignored no longer. Lisa ran off to Mike's Hardware (no relation to the Colonel) to fetch the Bill T.-endorsed tool for the job. It's been a few years since any of us have taken geometry, but using our new bevel tool and a lot of scrap wood for drawing, we were able to bisect the obtuse angles, set the saws appropriately and make some pretty tight joints. We were high-fiving all over the place! (Editor's Note: Kids, geometry will come in handy some day, hopefully while you're still young enough to remember it. So, study hard.)

As we finished the baseboard work in the sanctuary, our next job was to be installing sills and chair rail. After some reading in Unca Bubba's handy-dandy construction book and consultation with Jay, it was decided that we would continue with baseboard work, this time in the foyer. Semper gumby!

Kathy now sees door frames in her sleep, reminiscent of the conveyor-belt-of-doors scene from Monsters, Inc. Three coats of primer on two more metal door frames with side excursions of caulking, taping and a trip to the airport during rush hour to pick up her cousin Jim, Jay's twin brother, rounded out Kathy's day.

Edgewater Baptist has a Wednesday evening meal and Bible study/prayer that we were able to attend. A great meal of hamburgers/hot dogs was followed by a challenging message by Chad from Galatians 1:1-4. After a time of corporate prayer (please pray for a little girl named Madison - see prayformadison.com for details) it was back to work 'til 9:30, putting the baseboards in the foyer. And more painting for Kathy...

Tomorrow holds more of the same. Maybe some baseboard work up a set of stairs (Bill, get ready for another call). And more painting for Kathy....

You got to dance with the one what brung ya

2008-03-04T22:27:00.014-05:00

The most time wasted is the time wasted getting started. Well, we wasted no time getting started on tearin' up Tuesday. The learning curve from Monday served us well as we easily completed the baseboards around the perimeter of the sanctuary. We continued to shy away from the obtuse angles on the stage. Maybe we'll try on Wednesday.

Next on the list was the decorative moulding on the top of the baseboards. Instead of sticking with what we knew from the baseboard installation, we tried a novel approach for the moulding but realized we couldn't "cope." Ancient words of wisdom rung in our heads, "You got to dance with the one what brung ya." Hence, we returned to the tried and true methods, with Miter Master Lisa deftly handling the miter saw (left-handed, even) and Saw Hero Mike hacking out trapezoids to assure tight fitting joints.

Mike and Kathy took a short side trip to Belle Chasse for Mike to receive his Legion of Merit medal for "exceptionally meritorious service in positions of increasing responsibility, culminating a 30-year career as Director of Support Operations, 377th Theater Support Command." Congratulations, Mike! Even with this break in the day Kathy continued to faithfully paint the myriad of metal door frames.

Work was suspended at 6 PM in order to entertain our gracious host families. A fine dinner was had and NC gifts were presented (even from UNC, although we're not sure why).

After cleanup, we worked another hour to complete the moulding on the sanctuary floor. The evening ended on a high with Jeff figuring out how to "cope." (See Unca Bubba's book, page 260. By the way, thanks Rich. We use it every day, and we're taking good care of it.)

Tomorrow we look forward to more moulding, painting, maybe even a few window sills. Please pray for safety and relief from some soreness. Good sleep is a request, as well. Thanks for your concern and prayers.

Learning curve Monday (aka Sisyphus and the baseboards)

2008-03-03T23:01:00.010-05:00

It was Monday. The team was excited to get started on the tasks in the sanctuary, including painting and baseboard installation. After a hot breakfast of egg casserole by Chef Jeff and devotions out of Psalm 29, the crew attacked the jobs with great gusto. Initial enthusiasm was met with a few "opportunities" for character development as the baseboard installation presented many challenges, especially mitering the many corners in the sanctuary. As previous experience has shown, there is nothing in the Gulf Coast that is plumb, level or square (at least post-Katrina).

An after lunch phone consultation with Big Bill T. confirmed our suspicion that 45 degrees + 45 degrees equals 90 degrees. Thanks, Bill! Wish you were here. After circular saw re-re-realignment and a cool New Yankee Workshop imitation by Mike (some incredible handsaw work frome the saw hero), the afternoon installation went much better.
Lisa wielded a mean nailgun and Jeff lost some arm hair to Liquid Nails.

Kathy painted Door Frame #1 and Door Frame #2, three times. They are now officially primed. Coming attractions - Door Frame #3, Door Frame #4...

Edgewater Baptist, with most of their building still out of commission, reaches out to the community with the Gospel and by meeting physical needs. They feed the homeless every week, provide monthly Angel Food deliveries, do neighborhood cleanup and general service to the community. They're also planning two missions trips this summer, one to Mexico and another to Maine. Their commitment to reaching their community with the Gospel is a great encouragement and challenge to us.

Maybe some "after" pictures will show up in tomorrow's entry. Thanks for praying for us. We pray that you will get some of the heavy rain that we're experiencing tonight.

Worship and recon

2008-03-02T22:25:00.008-05:00

We had a good night's sleep and awakened a bit early due to the time difference. Worship at Edgewater is at 9:30, with spiritual formation groups (Sunday School) after the worship service. The congregation meets in the back of the church building, as the sanctuary hasn't been restored since Katrina.

The worship service was a bit different with a former seminary student and church member returning to share he and his wife's experience in ministry to the Domari gypsies in the Nile delta near Alexandria. Josh & Ashley shared their burden for seeing God glorified in the redemption of people from all over the world. It was a challenge to hear that missions involves not just going, but mobilizing, sending and praying.

After morning worship, we toured the church and talked with Jay about the laundry list of expectations. Mike picked up the gauntlet for the work week, committing the entire group to complete Jay's list. Tasks include baseboard installation and trim painting in the sanctuary, then chair rail installation to complete the job.

Next, we took the traditional trip to Wal-Mart (the first fully brick Super Wal-Mart seen by any of the crew), not to purchase forgotten items but to procure food for the week. Mike treated us to a driving tour of the French Quarter on the return trip.

A very late lunch led straight to cooking dinner, once we unloaded the groceries. We had a great dinner with Jay & Lilian (including white table cloth, real silverware and plastic plates). Clean up and prep for breakfast and we were done for the evening.

Safely here

2008-03-01T22:49:00.022-05:00

We arrived in NOLA (New Orleans, LA) about 7:30 PM, after quite a day of driving. God was merciful to give us uneventful travel over the course of the day.
Left Duncan, SC Holiday Inn Express about 9 AM after a wonderful breakfast prepared by our new friend Rosa.

Drove all day, except for short breaks for gas and the requisite Subway lunch in Opelika, AL. Lisa and Mike did the heavy lifting with the driving.

Crossed Lake Pontchartrain at dusk and headed for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS), where we met Jay and Lillian, our contacts for the week (and also Kathy's cousin). Jay & Lilian took us across the street to meet our hosts, two seminary professors and their families. After meet & greet we headed out for a quick dinner before returning to hit the hay. Church tomorrow morning and then an afternoon of recon and stocking of staples for the week ahead.

Several in our host families are sick. Please pray for healing for them and protection from sickness for the rest of the family and our group.

We're on our way!

2008-02-29T22:23:00.002-05:00

We headed out of Raleigh around 4:30 PM today, a little later than expected, but all in good spirits nonetheless. The Bayer van is a great blessing and we pray that it will hold no "tire" surprises like we experienced on the Biloxi trip last year. An advantage of leaving a little later was only having to fight a bit of traffic through RTP, instead of Atlanta.

After a brief stop for Cook-Out in Salisbury (if it's fried, they have it...yum!), we headed on down to Duncan, SC (a little south of the giant Peach) and stopped for the night at the Holiday Inn Express (no pics yet - too dark). Lisa drove the whole way and the Lord provided safe and uneventful travel. The plan is to leave around 9 AM tomorrow for the remaining eight hours or so into New Orleans.

New Orleans - The team prepares

2008-02-25T22:00:00.003-05:00

A small but enthusiastic team of folks plans to leave Friday, February 29 for New Orleans to help with some rebuilding at Edgewater Baptist Church. We don't know the exact nature of the work, but we are flexible. We do know that the need is still great so we want to go with servant hearts and willing hands. Lisa heads up the planning; Mike, Kathy and Jeff provide the support (or something like that).

Please pray for:

Gospel grace in each of our hearts to share with those we work with and for
Safety on the road
Willingness to listen, learn and do whatever is asked
Empathy with those who are hurting
Careful work that glorifies Jesus

Biloxi - The Final Report

2007-07-25T20:07:00.000-04:00

Well, we're done (for now). Left Biloxi Saturday AM (9 AM) arrived in Raleigh Sunday 2 AM, as some tired puppies. God's sovereignty and protection were evident, as a much-needed potty break in Atlanta turned into an opportunity to help several folks in a rear-end collision.

Bill and Katie and Lisa and Mike and Ron were able to help by checking the medical condition of the victims, directing traffic, and using some stuffed monkeys to calm the little girl in the front car (good job, Katie and Bill - the rest of ya'll, too).

Had some money left over (due to the generosity of our supporters) so we left a nice donation for the continued work in Biloxi. Even though we're almost two years out from Katrina, there's still a ton of work to be done. Bob gives the best description of the challenges still ahead in his July letter. The relief work at First Presbyterian is ending in December, and we hope to send a smaller team to help out the first week of October.

A big THANK YOU to everyone that supported us with their prayers, tools and $$. God answered your prayers - we used your tools and $$, hopefully as good stewards of both.

Continue to pray for Bob & Mary Lee and the relief work out of First Presbyterian, Biloxi. God hears and answers the prayers of His people.

Thursday summary (a day late)

2007-07-06T23:44:00.000-04:00

Well, things have been pretty busy around here, as you can tell by the lack of last night's blog. We are writing two days worth today, and it is already pretty late tonight, so it will be short and sweet.
On Thursday we asked a bunch of people to write down what they have learned so far on the missions trip or a favorite memory from a worksite. Here are the results:

"I learned how to replace windows and sheetrock." -Jonnie Weiandt

"Your everyday teenager right now is probably in bed sleeping off what few precious hours are in the day. But of course, we are not your average teenagers. We wake up from 5 to 7 in the morning. No matter how tired you are you have to pull yourself out of bed or someone else will do it for you. Then, after a quick breakfast at 7, we are off to the worksites to labor all day over decks, sheetrock, or windows, to bring hope and restoration to the people of Biloxi, Mississippi. It seems like doing the same thing over and over again can be a drag, but it is not only about the building. It is about witnessing to people through our actions and reactions." -Kelsey Wiggs, the future novelist :)

"One of the things I will never forget is how happy and excited Mr. Huggar (our homeowner) was to meet us! He ran to each of us and gave us a huge hug and welcomed us to Mississippi." -Marilee Protonentis

"Going down to Biloxi, Mississippi, and helping people in need helps spread the Gospel to people who are lost." -Ryan Hatton

"Mr. Huggar (one of our homeowners) told us about how a lot of his friends drowned and died. Hearing these stories make you want to work hard and give up time and dedication. Seeing people that have to live in small, tiny trailers in almost every house is a sad, scary thought. We even have to protect ourselves while going on the ocean because of the trash and glass. But they still find ways to have fun and get by it, and so do we." -Devin Shepard

"I really enjoyed learning how to use different power tools, like nail guns, circular saws, etc. Getting to talk with the homeowners was fun and interesting too." -Catherine Nevins

"I never knew building a deck was so complicated. Learning how to install crown moulding has been really fun and I've enjoyed working on the deck." -Christine Diepenbrock

"Mississippi was an unforgettable experience for me! It was lots of fun sanding, building a deck, and meeting all the homeowners. Mr. Huggar was soooo excited to see us and gave us lots of hugs. He even made us some REALLY good BBQ ribs!! :) So all in all, MS was lots and lots of fun, an inspiring trip, and a good lesson in hard work and endurance! ~Megan Larsen~

Well we told you it would be short and sweet!!

-"the team"

FRIDAY

Today was quite interesting. We spent today finishing up what we could and taking on a few odd jobs.
Norman's house was finished up and some of those people went to go help at new jobs. One of those jobs was helping to replace some windows at the Salvation Army site. The other job we picked up today was in Gulf Port. A small group went to go and help an elderly lady with whatever they could in the small amount of time they had after finishing up at previous work sites.
The two groups at the Washington house and the Huggar house had a long day. The Washington people spent time working on the deck and finishing up the odds and ends inside the house. The Huggar group worked all day on finishing up the two decks. Neither of the decks at either house were able to be finished completely, but it will not take much for another group to come back and touch up what we did not finish.
This week has been a great opportunity for every one who was able to go on this trip. I feel that everybody is thoroughly pleased with the help we were able to give to the people down here. I think that are group made the light of Christ shine to the people down here and has given the people hope for where there was none.
We can't wait to see y'all tomorrow (or EARLY Sunday).

-Ginger

Happy Fourth!

2007-07-04T23:19:00.000-04:00

Today some of the teams got switched up a little bit. Some of the people left Uncle Bubba for other sites (and said they had more fun than they were having with him).

Speaking of Uncle Bubba, here he is to report in....
Day three at Norman's house brought more sanding, sanding, sanding and yes, mudding, mudding, and more mudding. Kudos to Anne for taking control of the kitchen and dining room mudding and sanding, and making me wipe my feet before entering her domain. Also, doing a great job with the sanding were the new "sugar-powdered" donuts (Marilee, Kelsey, and Devin), who took over "seamlessly" from the first group of "donuts" Ashley, Ginger, Sarah, and Megan. The other major project at Norm's involves reframing a wall and replacing three windows. Jonnie and Catherine did a fantastic job with all the cutting, nailing, and hammering. Special thanks to Jay and Ron for co-leading the effort at Norm's.
Rich

So, after all the work, we came back to First Pres and partied! (but not too hard). There was a picnic on the lawn followed by fireworks up and down the beach, which started before 7 and are still going strong as we write.

Here's our General Contractor to report in...
As I go from site to site with Lisa there has been a common statement of "Can you see the picture" while trying to train or instruct about some task. I do enjoy the challenge of painting the picture in another person's mind as to what I'm saying. Yesterday Jeff and I were trying to get something worked out and he said that it was like doing a mind meld. There is so much satisfaction when the light comes on and the words "AHH I get it" are said while trying to explain it. There has been a lot of hard work and dedication to getting it right at all of the job sites and many opportunities for helping each other. I've seen great ideas coming from our youth for problem solving hard situations. Nothing at any of our job sites have been cut & dry, all job sites are faced with unique problems that they have to figure out. Everyone has done a great job dealing with these obstacles like rain, walls not square, homes in need of a structural make over. Traveling from site to site has been a challenge to be Mr. show and tell without the use of one power tool. Some how it has become a fun game to get me to use some form of a power tool whether it be a drill or a chop saw, I don't know who but someone started this "How long can Mr. Bill go before using a power tool." Somehow everyone thinks that Lisa's not letting me use them but that's not it, I have found it to be a challenge to not use them but do show them how to use them properly. I do get to use sledge hammers, hammers, chisels and wrenches.
Bill T.

That's all for today. There's lots of pictures so enjoy.

Day Two: More of the Same!

2007-07-03T23:08:00.000-04:00

Day two was spent doing more of the same: Installing windows, digging holes for a porch and filling them with concrete, mudding and sanding walls, and moving a water heater. Therefore, there is not much more information to share concerning our work but we will post more pictures from our day below.

Biloxi Bob presented us with the devotion for tonight. In his devotion he listed several different "statistics" concerning Biloxi since Hurricane Katrina:
-600 out of 2,500 homes in East Biloxi are concrete slabs
-The other homes (1,900) needed to be repaired
-Out of those 1,900 homes, only 32% have been repaired
-Biloxi Bob does not think that more than 50% of the homes will ever be repaired
because of a lack of volunteers
-Before Katrina there were a little over 100 churches operating in this area. First Pres. Biloxi is the only one that has remained open after the hurricane and only one other church has been repaired since Hurricane Katrina.
-The Katrina relief ministry at First Pres. will close by the end of the year because of a lack of volunteers
Please pray for Biloxi Bob as he continues to regain his health and for him and his wife as they look at what God has for them in the future. The needy people here recognize that Christians are the ones who offer help in rebuilding. Pray that their hearts and minds would be open to the Gospel and that we, as Christians, would maintain our witness for Christ.

On a lighter note, we have a few quotes from the lovable "Uncle Bubba". Enjoy!
-"I have more hair on my toes than on the top of my head."
-"Even my shins have bald spots."
-"I am confident in my manhood but it's killing my feet" (in reference to his pink flowery flip-flops).

Thanks for your comments and prayers.

-Sarah

P.S. We completed a long, hard day with an ice cream run at Sonic. We are all stuffed and waaaayyyy too hyper!!! Bedtime is going to be late tonight!

Day One: Mud, Holes, and Windows

2007-07-02T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today was our first day of working on the job sites. We split into three different teams, all at various locations primarily in East Biloxi. We started the morning with a wonderful breakfast prepared by the women here with some help from Anna and Jeff. We then divided into cars and went to our respective sites.

The first group (Mike & Tom, et al.) spent the morning shopping at Lowes for supplies or helping out around the church. After lunch, they then headed to the home of Mr. Huggar who is a custodian employed by the city of Biloxi, MS. His modest home is on the "backbay" side of Division Street (main road through East Biloxi) and it was literally lifted off its foundation and "twisted" over 90 degrees during the Hurricane Katrina storm surge. Reconstruction on the structure is ongoing and beyond the capabilities of our team, so we are rebuilding a front porch/steps and a side stoop/steps. Today's tasks included demolition of old footings which as completed in expert (and safe) fashion by Paul W. our one-man wrecking crew with his trusty sledgehammer. The remainder of the team (Casey, Devin & Marilee) dug holes for new footings (some were 4 feet deep!), and installed the new deck supports. We got positive comments indicating that though the houses in the area might wash away in the next major storms, the deck will likely remain intact. Great job by our young guys & gals. We raced against time with an impending afternoon thunderstorm and though we did finally get wet we now only have to wait for the concrete to set. Tomorrow we build the deck itself. NC connection - also met Hilton's younger brother visiting from VA (who recently retired from Ft. Bragg as an Army LTC) and his wife (born in Wendell). Looking forward to getting to know the Hugger clan better this week as they are really nice folks.
< Colonel Mike >

The second group (Jay, Ron, Anne, Rich, Megan, Ginger, Ashley, Catherine, Sarah, and Jonnie) went to the home of Norman. He has a wife and three children all living in a cramped FEMA trailer in front of the house. His house had been flooded waist deep with water during the storm. Because of this, he needed entirely new interior. When we arrived, most of the sheetrock and first coat of mud had been put up by previous groups. So we spent the day sanding the walls and putting a second coat of mud on the drywall. Norman also needed several windows replaced. We were able to install one of them today before the thunderstorm came. Tomorrow we will continue our sanding, mudding, and window installment.
~Anne, Sarah, and Megan~

The third group (Bill B, Jeff, Randy, Kristin, Katie, Kelsey, Ryan, Rob, and Daniel) worked on Ms. Washington's home, which is in the final stages of construction. The house is as level as can be expected for structures in Biloxi. We were greeted by a seemingly cute and cuddly dog. However, after seven, continuous hours of barking (no exaggeration) and wheezing, we are not so in love with the dog anymore. Ms.Washington grew up in the house we are working on and returned to her house a year after Katrina. Therefore, she has been living in a trailer with her dog for about a year. She told me this morning, before she went to pick out carpet, that she hoped to be in her house by the end of the month. We worked on framing and trimming windows, installing subfloor in the bathroom, and preparing to install a deck. For lunch we went to the Salvation Army Camp, right around the corner. They served us hot food under a circus tent in a stadium. We were very happy to have some shade and a few minutes to rest before getting back to work (and the dog). We ran into a few problems with not having the supplies we needed and concrete in the way of the posts for the decks, but we were able to make some good progress. We hope to have some of the projects done tomorrow and make significant progress on the others.
-Kristin-

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Keep the comments coming. We love hearing from y'all at home. Just a clarification, we have to post comments that are left so they will not immediately show up on the blog. They should show up the next day, when we have had a chance to update the blog. Thanks so much!

Sunday, July 1st, a day of rest.

2007-07-01T22:47:00.000-04:00

This morning we attended church service at our host church, First Pres. The entire missions team now knows what we want our new sanctuary to look like, so future building committee, be ready to take notes when we get back!

Team leaders have scouted out job sites, and we think we have a 'plan' for tomorrow. We will be dividing up into three different job sites, working on things like decking and drywalling - but more about that tomorrow. Tools and snacks have been divided up accordingly and we are hydrating in anticipation for the day ahead.

We also made a Walmart run today because Uncle Bubba (Mr. Rich) forgot shower shoes. A highlight at the end of the day was the presentation of Uncle Bubba with gorgeous fuschia flip-flops by the illustrious "Gaggle".

Please pray for our general health (bumps, bruises, exhaustion...), and patience for everyone tomorrow as we begin to figure out who and what go where and when.

And as always, here are a few pictures from the day.

Ooh, flat tire!

2007-06-30T23:06:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-06-25T07:50:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-06-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-06-17T21:32:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-11T21:33:00.001-04:00

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!

Crossed over the River Jordan into "the Promised Land"

2006-06-26T14:48:00.001-04:00

Lagniappe Missions Team arrived back safely to NC around 2:30 am (0-dark-30 again) on Sunday morning June 25th. Long trip back home to Raleigh with rain at the tail end of the trip (final stretch from C-H/Durham to Calvary PCA). As Lisa told us in her e-mail to us last night: "... unpack, do some laundry, clean your rooms, take a shower and get some sleep!!!!". Caught a few hours sleep in my own bed before church on Sunday. Presentation to Calvary family with some selected pictures Sunday evening with fellowship supper (even Krispy Kreme donuts courtesy of Gwen). Back to work teaching this am (too early, even for me); more rain on/off today in Wake and Harnett Counties, so can't cut the grass @ home just yet (tough break). Many, many thanks to God for His protection to all of us throughout the trip, to Lisa as our missions trip leader/coordinator, to all my colleagues, and to all who supported us with their diligent prayers and monetary support. Great experience overall with enough "Lagniappe moments" to keep me humble. I was blessed to be able to participate as a part of the missions team. God is indeed good, even "in the midst of the storm".

v/r

Dr Mike

The Final Push!!

2006-06-24T00:23:00.000-04:00

Lagniappe, MS Day 6

On the sixth day, God said it was finished, and we agreed. Friday's workday ended as Monday's began: with a torrential downpour, water pouring in through the dining hall roof, flooding roads and parking lots...which gave us a small taste of what the Hurricane Katrina victims must have felt. Though we have had a great yet tiring week working here in Bay St. Louis/Waveland, MS, we are looking forward to returning to North Carolina to all of you who have been keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

Our electrical team worked in earnest on the big house on the beach knowing full well that they wouldn't finish the job. Three rooms were fully wired, all the electrical boxes were installed, and progress was made in other rooms as well. We had a special treat when our host took us out to the Chinese buffet for lunch. They are wonderful people and we were pleased to have the opportunity to know them better.

The drywall team completed the projects that they had worked on the last few days. Each of them, especially Anna, finished the week a premature grey due to all the dust. The homeowner was so appreciative of their work that the team was blessed by hamburgers for lunch. Everyone on the team developed super-SPBs (sanding pole biceps). Any of you that need help finishing up a room, you know who to call.

The roofing team finally escaped the compound to work offsite, completing the ridge cap on a 8-12 pitched hip roof. The house started 9 feet off the ground, as the new building code requires that each house be built on stilts. They experienced their own hurricane in the form of 4-year-old Troy Jr. It was great to finally have a chance to visit some of the locals and hear their stories (such as a 38-foot storm surge on their property, only 5 feet above sea level). The 2-hour job grew to 7-and-a-half due to an inavailability of necessary materials and Heaven's Friday afternoon bowling league (thunder, lightning, etc.). After a short intermission, the job was completed safely and the team members signed their "John Hancocks" on the omnipresent Tyvek wall coverings of the front porch. Their arrival back at the compound, though delayed, was fortuitous as Benton had been stranded for an hour by the rising tide in the parking lot across the street.

Finally, tools were inventoried and returned from all three groups. The vans have been repacked with our well-used tools, some moist clothing, and we are preparing for the LONG trip home. Though we had planned to wear "the mission trip uniform" while traveling, discretion had the better part of valor, and the only requirement that the clothes worn be clean and free of mold. Looking forward to seeing our Calvary family on Sunday and sharing the goodness of God's mercies during our trip.

Note to readers: if there appear to be any problems and/or issues with photos from today's activities, it is because the Calvary Blogmaster and his family departed for a well-deserved family vacation this evening. BTW - if you also wonder why there is a "missing" posting on the 23rd of June, this is it. We started on the 23rd...
JCD; LWG; LML; WPT

Roof, Sand and Wire

2006-06-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

"We came. We saw. We sanded." The sheetrock crew sanded all day today and had good opportunity to interact with some of the neighbors. Listening to people tell their stories is an important part of the ministry here. Folks in this area all have stories that they need to tell. The Lagniappe crew told us the first day that it is more important to listen to people than to do any work. I thought "Yeah, yeah, I hear what you're saying, but when push comes to shove you really want the work done." No, there really is a need to listen to what people have been through with Katrina and what they are going through in trying to recover. Some of these people want to serve us, as a way to show appreciation, to help with the healing. It's difficult when you're here for a short period of time to not get caught up in the desire to try to build the most sheds or roof the most houses, instead of wanting to participate in what God is doing in people's lives.

"Visualize the line. Feel the line. Do the line." This was the roofing crew's mantra as they lined up the shingles on the new bunkhouse. They were hard at work in the 95 degree heat and high humidity roofing the new bunkhouse. It was so hot on the roof that the crew could only work 30 minutes at a time, with a 30 minute break. You can imagine the temperature on the roof was quite a bit hotter than the air temperature. By the afternoon, the tar on the back of the shingles would melt to the roof as soon as they were placed on the roof. One young man had duct tape on his shoes that started to melt. Although progress was slower than expected in the morning, a pnuematic nail gun was a huge boost in the afternoon shift. The bunkhouse is now done, as is the roofing crew.

The electrical crew finally completed Mr. H's mobile home wiring about noon Thursday. With a bit of anxiety, Mr. H flipped the main breaker. No smoke or fire, a good sign. We took the fan Mr. H had been running on a cord running from outside and plugged it into the wall. What a great feeling to see that fan come on! Megan and Ryan took Jay's circuit tester and tested each of the sockets in the mobile home. Every one worked except for the GFI outlets. After a few minutes of head scratching, Jay realized we needed to reset the circuit and everything worked great. Mr. H was very pleased and asked Jay to come back anytime and be his electrical contractor. Later the crew started work at another house that needed complete electrical work. This house is about 400 yards from the Gulf and had been completely leveled by Katrina. Jay walked through the whole (new) house with (another) Mr. H, listening to what he wanted and talking with him about everything that was needed. This will be a massive job. There is no way the crew can complete the job before we leave on Saturday, but there will be a start and a handoff to the next crew to come in. It is quite a contrast between this house and the one just completed. Everyone here has been affected by the storm, both rich and poor.

Please pray for good rest and continued safety. One more day of work and the team is quite tired. Attitudes have been good and grace has been abundant. We are tired, but encouraged with what God has done in us and through us.

Miracles Do Happen!

2006-06-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

I have to admit, as of last night's post I thought there was no chance that the new bunkhouse would be completed enough for people to sleep in it tonight. Well, when we returned from dinner (we traveled to Gulfport for an all-you-can-eat buffet - tasty!) about 9:50, the folks were putting the finishing touches on the insulation and there were air mattresses on many of the bunk beds. Jay and Ron still have to wire one of the smoke detectors and hang the overhead lights, but they tell us that should be done in an hour or so. God has done amazing things through this team and the other folks helping on the bunkhouse.

Everyone worked so hard on the bunkhouse today. It was all we did - roof trusses, electrical work, cleaning, you name it and the team pitched in to provide a place for more volunteers to sleep in (relative) comfort. Many folks did things over the last few days that they never thought they would/could do. It has been a stretching experience. Folks have sawn, hammered, run electrical wiring, built a roof, put on tar paper... The team leaders have been great with those of us that need a little instruction. It's such a blessing to have folks that know the technical details of what we're doing.

Today was extremely hot! It was definitely the hottest yet. Sarah and Kristin were superb in their roles as our little mermaids (the folks responsible for ensuring that we all hydrate as we should). We required so much water today that Anna joined the mermaid team to prod everyone to drink more.

Folks were in and on the roof all day long. Bill, Mike, Rich, Lisa and Gwen were warriors. Trusses here, trusses there, trusses everywhere. Folks from other teams (churches) came in to help with the trusses and roofing as well. There is a group of three high school young men from Atlanta that have been a big help with the roof work. Rich has dubbed them "The Georgia Boyz." The bunk beds that the team built several days ago have gotten a quality control test by being used as scaffolding to put up the roof trusses. Hopefully, none will collapse on the folks using them tonight. Jay and Ron had the electrical team charged (pun intended) and wired the whole bunkhouse (minus three or four wires) today.

Tomorrow promises to be another busy day. The drywall team will finally get to put up some drywall at someone's house. The shed team will surely be hot - they are scheduled to shingle the new bunkhouse. The electrical team will finish the wiring at Mr. H's mobile home and then off to another assignment. At least those are the plans...we are definitely flexible. None of us expected to build a bunkhouse when we arrived. Again, God had different ideas, and I can say that people have had the best attitudes about what God has in mind for us. Enough for this evening. It's late and we need an early start tomorrow. Thanks again for praying for us. Pray that we would be honestly loving with each other.

Energizer Bunny Day

2006-06-20T22:55:00.000-04:00

Our devotional this morning was from Romans 3:10-18. We were challenged to look at our lives in light of the truth of the Gospel which declares, "There is no one righteous, not even one." It is a great start to a day of serving those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. It helps us focus on the fact that we are also broken and in desperate need of a Savior - no better than those we serve, only touched by the One "by whose stripes we are healed."

It was an extremely busy day here at Lagniappe (like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going...). The main focus of all three of the Calvary teams today was the fifth bunkhouse currently under construction. The shed team and the drywall team worked all day and into the night to build bunk beds and trusses for the bunkhouse. The electrical team worked in the morning prepping the structure for electrical work to be done as soon as the roof is on. Although the schedule calls for work to stop around 5 PM, many on the shed and drywall teams started again after dinner, helping to put the trusses in place for the roof. This is quite a job and as this entry is written the crew is still working on placing the trusses. The folks here at Lagniappe desperately want the bunkhouse available for new volunteers arriving tomorrow night. It would take quite a miracle for that to occur. Will you pray for that miracle?

Just to give you an idea, here is the remaining work to be able to occupy the building: complete the truss assembly and installation; install plywood on the roof and then shingle it; run electrical wiring in the whole building, including lights, A/C, smoke alarms; insulate; install doors and windows; install all bunk beds. All this work needs to occur within 24 hours - sort of 'Extreme Makeover Home Edition' on steroids. Bill T. has been leading the charge on this work and has successfully trained both teams in all aspects of bunkhouse construction!

We've had a few people that haven't felt well and needed to take a break from work to recuperate. Fortunately, a good nap or rest seemed to take care of most of that. Continue to pray for good sleep and proper hydration, both very important here.

The electrical team spent the afternoon at the mobile home mentioned on Monday. We thought we could finish the job in a couple of hours, but it took a lot longer than expected. By 6:30 PM we were just finishing for the day with several more hours needed to complete the job on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on what happens with the bunkhouse construction). Mr. H shared more with us about his experience with Katrina (including aftermath pictures) and we were eager to hear about his life. Jay left Mr. and Mrs. H. some literature about Lagniappe Church and invited them to check it out. They are very appreciative of the help and are eager to occupy a larger space, as they currently live in a FEMA trailer right beside the mobile home they are restoring.

Tommorow promises to be an even busier day than today, so continue to pray for stamina both in physical strength and in attitudes.

Monday Was a Great Day!

2006-06-19T22:02:00.000-04:00

I learned today how to use a circular saw, and I had a lot of fun! I really appreciated the opportunity that the more experienced men gave us to learn new things, even though we made mistakes and couldn't always keep up with the fast pace.
-Christine D.

Hmmm...I learned today that it is not a good idea to try and clean paintbrushes that have dried out for who knows how long. Let me tell you, that was a special experience...a long experience. Other things I did: held boards that were being cut, transported wood back and forth and then back again, and then forth again...well you get the point. I also hammered one nail, but that was all the elbows could take for today, but it was an accomplishment! :) There were a lot of us working at one site, but we all worked very well together and it made the time pass quickly and the day was a lot of fun. Thanks for your continuous prayers.
-Anna H.

Hi, this is Megan L.!!!!!!! Today i was on the electric team. I was very excited because i actually completed an electric socket all by myself!!!! I was happy!!! sorry if this bored you!! :) remember, semper gumby!!!! :)
-Megan L. :)

Wow...today was really wet. All of the wood and all of our shoes were wet. By the end of the day my feet looked like two giant prunes that had been bleached. But today waas otherwise team building. We communicated on what we needed tool and wood wise. There were puddles and mud everywhere (even inside :) thanks to the roof damaged by Katrina). Otherwise today was pretty fun. See yall later.
-Kelsey W.

What an awesome day by our mission's team. The day started early with a downpour overnight and the ubiquitous puddles emerging throughout the Lagniappe compound. New team from Tidewater Virginia (Va Beach) arrived late last night which made the acomodations in the bunkhouses even more cozy. Over 10 teams here in the "Coalition of the Willing" from all over (NC, VA, PA, OH, IL and IN to name but a few). By 6 am we had a "gullywasher" deluge "up on the roof" (and then through the roof of the "church"/dining hall/etc.) Great to see the positive attitudes and spirit of cooperation among ALL the groups, staff and locals even though living conditions are "Spartan" and primitive for most folks. All the youth worked in an outstanding manner in all the jobs today - building bunks, roof trusses for the new bunkhouse and a completely new electrical wiring job for a local family. Long day with everybody hot, tired and sweaty but with a shower before dinner and hopefully a win by the 'Canes in Game 7 everybody is looking forward to another great day here along the Gulf Coast of MS... Canes win, Canes win, Canes win!!!
Ciao.
-Dr Mike

Well, two of the three teams had the opportunity to do work that they didn't even plan on. You can read about that above. The electrical team had the opportunity to serve in the community by stripping all the wiring from a mobile home and starting to rewire the whole trailer. Mr. H, the owner of the mobile home, barely survived Hurricane Katrina, with his wife and four other people (he was in another building, not this trailer, during the storm). More about that tomorrow. Suffice it to say that God used this man to rescue several people that would have almost certainly perished in the storm. We have been encouraged with the excellent attitudes today. Folks were indeed flexible, which always helps here. Please pray for good rest and sleep, even with sore muscles. Pray that the truth of the Gospel would be evident in our life and words.

It's Worse Than You Think

2006-06-18T21:10:00.000-04:00

The team went out this afternoon after lunch to see first hand what happened with Hurricane Katrina. It's been nine months since the devastation and it's almost like nothing has been done in the reconstruction. We're sure it was worse right after the hurricane, but on street after street, where there used to be house after house, there is now nothing. Mostly there are just foundations or concrete slabs where whole neighborhoods once stood. Occasionally you will see a few pilings or the shell of a house without one or two of its walls. Trailers...there are trailers all over, some travel trailers, some FEMA trailers, some tents. It's amazing that people could basically live for eight or nine months in these conditions. We are so thankful for God's provision for us.

Tomorrow is a new (aka different) day. The plan is for us to work on finishing a new bunkhouse here on the Lagniappe "campus". By Thursday there are supposed to be 259 volunteers here and there is not enough space to house them. This is the most people that Lagniappe has had in a single week. Bill worked the afternoon with a crew that framed the whole bunkhouse. Tomorrow will be electrical rough-in and joists and trusses for the roof. If the bunkhouse is done in time, it will not be a second too soon. Hopefully we'll have some pictures of the bunkhouse work tomorrow. The bunkhouse is not what we expected to do when we arrived, but it's obviously what God wants. Our hope is in making His wants, our wants.

The Chicken Truck of My Heart

2006-06-18T14:42:00.000-04:00

Today has been a great day to worship the Lord here at Lagniappe. Many of us awoke early as our bodies are still on Eastern Time. It is a bright and sunny day. Breakfast was kind of on your own - whatever was available in the kitchen. Some folks had cereal, others grits and oranges. For the early risers (~ 6AM) there were a few Dunkin' Donuts; later, someone had some leftover pizza (Breakfast of Champions). The early folks had the best selection, something Dr. Mike informed us was called optimal foraging (which we quickly dubbed "OF", for short).

Later in the morning we had a worship service here in the hall, with Jean preaching. The sermon text was from Genesis 6:5 and Isaiah 64:6. Jean told the story of a tractor trailer load of frozen chicken that had been donated to Lagniappe in the last few weeks. The truck was parked in the back of the compound and kept cold by a diesel generator. Unfortunately, the generator started to fail without the staff realizing it and the chicken was completely spoiled. They noticed it first when they could smell it through the closed trailer. They had to clean out the trailer and tried all sorts of things to make the job more "palatable." Jean used the illustration to talk about the "chicken trucks of our hearts", full of rottenness and putrid filth that we try to hide by freezing it or keeping the door shut. He used the opportunity to talk about the two-part Gospel - Christ dying for my sin and giving His righteous to my account. He challenged us not to try and manage our sin by pretending that we were OK, but to admit that we're not OK and to be OK with that (OK, too many "OK"s in that one). Jean wanted us to see Jesus as the lover of people who are filthy, wretched and not OK. What a freeing bit of doctrine!

The afternoon is pretty laid back - we plan to tour the coastal area to get a view of the devastation as well as take the obligatory trip to Wal-Mart. We have a briefing tonight after dinner on the schedule for the week.

Please pray for stamina in the heat - with what little we did today we have seen how it can drain you.

Rest of the team arrives

2006-06-17T22:39:00.000-04:00

The rest of the team arrived tonight around 8 PM CDT. Much hotter here than it was even 50 miles up the road. Quite humid too. If you're from Raleigh, think Raleigh in the middle of August. We got checked into our bunkhouses - pretty nifty accommodations. The guys are in Creola and gals are in Iberville. The bunkhouses have some air conditioning, which is a blessing. The pictures were taken inside the church/dining room/meeting room.

Lisa was pushing water right away. I think this is going to be a real sticking point all week. Please pray we would remember to drink lots, as it's difficult to catch up once you're behind.

Once we got situated, the team hung out, talked and played some cards. We'll probably hit the rack early tonight (after showers, more water, etc). Tomorrow it's breakfast, church (Jean Larroux preaching and then taking off to General Assembly) and not sure what after that. Watch for another update Sunday.

We've Arrived and Glistened

2006-06-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

Lisa, Rich, Rob and Kristin arrived this afternoon around 2:30 at Lagniappe. We saw a lot of destruction on the coast (pictures to come.) We filled out paperwork for a while and then we were put to work. So far we have already moved paper products up to the attic, sweated, drank some water, moved and unpacked twice (we ended up in the wrong bunkhouse due to a terrible map and Lisa and Kristin thought they were going to end up in a room with a man from Chicago), sweated, drank some water, moved dinner, sweated, drank more water, checked out where the Walmart and hospitals are located, sweated, and took out the trash while still sweating. The trip was uneventful but if you ever go through Alabama make sure to stop in historic Opelika. When we first arrived we met Pastor Jean Larroux who was about to leave for his afternoon off. The interns also have the day off since they have been so busy getting ready for the work teams. We were told that tonight for dinner there will be 117 people but by Monday night there will be 275 glistening bodies crammed in the church for dinner. We have not been able to see any of our worksites for the week but we might be able to see them tomorrow. We are still working on finding a way to be able to see the Hurricanes game tonight but we have a few possiblities. Hopefully the Hurricanes will win and we will be able to watch it. Watch for pictures later tonight.

Hydrate or die. Semper Gumby!

A Message from Lisa

2006-06-15T23:21:00.000-04:00

C-O-T-S?

2006-06-12T20:21:00.000-04:00

A picture of our last meeting before the trip to Bay Saint Louis on
Saturday. Lisa's got us whipped into shape. COTS is Lisa's acronym
for the four committees that are planning the trip (Construction,
Operational support, Transportation, Spiritual). There are a ton of
details still to be worked out. Lisa, Kristin, Rob and Rich head down
on Friday as the advance party to get the lay of the land and smooth
the arrival of the rest of the crew on Saturday. Of course it could
be that Curt has them working Saturday morning. Semper gumby!