Day 5: Coming Home!

We slept in a bit - lights on at 6:30. It took us some time to clean up, but we vacuumed the sanctuary and cleaned up after ourselves, set the chairs up (according to the diagram on the pulpit), got a group shot in front of the fallen steeple and got out of there before 8am. Each car decided where to eat on the way in. We did get a group t-shirt together to hang on their wall of t-shirts of previous groups.


Ok, so we got to the airport a little bit early. Or so everybody tells me. I think we got there at just the right time. We did have some time to chat in the airport and hang out, and get breakfast and read the paper. But we made it on time. Ken's group hit downtown very briefly and walked down Bourbon Street, saw the Mississippi River and statue of Andrew Jackson.

Our flight departed a tad bit early and we are on our way home. Yolanda Brittle and Todd Kennedy (and a bunch of family members) are all lined up to give some of the team rides home. I think we are all looking forward to seeing our families and sleeping in our own beds. Not that the accommodations were bad, we were very well taken care of.

Lisa Malone and Barry got a report from home that the church service opened with the video that we Fedex'd on Thursday. From what they heard, the video was very well received and the service went very well (without Barry). We would have loved to be there (also would have loved the chance to be at Lakeshore Baptist Church), but the timing just didn't work out on either end.

Sadly, we didn't get to see Pastor Don (the leader of Lakeshore) or Greg London (their volunteer coordinator, himself a volunteer from Georgia). They were out of town the entire time that we were there, but we will have to catch them the next time.

Parting Thoughts:
Traveling in large groups is way more fun than traveling alone or just with the family. Its great to be surrounded by people you know and like. Flying is a lot more like hanging-out rather than just spending a couple of hours in a very confined space alone in the midst of people.

Dulles, just in the distance. It won't be long now.

Day 4: Last Day of Work

The forth day started just like the two before it. Early, with a hot breakfast and strong coffee. I think each day I'm getting out of bed a little bit slower. And based on the grunts and groans of all of the other men, I bet many felt the same as I.

The day proceeded well. The rain that was predicted to hit by noon, never really came until nightfall. It didn't impact any of the team's work. Drywall, siding, demo(lition) work, warehouse and store operations went on through the day. Here are some pictures from each:


Kerry asked Sue, one of the ladies whose homes we worked on to write down her experience from the storm. Sue gave it to her today. I'll get the letter posted shortly, but it is really amazing to read a first-hand account of living through the storm. Here's a picture of Kerry, Sue and Sue'llen:

We decided to sample some of the local cuisine for dinner - grabbing some catfish, oysters, shrimp and hushpuppies from "Catfish One" in Waveland and eating back at the church. It was all good stuff and disappeared pretty quickly.

A Birthday Celebration
Saturday was a special day. Our pastor turned the big 4-0. We had cake and ice cream to celebrate, though due to local fire codes, we could only have a representative number of candles lit. The wind gusts almost conspired to blow them all out anyways, barely giving Barry the opportunity to blow them out.

The team searched all day for a gift for Barry in the warehouse and in the store. After passing on stuffed animals, a forest green sports coat and an M-R-E, we went with 52 birthday cards (a set of playing cards). A big thanks to Suzanne for grabbing the birthday cakes and deck of cards for the present. [sorry, no pictures, I was carrying the cake]

Evening Get-together
In our evening get-together, we talked about what we were thankful for. I think everybody on the team spoke up and shared (even Danny :) ). Those who were quiet at the beginning of the week, have become much less so (in a good way). Many mentioned that they felt a sense of family among the group that they didn't have before.

Barry spoke briefly on Barnabus - the so-called "Son of encouragement." He relayed a story of how he gave an older lady a hand with a mattress earlier in the day. Barry was part of the crew putting siding on a house, when a older lady came hurrying down the road shouting, "I need help with a mattress, I need help with a mattress" So Barry went with her to her home where a delivery truck was out front. Barry helped the delivery guy get the mattress where it needed to be and the older lady was very appreciative. But so was the delivery guy. He said that if it wasn't for church folk coming down and helping out, there wouldn't be much getting done. He said it was real encouraging to see us come down. I think from a job-satisfaction standpoint, that was the best part of the trip. People were very vocal with their thanks. Barry's hope was that our church would be known as an encouragement for those we come in contact with.

Our evening get-togethers, none more than Saturday night, were a lot of fun. Lots of joking and laughter, lots of camaraderie. One of the more amusing aspects of the trip is for the folks who had somewhat set limits for their participation before coming. Christa was interested in doing drywall, but in no way wanted to be stuck in the kitchen. Danny was interested in any construction but roofing. Mike was willing to do anything but drywall. In the end, God put them in those places. Each survived and did a great job serving in those capacities.

Some ideas came up about how we can continue to help. There was a general consensus among the group that more needs to be done. A second trip for our church will probably be in the work for either later this year or early next. There is also interest in coordinating a shipment of food down to the area. We will work to coordinate with other churches in our area and grocery stores. Lisa Malone volunteered to help with this effort and many others were interested, as well.

Our meeting was winding down, when out of nowhere, we heard a hollow sounding thump. Not knowing if one of our rental cars got hit, we all rushed outside to find the church steeple had blown over in a particularly fierce blast of wind. Fortunately, none of our rental cars were in striking distance of the steeple. We left it down: the wind was still howling and we figured it was likely to blow down again if we set it upright. Here's the steeple upright and after the tumble:


While the rain had held off for most of the day, it came in buckets during the night. The temporary church building is all metal on the outside, so we heard it pretty well, even with the ear plugs in. The women in the shipping containers said that it was pretty noisy from there too, but we all stayed dry and comfortable in our sleeping bags.

Before the rain came, I was able to snap some cool pictures around the Lakeshore Baptist property. Hope you enjoy!

Day 3: We're Tired

Ok, not all of us are tired. But I think the general sentiment is that we have all worked pretty hard and are beat.

I've taken many pictures and video and will share more at church, but I wanted to share some now. Barry has also been good enough to record another moblog entry. If you are already subscribed to our podcast (see directions here: http://parkvalleychurch.com/pvc_podcast.htm), you will get this automatically. But if you haven't, its as simple as clicking here:



Here is one of the converted shipping containers that the women on the team are sleeping in. From what I here they are quite comfortable, but the air conditioners are loud. Loud enough to keep some of the ladies up for a good portion of the night. But although that sound suspiciously like a complaint, don't take it that way. We are very grateful for our accommodations! We are well taken care of and the hot showers at the end of the day are very nice.


I've been spending a lot of time (with many other hard working folks) in the kitchen. Aside from burning a large quantity of rice everything went off without a hitch and the burritos we put together for lunch were (at least we are told) quite edible. The kitchen facilities are more than adequate, but probably have led us to attempt more elaborate meals than we would have otherwise.

We were relatively well organized for todays meals, so I was able to see some of the worksites and chat with some of the folks for whom we've been doing the work. But before those pictures, we went to the "Warehouse" that Lakeshore Baptist Church has been running from the inside of an elementary school gym.



They use this to organize donations that come in daily, then when its organized, bring it over to the "store". Nothing in the store is for sale. It operates strictly on a take-what-you-need basis. But given what human nature is, volunteers have to oversee the whole process. A rotating cast from our team has been pitching in and lending a hand to make sure the operations procede efficiently.

We finished our first job today - the roofing of a carport. Pastor Barry, Danny, Chad, David and Jon were all part of the team to make it happen - and safely. As long as we don't count David Saul's head-to-head encounter with a scaffolding beam. He's OK, though, we promise. Tomorrow, the same crew will be tackling a siding job, which they probably won't have time to finish. But they will at the very least make some good headway.



A large part of the team spent time today drywalling and mudding a house of a very friendly older couple. They left when the storm hit (but had considered staying), and they consider the fact that their sailboat survived as miraculous. It is moored right behind their house and held on by only one of the mooring cables - the 25 foot rise in the water level shocked everybody. The best part about this job was that they had their air conditioning functioning. So, there was a lot of work to do, but it was in relative comfort. From what I could tell, the working environment was very easy going and productive. These guys (and gals - Sue'llen and Kerry were there) were having a good time getting the drywall up and on right.


After dinner, we got together to discuss the stories we've heard recounted by the folks living every day in the midst of rebuilding. Lots of mistrust of the government. Lots of disappointment, anger and resignation at the insurance companies. And a lot of gratitude for the help that they've gotten from normal people. If, when talking to somebody, even the cashier at Wal-Mart, they find out that you're here to help people rebuild, they are grateful. "We really appreciate you guys coming and helping!" But, they also seem to appreciate telling their story to somebody who can empathize and just listen. They want somebody else to know what they've been through. The miraculous near misses. The struggle. The crook down the street (that applied for a FEMA trailor even though he hadn't ever lived in the house as a first home). They open up in a big way. And then they inevitably ask why we came.

We also spent some time talking about how this trip will impact us. I hope that God will use this trip to help us as a church see our way forward to how He wants us to tackle missions as a church. I firmly believe that the support of full-time missionaries will continue to be something that we should and will do. But, the sending of teams to areas of need in this country and in others should be something that we seek out opportunities for.

When the question was posed "Who here has never done a missions trip or anything like this trip before, raise their hand." About half of us raised our hands. When a follow-on question was asked, "Who here would do a trip like this again," not a single hand was unraised.

Day 2: The Work Begins

Writing this hasn't started well: its past 10 and my wireless conncection has stopped responding and I've just started writing. Not an auspicious start. Here goes. . .

The day started off early. I was up at 5:30 to help get breakfast around with Emily, Michele and (supposed to be) Christa. Christa didn't show until about 6 and then complained that we didn't get her up.

Our plans for breakfast (we are now in charge of getting all of the food together) we immediately altered due to the milk not unfreezing overnight. So, we were flexible (a word emphasized many time before the beginning of the trip), and we made pancakes and scrambled eggs. This is when we found out how valuable some experience at feeding large groups of people can be. Justin Exner and Emily Chaplin jumped in with the eggs and pancakes respectively and showed the rest of us how it is done. It went off without a hitch and we survived.

We quickly shot a welcome video that will be showed in church on Sunday morning (presuming that UPS makes it). The team was then split up into subgroups to tackle the days work. There was roofing, drywall and warehouse activities. (Pictures to come later).

Lunch went more smoothly. We made tuna fish sandwiches and grilled cheese. I know, not gourmet, but it worked and was (I think) enjoyed by all of those dining.

After lunch it was back to work for all involved. By the end of the day, everybody was pretty tired and enjoyed a hotdog and hamburger fest (along with beans, chili and fries). After we were all cleaned up, we had a short time where we got together, Barry shared a few words and then opened it up for stories.

The survival stories are amazing and I'm sure you will hear more in future. Many people are still without much materially, but more importantly, many are without hope. It is striking how so many people have mentioned that they are glad to see us and its because they find it so hard to look forward to the future. They have lost so much. The week after the storm hit, Lakeshore Baptist Church (with a then regular attendence of 80 people) met and 34 people made it. When Pastor Don asked how many people lost a friend or a family member in the storm, everybody raised their hand. Everybody.

And though we are rebuilding only houses, hopefully, in some small way, God is working through us to raise these people up. To bring them some hope and some small comfort. To see the tangible love that He has for them.

Continue to pray for safety and unity in our group. Not that we are having any conflicts or discontent. In fact, I think as a team, we are enjoying ourselves as much here as any other vacation that we've taken. The comraderie is strong, the task is great, but so is our God!

More tomorrow, pictures I promise (maybe even a moblog entry). Thanks for reading and following along.

Pictures from Day 1

As promised, pictures from day 1.

Grabbing the luggage at the luggage rack


Amazing Devastation - All over - Has to be seen to believe. There are many more foundations than houses. Very few left near the water.




Here is where the guys were staying:
More tomorrow!

Day 1: Safe arrival

2006-04-26: 6:30am
Well, it turns out that we can't check in like normal airline passengers. We have to go through the "group check-in" process. As it turns out, Dulles is pretty busy on a Wednesday morning and its probably a good thing that we have our own dedicated counter to check everybody in at. A bit late, but I realize that I should probably have everybody's mobile phone number - something I'll have to do as soon as I can. We all make it (Michele has the "honor" of being last), but we all make it through security without incident and are all on the flight.

7:30am and later
Everybody is in pretty good spirits and Pastor Barry says a quick prayer in the waiting area for the group. We have a couple of nervous flyers - so I think this was very much appreciated. So after fueling up on some Starbucks - we all tumble on to United flight 431. Its the "bus" of the skies that will be taking us to New Orleans - a Boeing 737. A full flight with not a single empty seat, I'm forced to sit 5 rows away from my wife

The flight itself is pretty boring (the way they all should be), with only a modest amount of turbulence. A quick moment and I've firmed up the ride assignments for our rental cars. We had some last minute cancellations for the trip, including two people who were planning on renting cars. What could have been a bit of a disaster, looks like it will turn out OK. Four of us have rented minivans (they were the cheapest vehicle at the cheapest agency - Thrifty) so we have some flexibility. Hopefully all of our luggage fits and Thrifty has all of the vehicles that we have reserved.

Now, I'm just hopefully that we have all the tools either with us or on our shopping list from Lowe's. The current plan is to hit some fast food, get to Lowe's in Biloxi and pick up the tools (should be waiting for us) and then head to Lakeshore Baptist Church and get settled. Its doubtful that we'll be involved in any construction projects today, but very likely could help out around the church itself (the storehouse, etc.). We'll see how it goes. We aren't responsible for putting the meals together until tomorrow breakfast, so we expect to have some time to survey the kitchen facilities and finalize our meal plans. Breakfast is scheduled for 7am, so for those of us cooking, it will probably a pretty early morning.

From what I hear (Lisa checked right before she headed out to the airport), the weather is supposed to be clear until Sunday evening. We are expecting 80s during the days and low of only 60 at night. Sounds like an ideal weather outlook for what we are trying to get done. Some bug repellent and sunscreen and we should be set!

Pray for safety during the construction work and the "gelling" of our various teams -- that they would work together well and have a good time. Christa is heading up our kitchen crew - for which I'm the primary gofer. Pray that we would be able to efficiently feed the expected crew of 100 people some good food and let them stay focused on the rebuilding efforts. We have a draft menu right now, but don't really know how it will square with what food they already have or how well-equiped the kitchen really is.

I've convinced Pastor Barry to record a "moblog" and you can listen to it here.



For the uninitiated, a moblog ( pronounced mo' - blog ) is short for a mobile blog. Our podcast provider (audioblog.com) allows you to simply call a phone number, type in your PIN and record a segment that will immediately get published to current PodCast subscribers, but is also available to anybody else interested in hearing. I'll encourage Pastor Barry to record everyday, so you'll have a couple of sources of "live" reporting from all of us in MS.

We are landing soon and the flight is getting a bit rougher. I think I'm done typing - it seems to be adding to my quesiness - and that would be a bad way to start a trip. Tune in tomorrow for a further update.

We're Here:
We arrived. Pics to be added soon. Air-conditioned accomodations - not too bad :)

Last Minute Reminders

Tool List:
Here is our final updated tool list. Please bring your own tool belts and all your favorite stuff. Check out the list, though, to make sure you are not bring things you don't need to.

What to Bring:
I've updated the March 19th handout that included "What to Bring". You can get it here (pdf format). Let me know if you have any questions and I'll pass my answers along to the whole group.

Send-off:
We had a great send-off today at both services. Ken and Gene did a great job giving testimonies about their invovlement and interest in this trip.

Here is a picture from the first sevice:


And this from the second:

Update - But not really

Unfortunately I have not had any update from the volunteer or the housing/food coordinator. So we don't know any better what we will be doing, eating or where we will be sleeping. But God will provide and we will be fine, I'm sure.

Team leads, please review the tool list that I posted (Here it is), and provide me input tomorrow on how the list should be modified. We need to get a finalized list to Gene, so he can fax it to Lowe's and have it waiting for us on Wednesday.

Thanks again to Gene for negotiating with Lowe's - he was able to get us a 10% discount across the board.

Quick tool update

Tools List
So yesterday I promised I'd post a list of the tools that Gene had gotten a Lowe's quote for. Here it is. Check it out and pass along any comments to me.

Please let me know what you think is missing - we need to make sure we are fully equiped for this trip.

Hardhats
Danny had suggested I check out whether we would need hardhats at any of the work sites. The word I get from the Highlands Fellowship team is that the only people they saw wearing hardhats were utility people. None of the volunteers had them. I think we should be good to go without -- but it does bring to mind that people should bring eye and hearing protection. An inexpensive set can be purchased at either Home Depot or Lowe's and you'll be glad that you have them.

Update: Saturday Meeting Items

We covered a number of topics at our meeting on Saturday - and I wanted to catch everybody up on where we are.

Lodging:
As it turns out, some or none of us may be in the converted containers. Let's stay flexible and all plan on enjoying the comfort of a tent for a few days - that way - nobody will be diappointed. I'll let you know when I know more.

Meals:
There will be a team down there that will cook on Wednesday, but we will be cooking for ourselves/combining with other groups for the remainder of the time we are down there. Linda Winship is taking the lead on food planning and coordination for our team. She is aware of any dietary restrictions you folks have told me, but if you have any that you haven't passed along, please let me know right away.

Tools:
Gene Clarke has taken the lead on getting Lowe's to quote (and then negotiate with them) what it would cost for us to buy all of our major (and even not so major) tools. I will try to get the list posted on the web tomorrow so people can see it. The notion is that we could all throw in only $50 and donate the tools to the rebuilidng effort (leave them behind). We would also have the benefit of not lugging it all down there and back. This is also an area where we will will give other church members an opportunity to pitch in.

I'm planning on bringing a few favorites (tool belt, measuring tape, etc.), but all of the big stuff will be waiting for us at Lowe's when we arrive.

Skills List:
I have compiled a list of everybody's skills/interests in helping out on this trip. Everybody who wasn't able to make meeting should review list (posted in pdf or doc) and ensure that I've characterized your interests/skills correctly. If not, email me right away.

I'm in touch with the coordinators down there and should have a better idea of exactly what is needed (projects in process) about mid-week. Look for a follow-on email/post to this website.

Luggage:
Check out United's Website for restrictions on checked luggage. Please don't bring it if its not allowed.

Also check out the restrictions on checked baggage (size and weight). Please let me know if you think you will have any problems. We could probably do some weight/load balancing amongst those in our group. The basics are two checked bags at 50 pounds each.

Tickets:
You all have e-tickets. What does that mean? It means if you have your license, you can check in at the counter at the airport. Thats all you need. That being said, you may want to bring the copy of the invoice that I passed out at our meeting a couple of weeks ago. For those who I didn't give a copy of the invoice to, see me Sunday and I'll pass it along.

Getting to the Airport:
So April 26th is rapidly approaching and some thoughts come to mind.

Check-in Timing: United requires that checked baggage be checked 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time for the flight. Our flight will be leaving at 8:41 am. That means the bags have to be checked by 7:56. That probably means that you want some buffer to the absolute check-in deadline - maybe plan on getting there around 7 am. Depending on your tolerance for risk. Or missing flights. After checking your bags you will have to get through security, hop on at least one people mover and make your way to the United terminal. There is a Starbucks and other good morning food (Dunkin Donuts), so you might want to come early-ish and not sweat the line. Also note that sadly I-66 is backed up between Gainesville and Manassas at/by 6am most mornings.

Carpooling: We probably all don't want to leave cars at Dulles for 4 days, so let me suggest that we look to carpool to the airport. I have two people who are interested in getting rides - if you are interested as well, please let me know. I have asked (and already gotten one committment) people in the church to drive and can probably get a few more. As Gene pointed out, the commuter lot behind the Giant in Gainesville could be a good meeting place for people getting rides.

Finally, this Sunday:
Please make a special effort to be at church this Sunday. We will have a special "Send Off" for our team during the service. That's all for now.

Start Praying and Packing Now!

Revised Drywall Toolkit

Thanks to Tony Greathouse for putting together a revised list of tools for the drywall teams. See below:

Dry Wall Tools

Dry Wall "HANGERS" typically work in pairs.

Each Team member should have the following tools:

• Tool apron - cloth or leather but needs a hammer loop.
• Hammer
• Tape measure with 3/4" wide blade
• Utility Knife (Box Cutter) with about 50 replacement blades
• Dry Wall Saw - Keyhole saw

Tool to be shared by teams/pairs:

• Caulk box (remember blue caulk) red as strong ink that can stain
• T-square or straight edge

Hanger should be prepared to repair or complete insulation, correct or add wood blocking or nailers.

Dry Wall "FINISHERS" typically work in large groups but do not pair-up. One home can keep five busy for a long time. Finishers can have specialties like one person maybe proficient in taping, blocking when another may be better at the final skim coats and fine finishing. But rest assured we all can be good at sanding.

Each Finisher should have the following tools:

• Finishing knives 4", 6", 10" or 12"
• Mud pan
• Long bristled brush or sponge to clean-up tools
• Tape holder for belt
• Dust mask for sanding

Tools for the Finishing group:

• Mud paddle
• 1/2" Electric Drill
• Extension Cord
• Sanding Pole

If you missed April 1st . . .

Presentation:
If you missed our meeting last night, please check out the materials that we went over. You can either view it as an Acrobat (pdf) file or as a Powerpoint executable slideshow [Note both of these are being hosted on a free, but slow file hosting service; the bandwidth limit is only 100 kbps so your download will not be quick. Wait for it - it will come :) ][Note that the PDF file is a much quicker download, but is in lower resolution]. Its worth seeing where we are headed.

Teams:
We spent a good deal of our time talking about the teams and what tools the teams would need. Here is the draft version where we are so far. Please let me know how we should modify these lists.

Carpentry/Framing (Two teams: Mike Kaestner and Danny Hamilton as leads)
(1) Circular saw
(1) 50' extension cord
(2) Measuring tapes
(4) Toolbelts
(4) Claw hammers
(1) 4' level
(2) Carpenters pencils

Electrical Teams (Two Teams: David Sauls and Sue'llen Biddle as leads)
(3) Drills with paddle bits
(3) Electrical plyers
(2) Wire strippers
(2) Multi-meters/polarity checkers
(2) Screw guns
(4) Hammers
(2) Measuring tapes
(4) Toolbelts

Drywall Teams (Three Teams: Tony Greathouse and Gerald Carroll as leads)
TBD
(4) Toolbelts
(1) 4' T-square
(4) Utility knives

Food/Storehouse Team (Linda Winship as lead)
(1) Nothing

---

Help me finish this list!
OK, a few quick observations: everybody who is going to be doing any construction type work should plan on having a toolbelt. I can get a couple of belts from people in the church that have offered, but you'll have to let me know if you need them. Your toolbelt should include a hammer, pencil and measuring tape. Second observation, I need lots of help finalizing the list for the Drywall teams. Can anybody step up (Tony?) and let me know what else. I will send more information about assembling the tool packages. A final thought: the airlines are very restrictive on weight and size of checked luggage. We will have to ensure that everything we bring down will fit in the 50lb and 104" linear inch (l + w + h) envelope. Some gear we will buy when we are down there (4' drywall t-squares to name one), please identify to me any other tools that would be restrictive.

Documenting our trip:
We talked a bit about this at our meeting last night, but I am planning on taking lots of pictures and shooting lots of video of our trip. My goal is not to create a documentary of our activities, but to have enough to let the church know what we did. I hope you are not camera shy - I will be pretty liberal with shutter (digital photography is cheap after you buy the camera).

Next Meeting:
We need to get together one final time to assemble our tool packages. I would like to do this the Saturday before Easter. Because we will be having a Saturday evening service (that would directly conflict with a 6pm meeting time), I would like to meet before church at Alvey -- those that want to stay for church would be welcome to. Please let me know if this time does not work for you, I am going to work toward this timing if I don't hear negative feedback.

Get EXCITED, but stay FLEXIBLE:
The trip is nearly here. Its going to be fun, challenging and exciting to see how God is going to work through us. Please be praying for the trip, our unity as a group and safety in the work. We don't know exactly how things are going to work out, so please stay flexible. Let's be open to do what ever needs getting done and do it well.

Please email me with any comments or questions (or post them on this page).

Review the Handout

I wanted to post an electronic copy of the handout that we used at our March 19th organizational meeting. Even if you were at the meeting, please take a quick look to review what was in the handout. I believe all of the information is current.

Old News - Raise Support

Its been some time since I've posted anything - my apologies.

I sent an email out to everybody some time ago about raising support money for the trip. I know that some folks are OK with paying outright for the trip along with sacrificing the time and effort to make the trip. Some of you, however, might appreciate some defrayment of the costs.

I put together a sample letter that you can use to send to friends and family in order to raise support for the trip. I've been meaning to post it for some time as a reminder to people. The spelling mistakes that were in the original have been corrected. Its in MS Word format; if that is a problem for anybody, let me know I can email you the text directly.