Work Day #1

- by Carolynn

I’ve just read Ron’s entry above, and it seems to cover it all. However, I’ll add my own thoughts and hope I don’t put anyone to sleep.

After breakfast and devotions, we headed out on the flooded streets towards Uptown Station. After getting our assignments, tools, safety equipment, etc., we headed on over to Verna Mae Martin’s. Verna Mae is a lovely, petite woman in her 80’s who has lived in her home most of her life. She now resides in a FEMA trailer at the back of her property. There is some rebuilding going on in the neighborhood, but many homes (as in other areas) remain untouched.



Verna Mae’s daughter Gwen lives next door – and to our surprise and delight, provided a delicious lunch of sandwiches, southern fried chicken, chips, iced sodas, bottled water and a truckload of hospitality!

As Ron mentioned, the home we’re working on is a double shotgun, with a living room, dining room, kitchen, bath, bedroom and laundry room laid out front to back. I think we were all surprised by the progress we’d made at the end of workday #1. Much of the ceiling and exterior wall insulation has been installed, and the first two pieces of ceiling sheetrock are up, with the help of a sheetrock jack. However, as simple as that sounds, it looked like no easy task!

We have six vehicles filled with incredibly giving hearts and strong work ethics. We have a homeowner and her loving family who are SO appreciative of our being there. It doesn’t get much better.

At the end of the day, we had only one minor injury (a stapled thumb, but we were able to amputate without much trouble), but many are suffering sore muscles, aches and pains – yet there is joyful noise in the room.

We can smell dinner cooking. We’re tired… and joyful in God’s work.