Day 2

The sun came out today, and the temperature got up to near 70 degrees - NOW we know why we came to work in January (reports of snow back home made us smile!).


We got up and moving early, and were on the road by 7:30 am. All of us made our way back to the volunteer center to pick up supplies for the work day. Then we were on to our sites. All of our groups are doing drywall, and all of us are at different stages. At the house where I am working, the drywall has all been installed, and our job has been taping and mudding - tomorrow it is sanding and more mudding. A big house with ten foot high ceilings, so we have a lot of work to do. The house we are working in St. Bernard Parish, and the homeowner said there was nearly eight feet of water in it for a couple weeks. He came back, but sent his wife and two kids to Alabama, where they still live. He has been living in a FEMA trailer for all this time, and is finally getting some assistance. He told me, "If it were just me, I would have no problem making decisions and following through with them. But with a wife and kids, wondering what is best for them, their schooling, the neighborhood, the uncertainty, I ask myself every day, 'Am I doing the right thing?'" And yet, he does it with a smile on his face - God bless Him!

I said earlier that we ALL made our way to the work sites - that is not true. Barb Luft is sick - a very bad case of "Type A Flu" - highly contagious, so has been moved to a trailer here at the church - please keep Barb in your prayers.

Another of our work crews has been working with a family that is a mother and young daughter, whose smile brightens the world. They are so thankful for the work being done, including a new door, replacing the sliding glass door that has had six inches of water in it since the storm. Tom Fisher and Gary Cook worked together to get her a new door, and handed her the keys at the end of the day - what a great gift to give and to receive.



The mother noticed that our group "prays a lot" - since she came home from the store and the group was in the middle of its devotions. She wanted to know what denomination of churches we belong to, and thought maybe she might get back to church!





The third group is working on remodeling a bathroom while getting the walls back up so that they can have handicap access. Some challenges have risen up, but Tom Michael and his wonderful gift of finding solutions to whatever comes up is on top of it. The family they work with have two adults who are deaf, which has caused some communication issues, but with patience and understanding and listening even when words are not shared, the work is coming along.

Today was Matt Jurrus' 29th birthday. We are thankful we were able to celebrate that with him today!

Tonight we participated again in the North Shore Ramblers - a group of musicians who get together once a week at the church to jam. They have been together for about 10 years, and when Katrina hit, their location to meet was gone, so they moved to the church. Whoever wants to join in can. Lowell Martindale, Bob Erckert and I joined in with guitars. The group takes turns going around the circle picking songs to sing. Together with some really wonderful stories told by one of the locals, we had a great two hours of songs.

Below is a song that we sang tonight by Jimmy Buffett. I am sure there is a sermon in here somewhere - its title is "Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On." Wow - a three point sermon - what pastor wouldn't love that.

And again, a slideshow of pictures from the past day or so are in a slideshow in the right section of this blog near the top. If you want to see larger versions of them, click on the slideshow, and it will take you to a website.

We await Steve Moyer's arrival soon - that will put us at 20. We miss you all, and lift you in our prayers. We are having a great time, and are laughing a lot!

Peace
Pastor Charlie
BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT, MOVE ON
I bought a cheap watch from the crazy man
Floating down Canal
It doesn't use numbers or moving hands
It always just says "now"

Now you may be thinking that I was had
But this watch is never wrong
And if I had trouble the warranty said:
Breathe in, breathe out, move on

(Chorus)
And it rained
It was nothing really new
And it blew
Seen all that before
And it poured
The earth began to strain
Pontchartrain leaking through the door, tides at war

If a hurricane doesn't leave you dead
It will make you strong
Don't try to explain it just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on

And it rained
It was nothing really new
And it blew
Seen all that before
And it poured
The earth began to strain
Pontchartrain buried the 9th ward to the 2nd floor

According to my watch, the time is now
The past is dead and gone
Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on

Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, Breathe Out, Move on....