OUCH!

Have you ever seen such a "beauty"???? We found a park with a couple of ponds (a good place to get away for awhile) and this lovely creature pretty much rules the ponds! He has a lady friend also and she isn't any better looking!?

The other photo is Monty and Tim loading the forklift onto the back of a trailer getting ready to take it to the clothing give away I talked about yesterday. They used the forklift to unload the boxes and boxes and boxes of clothes from the truck into the church. (Monty is the one in the red shirt). They returned the lift this morning and just in time as we are expecting another semi of drywall here tomorrow before noon. This one is coming from somewhere in northern Mississippi. If any of you know of any drywall companies who you think might agree to donate some, please contact them and "plant the seed". The need is just getting started and there will NOT be enough to meet the need. We thank you ahead of time for anything you might be able to do.

There is something I need to mention on this site. We absolutely LOVE the comments people send to us. BUT---we cannot comment back through this site. Believe me, we are not ignoring you, we just cannot comment back.We were happy to have our volunteer, Scott, with us today. He will be with us for the next 3weeks and will surely learn alot about alot before he leaves. We took him with us to breakfast this morning, Waffle House, of course. He then helped Monty inside the sanctuary. They removed 2 stained glass walls and will be drywalling them in. The paint color has also been chosen for the sanctuary and the painter should be painting Monday morning.

Monty and I were invited to lunch with Fory and Cindi, the heads of Convoy of Hope. If you wonder what that organization is please look them up at www.convoyofhope.org and you can learn all about them. It was a meeting filled with information and it was so nice to meet them and we look forward to working very closely with them. They are such a blessing all along the coast and really have a heart for helping the people.

Monty and Scott went to a resident's house located on the coastline this afternoon. We had some pretty heavy winds going all day and she was extremely worried about her house. It is still in the decision process as to whether it will be demolished or she will rebuild. In the meantime, part of the roof had been covered but the wind had knocked some of that covering loose. They went over to replace it and do what they could. (this is where the title of today comes from---Monty stepped on, an ran through his foot, a 16 penny rusty nail while there). Thus the ouch, along with the blood and bruising. This is why one must have a tetanus shot before coming down here! Sounds like the house will eventually be demolished but she just isn't mentally ready for that to happen. It also showed us what is to come. She was terrified of the impending weather warnings and high winds today! She was near panic and this is something that will no doubt come into play with the hurricane season fast approaching. We have no idea how the people really feel and what they have been through. We can hear the stories but we still have no idea. The fear is real and the fear is only beginning! We would ask that you keep the residents all along the coast in your prayers!

Tim, Sherry and I started painting some of the office rooms this afternoon. There are around 25 gallons of paint that was donated and we wanted to test the color and see how it would work, and it did! It's a nice neutral tan that should work well with any decor. It will go nicely with the tile that was also donated and will be used in those areas. I do believe it was the first time I have painted and not "worn" the color I was working with!

Although we did not have any rain today the humidity sure did get up there! It's amazing to have moisture all over the vehicles like it does---and have no rain! It is so warm this evening we have the windows of our trailer open. I have never spent a summer here but continually get warnings that they are really HOT!!!

We were happy to hear our neighbor ladies at home are feeling better. Frances was quite sick and she has no idea how much we have worried about her and prayed for her! You girls take care of yourselves and remember how much we love you both!

We went to take a look at one of the school teacher's homes this evening as we have some skilled construction workers coming down in a couple of weeks and Sharon's house needs some skilled workers. They not only lost almost everything inside their home, they lost 4 vehicles too! We are so pleased that this crew is coming down and plan to have them working in her house the entire week they are here! We pray God's blessing on them and on Sharon and her family. She is just the first of the teachers' homes we plan to concentrate on. These women do so much for the children and they have put their own needs on hold until others get back in their homes. It's time for them to take the front seat and get some work done on theirs!!!! So if you have construction skills, this is the place to be! Like I have said before, and will continue to say, if you come here and volunteer I guarantee it will be life-changing!

I need to go and get a couple of things ready for the group who should arrive any time now.
Until tomorrow (which is Sherry's birthday!)......
All our love, Susan and Monty