Good news day

WOW -- a day filled with good news.

First, our dear friends from home, Jeff and Karin are engaged! All I can say to both of you is "yeah, it's about time!" We love you both and are so glad God saw fit to bring the two of you together. Have a great time in Costa Rico! May God bless and keep you both!

Second, our new friends from North Carolina, the cooks "Don and Maryanne and daughter Kaity" are heading this way Thursday morning and might be stopping in to see us! We are really excited to see them. We pray blessings on their trip. Hey guys, just call us when you are close and we'll be sure and be here!

Monty, Diane and Stephen worked the entire day at Stephen's house. It looks as though Stephen just might have his room back to looking like a room again. Bless his heart as he and his parents work late into the night every night but it is paying off and things are improving day by day. He now has a door on his room and might just have paint on the walls tonight? We are anxious to get their house close to being done so Stephen can continue his volunteering in the homes of others for the rest of his college summer break.

I can't imagine what our teams would look like if one person from each home that has already been rebuilt would join us for a day or so, just to give back a small portion of what they received. Our teams would be bursting at the seams!

I went back to visit Julia this afternoon to see how she and her family are doing and see if they are ready for the next group of volunteers to come in Friday morning. Boy oh boy have they been busy! They managed to tear out all of the paneling and insulation in the kitchen and family room and take out the bar area in the kitchen! I left her with a list of things she needs to have to be ready for the next team and she was on her way! I think she was in a hurry because the central air in the house has quit working and she was a bit warm! :) She said to be sure and tell the "Sarge" hello! She has not been able to find Sarge's address so if you are reading this, please contact Julia and give her the contact info --- again!

They have actually been issuing heat warnings for here the past couple of days. About a week late for me but I understand them quite well now! I feel much better this evening and have been doing fine with solid foods. I just have no desire to return to the warehouse anytime soon!

As I mentioned last night, please keep our home church in your prayers as they leave early tomorrow morning for their mission trip to Costa Rico.

Also, a very special prayer request for Dane and his family. I spoke with him today and his contractors are behind schedule, as usual. But his wife's caretaker fell a couple of days ago and cut her head, requiring stitches. She also has not been able to recover from the disc injury to her back and will be undergoing back surgery tomorrow morning. Dane will be taking her to the hospital and as you can imagine, he is feeling a bit overwhelmed, again! Remember that his wife is totally bedridden with Alzheimers disease and requires full time care. This family has more than their share of burden, let alone the fact that he is trying to rebuild their home. Also remember that if you know of anyone who could come up with an elevator to donate for their home please comment at the end of the blog and let me know. If you remember, Dane's house was required to be elevated nearly 20' in the air after the hurricane, due to new flood codes in the city. Please keep this entire family in your prayers!

It's time for my evening to come to a close so until tomorrow.....we love you! Susan and Monty