Goodbye Alabama

This morning was another of those where I find myself in tears! No matter how long we are in this effort and no matter how many teams we meet and work with, I will never get used to saying goodbye to them! It's just so hard as they have become family and we miss each and every one of them! We did hear from them and they are now home safe and sound! Thanks to all of you who came and made such a difference in the lives of those you helped and in ours!!!!!!!

We did manage to keep one of their own, Teresa! She stayed with her decision to stay for the next couple of weeks and we put her right to work. She, Diane and Stephen went to work in Stephen's house with drywall finishing, sanding, priming and painting. They will be returning there tomorrow.

Monty and I were busy running errands this morning and trying to get things accomplished. We took a key to Barbara's house over to Jake who is her HVAC man and will be hooking up some air conditioning, even if temporarily so we can get the flooring done. We went by her house to check the floors and the grouting looks great --- thanks Larry!!

I worked on getting a couple more houses for us to go and check out tomorrow morning. As I have said before, we always go and see the places to evaluate everything before we send teams in to work. We have 2 lined up for tomorrow morning. One of them was from a phone call. The lady left her home before the storm and went to Atlanta. She is just now returning and absolutely nothing has been done in the house. It flooded from the ceiling and possibly the floor, she isn't sure how much water though. All of her furniture is still inside and everything is covered with black mold. Sounds like a mess and probably just that and more. Please keep us in your prayers.

This evening we were able to bless another family with sheetrock. We had a work request from a lady living in a trailer. She needed some sheetrock and had requested furniture, linens and pretty much needed anything we could give. We met them and loaded their truck with the sheetrock. We then were able to bless them with some kitchen chairs and matching stools. We also had gathered some linens, towels and blankets to give to her. We loaded the sheetrock and followed them to her home. What a site --- and I forgot the camera ---but will definitely return so you all can see what we saw! She is living in her trailer with her children and 2 more family members. The insulation in the walls is completely exposed, one window is broken out in the back bedroom and she has flooring that is gone --- so gone you see the ground below! This isn't just a small area either! To say she needs help is an understatement! When we gave them the linens and such she burst into tears with gratefullness! And of course, so did I! Monty and I both looked at this visit as a renewal, God showing us how much help is still needed and a reassurance that we are doing what He would have us do! We will be returning this weekend to hopefully get some subflooring put in and to atleast get things started. She has family members who are trying to help, when they get off work and on the weekends but she needs more help than that! We thank God for placing us here and giving us the privilege of being the ones to help her ! Oh yes, did I mention she doesn't speak English??!! Thank you Lord!

THIS is exactly why we need volunteers, we have so much work to do and it just keeps coming in and we can't do this without you! I just don't know how to stress this enough! I know it's hot and humid here, I know you have lives and families of your own, I know it would cost some money to make the trip, I know you have bills of your own to pay, I know there are a thousand other reasons as to why you CAN'T come! But I beg of you to think of the one reason you CAN! In the Bible God COMMANDS us to help others, especially the widows and the fatherless. He doesn't ask us to do so IF we have the time or the resources, He commands it! Then He tells us that when we help the least of His children we are helping HIM! Just give it some thought, talk about it with your friends, neighbors and church families. See if you can spark some interest! Start something ---- start a rebuilding effort rolling and then get on board as the blessings will be returned to you over and over --- get ready for the ride of your life!

We thank you for doing what you can, for holding us up in your prayers and for making a difference in this world! We pray God's blessings on you and yours.

Until tomorrow ... we love you ... Susan and Monty