Help still needed

NOTE: To Pam --- yes, by this summer most of the tearouts in New Orleans will change to demolition and rebuilding. At this time we would need to have you hook up your RV at another church location other than where we will be. We just do not have the room, but all is always subject to change! YES!!!! bring a team when you come -- and of course, bring Cooper! Glad he is better. We miss all y'all somethin' awful!!!

Today was a day spent looking at more homes requesting help! Yes, they seem to be coming from the woodwork - still!

Our first stop was at Susan's house. Susan is one of those who still has not asked for help. We were given her name by a friend who is concerned about her. His concern was well founded! Susan still doesn't have her house torn out, there is still mold inside and we discovered that her entire home will need to be rewired before we can do any rebuilding. She and a friend are cleaning up her household things that were still strewn about the house. Mentally she just hasn't been able to go in and sort through things - too many emotions. She is having some difficulty but she is making progress and promises to have everything out by Monday morning when we will come in and finish the tear out process, spray for the mold, get an inspection and then look toward the future.

The next stop was at Marcus and Leanne's home. They were blessed with another church team of volunteers a few months ago that did get the sheetrock hung but didn't have the time to finish it out. They also had a couple of accidents where a foot went through the ceiling when they were putting a new roof on so those places will need redone. We also plan to start in there Monday morning.

The last stop was at Melvina's house. Diane was on the team of volunteers that tore out Melvina's house back in October of 2005 -- yes, nearly 18 months ago. Diane looked her up to see how she is coming along and although she has all her walls up and they are painted she is in need of doors and all the trim. She was so glad to see Diane as she had nearly given up on getting it completely done. We will also start in there on Tuesday morning, she works on Monday.

You might be asking how we can start all three of these homes next week? God is blessing us with a team of 150 (yes, you read correctly - 150) volunteers from the great state of Illinois! This is a school where the students are all highly skilled construction volunteers and they are planning on spending their spring break here blessing others rather than laying up drunk on some beach somewhere! What a wonderful thought! And along with that team we also have a team of 45 coming from California to do the exact same thing! Like I said -- we, and the people of the Gulf Coast, are blessed!

At this point in time we have 10 homes in the process of being rebuilt and it would be our hope to get each family in their home before we relocate to New Orleans at the end of April. That will NOT happen without the prayers of EVERY one of you who have been following along with our mission to rebuild homes through the rebuilding of lives! We ask that you intensify those prayers! We know that with God all things are possible! We see it and live it each and every day!

Until tomorrow . . . Keep those prayers going! Susan and Monty