This was a day that had every single hour packed full!
The morning started with a trip to the auto inspection shop -- I got stopped yesterday with one of the Mercy Response trucks -- the state inspection sticker had expired. He waived the ticket which I later learned would have cost $300 -- thank you Lord!
From there Mom, Cindy and I headed back to San Leon. Our first stop was to check on Margie and get measurements of her bedroom so we can remove the damaged ceiling and carpeting. She really enjoyed showing my mother her quilts, common ground!
We then headed to check some of the jobs. Hai's tongue 'n groove ceilings are absolutely beautiful with the new stain and poly! The team also helped her clean up her yard and will be relocated to another location for tomorrow -- Hai asked for a couple days rest before the next incoming team on Monday!
An and Tot's house is now all mudded in and ready for some subflooring repairs and plumbing issues to be resolved next week. Tot was very sad to see her team leave but reassured that we will be returning.
Richard's crew is working away on his back deck and all were thankful the forecast rains did not show up.
Dwight continued working with his team at their house and was thrilled to explain to my mom and Cindy just how it looked in the beginning and what an amazing blessing all the teams have been!
Butch and Teresa are making great strides in getting their house done. They will be preparing lunch for all the teams working in San Leon tomorrow!
The team tiling the Vineyard church in Galveston are making amazing progress. God always provides the talent we need just when we need it.
After checking teams we stopped to make contact with V Families, an agency that is also working in San Leon to provide counseling and hopefully jobs for all the fisherman who are out of work. We will be checking into their listing of homes needing construction repairs -- what a list -- over 75 homes! Pray for us as we work together to meet these seemingly insurmountable needs!
Our next stop was our first home visit, Mr. Henry! Henry is nicknamed "Barney" and is 88 years young! He still plays guitar and sings, said he used to sing with George Jones as a child and has made many a recording. He spotted my mother as soon as we walked in and wasn't going to let us leave until he sang a couple of songs to her! It was quite amazing and we thought for a minute we might be there the rest of the day -- what a facinating man! He has a shed in back that is filled with you name it and it hasn't been touched since the storm. We are sending a team there tomorrow to start the process of deciding what is trash and what isn't. The team will have fun, that's for sure!
After a quick bite of lunch we headed to our second home visit. William and Francis realize their home cannot be rebuilt -- it's just too damaged and unsound. They are living inside, along with the mold and mess, ceilings all leaking and causing further damage and floors that shake when we walked on them. They are in the process of asking for a FEMA trailer and are also appealing for additional funding so hopefully we can help demolish the home and they can purchase a mobile home and live in a home that is safe, sanitary and secure! It was quite the emotional visit, one that makes us realize just how much people need help! I know it's a visit my mother will never forget!
We barely made our time limit for mom and Cindy to catch a ride back to the camp with Diane to help prepare our dinner this evening. Phil met up with me and we went to do 3 estimates so I can gather the documentation and try for additional funding for each so we can go in and make repairs and rebuilds.
By the time I returned to camp it was time for dinner and then our nightly team leader meeting to see how everyone had done throughout the day. We did some shuffling and teams will be headed to Margie's and Henry's tomorrow morning along with the usual ones for this week.
It's been an amazing blessing to have my mother and sister in law here these past couple of days, to have them also experience the miracles God performs and to have them be a part of changing lives with just a small touch of love and kindness and caring. Tomorrow is their last day and I don't even want to think about how difficult it will be to return them to the airport on Friday morning!
In the meantime, we have jobs to check and new home visits to make tomorrow. I also hope to get them into Galveston so they can see what is going on there. Just might need a couple extra hours in the day to get everything in! :)
I would ask for prayers for my father tonight -- he has been plagued with skin cancers on his face for years and had yet another one removed from his forehead area today. This one was especially rough and he isn't feeling well -- and with my mother here it's a bit tougher for him. Thank you for praying for him!
Until tomorrow . . . be blessed. Susan and Monty
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