Thursday in Galveston

I haven't had many recent photos of Marie's house so today after the weekly case management meeting that had me in Galveston I headed off to her house to check in on the team. They are priming and painting and have transformed everything to the most beautiful, peaceful, lightest tint of green I think I have ever seen. As Ms Marie said "it's so pleasing to the eyes!" She picked it out and decided to take that color throughout the house. When it's all done she will be extra glad she did.

From there it was a quick bite of lunch with Diane and off to Lowes, once again. I am there every single day and have been able to build a wonderful relationship with the team at commercial sales. I had to get Hai's cabinets paid for so they could pull them from the shelves. We are purchasing the unfinished style right off the shelves and being in a disaster zone we aren't the only ones needing them so first come, first serve. They are oak and will only need a coat of olive oil and poly and will be beautiful. The counter top is a perfect match with the walls and what we hope will be the ceramic flooring. Getting all the material is one thing, getting it in our price range is an entirely different ballgame. Thank goodness Lowes has been able to give us some discounts and coupons!

Monty was in San Leon the entire day running from job to job checking on the teams. With him there all day it allowed me to get some other things accomplished. The plan had been to meet up with Richard and check out a couple of electrical issues at Hai's. That plan didn't work very well. With the humidity up and rain falling Richard was needing to be on his oxygen nearly all the time. He was even late getting to his house this morning which had more than me worried! Monty decided tomorrow might be a better day to tackle the problem.

Hai's house has the crown trim up in the living area and door and trim being painted. It has really come together this week with all the paint, starting to really look like a home.

Terri's ceramic tile is nearly all grouted and done. They should be done by tomorrow morning. Another transformation.

Butch and Teresa's team finished the texturing of their ceilings, a neck aching job but it looks great.

Richard's is done -- he and Peggy will be moving in tomorrow -- but not before we have a dedication ceremony where we will bless the house. When I called him today to make sure that would be okay he was really surprised and already very thankful. All the teams plan on touring all the different jobs tomorrow afternoon and then end up at Richard's for the ceremony. It's something we've always felt was an important part of disaster ministry. Be sure and stay tuned and hear/see how it goes.

Our newest long term volunteer, Marty, from Greenwood, Indiana has spent the past few days working and organizing the warehouse. He is building shelves and trying to make some better sense of our tools and things. He plans on being here for a couple of weeks, heading back home for a week and then returning for who knows how long! We are thrilled to have him and know God has many a blessing in store for him.

By late this afternoon the rains came, complete with thunder and lightning. Even though there is a severe drought I still don't care for the downpours of rain. But --- it does kick the pollen count down! Blessings in every cloud!

Until next time . . . be blessed. Susan and Monty