This has been quite the weekend!
Friday we sadly bid farewell to our PDA and UMCOR/NOMAD volunteers. They were all amazing and we will miss them but also realize they have families of their own to return to.
The above photos show the team that worked with Thresa and blessed her with the gift of her very own shopvac! They all just had way too much fun to call what they did "work."
Another photo shows Lawrence and Arnesha and their team at work replumbing the house! This has got to be one of the dirtiest jobs we do and this entire team jumped in (literally) and dug and piped and leveled and blasted concrete and dug some more! Amazing -- and for most of them this was their first mission trip to a disaster area!
I had to add the flowers as this is a kind of wild flower that is covering the roadsides and makes me smile as I spend my time on the roads from job to job! This patch is in our front yard area.
And then we came to Saturday! I had the dogs scheduled for their annual rabies shots. Never a fun time for them. This time they also were in need of a couple more updates, a total of 3 shots each, a blood test and some stuff up their noses! And to top it off -- the vet clipped their nails! To say they weren't happy is quite the understatement. It took all the afternoon and by the time we got home it was dinner time so we slipped out for a quick bite. By the time we returned Samson - our Chinese Crested Hairless - was in full blown reaction to the shots! He was swelled up all over with whelts and bumps and redness and tongue swelling and mouth twice its size along with itching and near insanity. I knew what was happening and within the hour we were at the ER for pets. An IV and a few more shots and a waiting time to make sure all was working and we were on our way back home -- as it's now bedtime! They told me I got him there just in time and I should have known to watch for this as it's happened once before! Today he's much better and needless to say we won't do multiple shots again!
But --- when I did get home I find Monty in the back yard with a flashlight and I see a camping tent? Who knows what he's up to! Come to find out this family from France was en route home via the Houston airport -- 2 days ago -- when the volcano made flights back to France impossible. They had spent one night trying to sleep at the airport and decided that was one too many. Since they had vacationed here by camping throughout California they decided to rent a car and head out looking for a campground -- in the dark! Monty and I are still wondering how in the world they made it here?? Only one answer -- God!!!!!! The camp owner/manager sent them to Monty saying "he will know what to do" and of course -- Mr Hospitality set them up right in our back yard where he knew they would be safe. :)
They got a great nights sleep and this morning we let them use a shower and bathroom where they could feel human again. We all then went to breakfast at our local Mexican restaurant where they got a real kick out of ordering and learning how to fill a tortilla! We took the above photos and promised to email them to them. We are also awaiting word as to whether they can fly out today or not. If they cannot we are going to make arrangements with the church in Houston that houses volunteers for us. They should be able to stay there until flights resume. Monty gave the daughter a cross necklace that was given to him by a group of Russians from Siberia who hand carve the crosses from a special tree that only grows there in Siberia. He could have given her a block of gold and it wouldn't have meant as much as that cross did!!!!! We really enjoyed visiting with them and thank God for directing them here to us! As Monty and I have said so many times -- in mission work these days -- the world comes to us!! Please pray for their safe travel home and that God will continue to guide them throughout their lives just as He did here in little San Leon RV Park!!!!!!!!!!!!
Later this afternoon we are heading to Galveston to visit with Tim and Jenn and see how they both are doing since his surgery to remove the brain tumor. When I spoke with Jenn yesterday she said he is doing well, tired but improving daily. Please continue to keep them in your prayers also.
Tomorrow morning we welcome more teams who are coming to do whatever it is God has for them. They will be continuing some of the jobs and starting a new one. Pray that God will provide divine appointments for them and the heart and strength to fulfill each appointment!
Until next time . . . look around and see the world coming to you! Susan and Monty
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