Welcome to the world of gutting

Before I get into the day I would like for everyone to take a minute for prayer. As I write this there is breaking news that one of our deputy sheriffs was killed this evening. He was responding to a domestic dispute, opened the garage door at the residence and the man started firing his gun. The deputy was wearing a bullet proof vest but the bullet entered his side, over the vest and killed him. He was only 22 years old, on the force for less than a year and had just proposed to his girlfriend last night. The violence around this city is terrible and your prayers are greatly appreciated. It was a drug dealer as always. The gunman is hold up inside the house with his 5 year old and the grandmother held hostage. It could be a long night!

Now, for today. Once again the rains came, poured down, flooded streets in some places covering the front bumpers of trucks! But the work went on, the roof continued between heavy showers and two parts of our hometown team and part of the Angola, IN team learned what a gut out is. They were in two homes where they removed the sheetrock, insulation and everything else inside. They also found that pulling all the nails from the studs after the sheetrock is taken out is quite a rough job. Nails that have been under water for nearly a month and then left sitting have turned to rust and would rather break off than be pulled from the studs. As you can see from the photos, sometimes you go to great heights (literally) to get the job done! This team found their way through the walls and into the attic to do their job. Even the bus driver got into the act! Truth be known, guys and deconstruction just go together!

The Angola team also joined in when those who were working outside got rained out. The WA team continued working away in their homes except for one who came to help with the roofing. And a special note to Tim from PA -- Janice's house is coming along fine, the WA team has been in it all week! Thanks for asking.

This evening our team joined in a short chapel service before taking time among themselves to discuss the week. They will be leaving very early in the morning and we will be up to send them off. I can't tell you how difficult it will be to send a hometown team home! We know they will be going home different men, changed men, men who have learned what it means to serve, what it means to help, what it means to have their hearts touched through and through. We thank the families for sharing their loved ones with us this week! We have loved having them here and pray for their safe travel home.

For all the families, I am sending a CD of photos from the entire week with John, our Pastor's son. If you would like a copy please contact Pastor Dave and he will see that you receive one. There are about 250 photos on the CD and they all tell a story. I encourage you to get one and sit down with your son and talk about his experiences with him. Thank him for his service to others and love the man he is becoming.

Blessings to all and until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty

We fed the multitudes - and then some

Multitudes is an understatement! I don't know the count but I do know it was amazing! The food tent had a line that extended nearly across the entire property. The free clothing line got even longer than the food line! They ran out of men's clothing and somehow someone showed up with more. The games were literally swamped with children all day. I saw more groceries piled up than ever, thanks to Convoy of Hope's participation, over 5,000 bags! There were haircuts, men getting a shave, manicures and pedicures and alot of women with alot of smiles as they sat there enjoying the pampering. Even some of our football players got involved with the pampering of the women as you can see by the photos!! It was service from the heart like none other.

We also learned to be careful what you pray for as God IS listening! When we prayed for clouds to cover the intense heat of the sun we got just that. But we also got the absolute downpouring of rain that came with the clouds -- all day! It didn't dampen any spirits though. It only dampened clothing and made sliding in the grass and mud an added sport.

Seeing the looks on the faces of those who came for help, seeing them desperately looking at the clothing and praying that they would get something, hearing them talking, telling their stories, hearing the sadness and loss in their voices, it makes for a really emotional day! But at the same time it makes for an awesome day when you see how happy they are to be able to eat anything that was served and not cost them a dime. They enjoyed the main course dishes early and then the desserts came out. There were free frisbees flying everywhere and the music kept on going despite the rains.

The most touching was watching the people come into the prayer tent. Hearing the voices of those doing the praying and seeing the tears of relief on the faces of those being prayed for! God was moving in a mighty way all through the day.

Ciri and I were in the community services tent taking names of those still needing help with their homes. Those stories are also hard to hear but so healing for the homeowners to tell. We met a lady who is a single mother of three boys who lost her home to the winds and rains of the tornadoes that came through her area. She is south of the city. We will be sending part of our hometown football team in there tomorrow to start the gutting of the home. When I told her she burst into tears and so did her boys that were with her. She said she has been trying for over a year to get some help and found none --- until today!!! Like I said, God was moving!

This evening some of the teams went to the levy to watch the fireworks. As for Monty and I, we were a bit on the tired side and stayed here at home!

Tomorrow is the last day for our hometown team and they will be more than busy. Be sure and stay tuned for tomorrow's blog to see what all and where all they go.

Blessings and remember to thank God for the freedom we have celebrated today.

Until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty

It's a Double Night - All Faces for "Home"!!

One goes down -- and back up

The bus continued rolling, all around town today.

After this mornings devotions both of the teams from Indiana headed out to pass out flyers for tomorrows Feed the Multitudes. They did this for about an hour. They knocked on doors, walked up to people on the streets and got the opportunity to meet, greet, talk with and invite them to the park tomorrow. By the looks on all their faces they had a good time. Some of them even surprised themselves by how easy it was to talk with strangers.

From there they all headed to the park to help get things set up for tomorrow. They were unloading trailers, setting up chairs and anything else that needed done. They were done at lunch time, took a break to eat and then headed back to the jobs they were working on yesterday. The shed is now completely down, materials sorted through and the project pronounced "done" with satisfaction. The roof has tar paper over half of it and there are a couple of them who want to return tomorrow to work on getting it done before they leave Friday morning.

Just about the time the teams got shifted back to their jobs we received a phone call that one of the kids was down for the count. He had vomited last night and wasn't feeling well. We all knew the heat had gotten to him. He did get up and move around this morning but it was too much. The ladies took him to the local hospital, they gave him fluids and he was good to go. Brady was even at the volunteer rally this evening and doing very well. We did get word to our prayer chain at our home church and we are SO thankful to them for all their prayers.

This evening we all attended the rally for the volunteers working the park tomorrow. There was worship and praise, a video showing last years event and speakers talking about the plans for tomorrow. There were stations set up all over the church where the volunteers could choose the area they want to work in tomorrow. Some of them will be working security, complete with official shirts, some of them will be working in the kids area, others will be working with games, some are serving food, some wanted trash duty and one of them even wanted!!! to work in the prayer tent! Tyler decided this was where God was leading him. He admits that praying outloud with people is a bit scarey but he knows it's where he is supposed to be! Awesome!!!

Please keep all of these teams in your prayers. This heat is rough. We pray for clouds, without rain, tomorrow. Pray for their work tomorrow, pray that the Lord will lead the people to the park where they can receive all the free things prepared for them and where they just might meet the Lord for the first time in their lives!

Until then . . . Blessings to all. Susan and Monty

Hometown special

Yes, they came to conquer whatever we had for them and conquer they did!

All of these photos are of our hometown team, mostly football players. And they came in all sizes, thank goodness. They total 40 so we divided them into 2 teams.

One team had the task of "deconstructing" what had been a small garage at one time. They needed to salvage as much of the material as possible. They started from the top and worked their way down. At one point, when they thought it was torn apart enough, they tried the "let's all line up on one end and push it down" idea, which failed! A few more of the 2x4's needed to be removed, along with some of the plumbing pipes. They managed to finally get the thing down, within an inch of the back fence!!! Think God might have had His hand on the building when it fell?

The other half of the team had the task of removing the roof of a home. Sounds simple? Not when the temps are above 90 and the humidity is the same -- and--- the roof is black! But up the ladder they went (they had decided ahead of time that any players weighing in around 300 pounds were not the candidates for being on top of a roof) -- smart call! So some of the "smaller" ones got the roofing job. They started on half of it and worked until they were about to drop.

They very quickly realized that our mandatory water breaks every 20 minutes were for a good reason. There are a few of them who are a bit "pinker" than at the beginning of the day. There are quite a few of them who I am certain will sleep good tonight. Especially after the spaghetti dinner they all had! Even though their plates were running over with food, I think they had already used up all the calories before eating!

It was an amazing day! When Pastor Teresa showed up she was amazed that there were 40 football players staying in the church! They are great at cleaning up after themselves and actually on the quiet side (compared to some we have anyway)! They did have the opportunity to see quite a bit of the city as we traveled from one job to another. There were some very big eyes after their first trip through the city! Reality hit -- big time!

For Monty and I, having home here is priceless! We may not know them personally but that doesn't matter. They are a part of home and that does matter! Not to mention that our Pastor's son is among them and our daughter, son in law and grandson's backyard neighbors! We'll take whatever small pieces of home we can get!

Tomorrow they will be helping set up for "Feed the Multitudes" that will happen on the 4th. Be sure and stay tuned as the week is only getting started.

Not to slight our other two teams here (we total 68 volunteers), the WA team was divided between 3 homes doing sheetrock finishing, painting and trim. They also looked a bit wilted at the end of the day. Our Angola, Indiana team of youth were all at one home and with that many they were doing a bit of everything it's going to take to get the family back home again.

We thank all of the families for entrusting their loved ones with us for this week. God is going to touch them and return them to you changed people! Guaranteed!

Until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty

Hometown is HERE!!!

Yes, around 11pm they arrived, thus the late blog entry. We have been at the church with them helping get them settled and ready for tomorrow morning. All looked a bit tired and all agreed that it seemed like they had been on the bus for a week!

This team is quite a combination. The football coach from one of the local high schools combined with the Youth for Christ leader. Should make for an amazing week!

One of the leaders with the group is the backyard neighbor of our daughter and son in law and our grandson. It was so good to see someone we knew and someone who can tell us all about our grandson. It also makes it harder realizing what we miss by not being home and watching him grow up!

This day was pretty full, in fact, as I sit here after midnight I am wondering where the day went? Church was great this morning and the house was packed for the meal afterwards. By the time we got home we had a couple of things to do to prepare for the team coming. We did manage to get an hour of rest before eating a sandwich and then off to Pastor Teresa's house for a church leadership meeting. That meeting lasted until time to go to the church and wait for the team to arrive. Like I said, where did the day go??

I cannot tell you just how great it is to see hometown folks. Even if we don't recognize them or really know them, they are home and that ministers to Monty and I more than you can know! There are times when I miss home so much it hurts physically. But we know God has us here to be obedient to Him and follow Him. It is a blessing beyond measure to be here but we also miss home. Don't know if that makes much sense but like I said, it is after midnight!! :)

Be sure and stay tuned this week as it will be incredible. Two hometown teams here, Joel's and ours -- and it's a holiday week! God has something very special for each person here and you won't want to miss anything. We promise to get as many photos on as possible. If you have a comment for anyone on the teams please comment at the end of the blog and I will be happy to relay it to them. Just know that neither I nor they can comment back to you!

Until tomorrow . . . thanks for sharing your families with us! Susan and Monty

Welcome Washington and Indiana

Today was one of those days where I sit back and wonder where each hour went? Time seems to get away, even on weekends.

There were the usual couple of errands for a weekend and then the day was just gone.

This evening we did take a trip across town, way across town, and went to the Vineyard Church. Our home church is a Vineyard and until I went inside this one tonight I didn't realize just how much I missed it. This one was very large! Ours at home isn't so large. But the feeling was the same, just minus the family we have back home. This Vineyard also runs a disaster relief station, Mercy Response. We met one of the women who does the cooking for their teams and she talked about how they are venturing into the rebuilding phase come this fall. Their teams continue to come and therefore families continue to be blessed. God at work, no matter what the label above the door says. One Body! It's what we have preached since we arrived long ago!

By the time we returned this evening two of our incoming teams had arrived. Northern Indiana, Joel and Jessica's hometown church, and the state of Washington are here. They total 25 and are raring to go. The Indiana team is mostly youth and Washington are skilled workers. They will be staying here at New Orleans East Church with us for the wee.

By tomorrow evening we will be greeting our own hometown team, most of them football players from Bloomington South High School. There will be 42 of them so you do the math and will quickly realize it will be an awesome week. They will be staying at St Luke church. We are also praying that whatever has caused the power outage in that area will be corrected by tomorrow morning so we can worship in less than 100 degree heat and the team can sleep in air conditioning! You might want to join us in that prayer!

We pray all of you will be in your home church tomorrow, worshiping and praising God for the many blessings you have. Number one being a safe, clean and dry roof over your heads and a soft bed to sleep in. Remember, you don't know how much you take something for granted until you don't have it any more!

Until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty

So long Michigan

Yes, they made their scheduled time of departure. The entire team came down in a huge bus and they had a timeline to meet. They would be changing drivers at a specified location and set time and they should have made it with no problems.

I don't know if all 54 are in the photo but if not, it's close. There was alot of last minute details going on at the same time. Some were busy cleaning the sanctuary because they had been sleeping there. Others were upstairs cleaning where they had been and still others were cleaning the kitchen and cafe area. It's up to the teams to clean before they leave and the more team members there are the more cleaning needs done. They all did a great job and the place is not only ready for church on Sunday morning it is ready for the next team of 42 coming in Sunday night (our hometown team).

This morning we also bid farewell to our PA team. They did join us for devotion where we could repeatedly sing Happy Birthday to Dave as today was his 55th!! Ooops! Was that supposed to be public knowledge?

We pray for safe travel for both teams. They were all such wonderful blessings to the people here and to us. Seeing their smiling faces and hearts of service are always uplifting to us!

Until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty

Testimonies

Remember the story of the house where the woman made dolls? This face is one of them, found on the floor and carefully, very carefully, placed for this photo. Also remember that if you click on the photo it will enlarge for you.

If you look VERY intently maybe you can see the woman in the pink dress and brown hat that covers the baby's nose?

Just another of those things that become lost and destroyed in the storm. The son who worked along side us in the house shared how he had carefully saved as many of the faces as possible and had no idea the extent of the doll building that his mother did.

That same man came to church this evening. On Thursday nights we have a special worship service with praise and worship music and a time where people, anyone, can share their testimony. There is such power in ones' testimony, ones' story of their life. Tonight was really powerful! I lost count of how many people spoke out about how their life had been and how God had changed them and everything around them. Each story was different but yet the same. All of us have different lives but all of us are loved by God and when He steps in and changes us the praise and glory rings true with each person. They are unable to completely express how they feel and it's as though you can literally see their heart on the outside of their bodies! The church was filled with the presence of the Lord! We even opened the windows of the church so the people walking or driving down the streets could hear the music!

Early tomorrow we will bid farewell to our 12 from PA and around noon another farewell to the team from MI. We ask God to protect them as they travel, to cover them, to lift them up and to reinforce the love and blessings that they brought with them back to them one hundred fold.

Until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty

Cough, cough, cough

Yes, once again the teams were busy mudding and gutting. The top photos show where some of them were. The white "spots" on the one photo are dust in the air.

Monty worked with some of them today and had a story of a smell of a different kind. We all know that THE cardinal rule here is to NEVER move the refrigerator in a home. Everything is still inside and after 22 months you cannot imagine the smell! If it "drips" out on your shoes, you will need to literally throw away your shoes. Well, today entered another "smell" that nearly brought up lunches. It seems the homeowner made dolls. There were some plastic containers, with lids on, that held what used to be human hair for the dolls. Mark happened to pick up one and spill it in the process. Monty says he can still smell it tonight! Even the masks can't block things like that. That is the reason we suggest smearing Vicks Vapo Rub underneath your nose before putting on the mask. It can save your lunch!

They did get the work done and the homeowner was so happy.

Michigan continues on Janice's house and it is really coming together. They are also learning more than they probably wanted to know about finishing sheetrock. Part of the team went to another location today. One of our church members is getting closer to being back in her home except it is such a mess no one could work safely. Part of the team went over and got a good start on things. Tomorrow they plan on renting a floor cleaner to hopefully save her hardwood flooring.

This evening was our weekly dinner meeting at Pastor Teresa's house. She always has a good message for all of us and it's fun to get together with everyone and sing and laugh and share God's word.

I am struggling with some kind of really nasty cough that I can't seem to get rid of. I took today to work here at home and get a few things done along with getting some extra rest. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated as this thing is really rough on me. Thank you.

I would also ask for prayers for Pastor Teresa's sister who is battling cancer and the treatments for it. She has young children at home and could really use our prayers.

Thank you for keeping up with God's miracles here on the coast!

Until tomorrow . . . Susan and Monty