Blessed Friday for sure

The day started off with a bang -- I'm taking the dogs for a quick walk when one of our camper neighbor ladies approaches me. With her face looking downward she begins the conversation with an apology for coming to me. She then proceeds to explain that she and her husband had their car stolen just prior to the storm. At the time of the storm they were renters and lost everything, including their apartment. They purchased a very old and very small camper and relocated here so her husband could be closer to his work as a fisherman. He leaves every morning between 3 and 4 am and doesn't return until around 7pm each evening. All that time she is inside the camper, no transportation and no company. She asked about the free food give away at Pastor Bob's church each Friday morning and what she needed to do to qualify. I explained that it was totally free, no strings - but she would need transportation. I finally asked outright if they needed help and she broke down crying telling me they were down to their last jar of peanut butter and she didn't know what to do. I tried to reassure her things would be fine and I would see what I could do. She smiled and talked of helping us with rebuilding, of joining with a team if we could take her. I agreed and said I would get back with her later.

As I got back and told Monty we decided to make some things happen. We had a short meeting with our nearly 50 volunteers about Friday being clean up day and a reminder of the house blessing later in the day. All were excited and ready to get to their final day.

Monty and I then headed to Walmart and within the hour we were back to our neighbor with a truck bed full of food! When we pulled up she truly fell apart in shock and thanks. We had a few things that needed refrigerated and she then showed us that they had pawned the refrigerator in the camper so her husband could have money for gas to get back and forth to work. Monty took a trip to the local station, grabbed a bag of ice and she was able to put those things in a cooler. She is so excited about going to Pastor Bob's and helping hand out food and hopefully helping us out with volunteering.

There was another side note to her story. She told us she had read the only book she had - twice! Monty chose "The Shack" to replace that book. It's definitely one she can read over a few times and she was amazed.

The point -- you just never know when God is going to place someone literally directly in your path -- challenge you to help --and show you the exact way to help! We were honored to be the vessels He chose to work through!

All our teams were going full steam ahead, finishing what they could do and cleaning up at the end of the afternoon.

The house blessing for Mariano and Maria and family was a packed porch - you can see in the photo. Good thing we built is as big as we did!

It was great to see the Methodist team there in their new orange team shirts. The even gave one to Billie and Mel as you can see. The Presbytarian's were in their bright blue shirts and the Boat People came in their navy ones! All God's people coming together creating their own rainbow of colors!

The blessing was great as we thought about when we first met them and how we all had become family. Some joked that Monty and I would now have to learn to knock on the door before entering! Everyone enjoyed the tour of the home and all agreed that it is beautiful! Monty even managed to capture a rare moment with Mariano smiling! The children translated into Spanish for Maria and she held up well until one of the teams presented her with a prayer shawl from their church and that did it - the tears of joy came streaming down her face -- and the faces of many, many of those watching!

The day sped by -- and in the middle of it we welcomed a new team! They are painting the inside and outside of a home in Hitchcock. They will be here through tomorrow and hopefully I can have some photos of them. They are from the same church that was here a few weeks ago ---the team that gutted Ms Verlis home in Hitchcock! It's great to have them back again!

An amazing day! A day filled with joy, with love and also a bit of sadness as we said goodbye to so many teams, so many folks who did such amazing work -- all for the Lord -- all week long! Our sincere thanks to all of them! They changed hearts, homes and most of all lives!!!!

Until next time . . . be blessed and bless someone else! Susan and Monty

The "urge" of Thursday

Today -- plenty of photos from all the jobs!

Thursdays are the day when the teams are all working well together and also the day when it dawns on them that tomorrow is their last day and it's an all out push to "get it done." All jobs are rolling so smooth it's amazing. And one of the things Monty and I must also get in our own heads -- these teams cannot stay! We get used to them, they are getting so much done and we are getting to know them all - and then we have to say goodbye!

Mariano and Maria's is 98% complete with the team putting on the final finishing touches that are making a powerful difference. Both Mariano and Maria are working inside along with the kids. Curtains are going up, pictures on the walls, you name it and it's happening. All in preparation for the official house blessing tomorrow afternoon!

Art's house is nearly complete with doors and trim and he's already preparing for the final thing - kitchen cabinets. His house blessing won't be far off at all.

Martha and Steven are thrilled with their new ceiling fans - Martha making note that each has 5 blades instead of 4 and the difference that makes. Their walls and ceilings shine like glass and have transformed the very tiny house into a home already.

Logan and Janey have people installing the plastic vapor barrier underneath the trailer and the kitchen inside is nearly complete, just awaiting the counter tops to arrive. Painting is being done in all directions and smiles are everywhere.

Robert's counter tops are being installed and nearly complete. His painting is nearly done and each room is beautiful. He stops me each time he passes in his work truck - just to say thank you and brighten my day with that smile.

George and Hsilda are also nearly completely painted inside and the deck is going up outside. Even the little kids are smiling as they see their house come together.

And last but not least is Billie and Mel. The Baltimore team is working on top of the house - literally trying to put up a tarp to keep the water from leaking inside until we can get the new roof on. They are working in the kitchen cleaning and cleaning and boxing up items so we will be able to move around with the rebuilding. It's amazing to see how the house is drying out just over the past couple of days! They filled yet another dumpster today with all their progress! Billie and Mel are thrilled to be able to start to see a light at the end of the tunnel and realize that it is NOT an oncoming train!

With each orientation Monty and I stress and stress and stress that this disaster recovery is NOT about production -- it's ALL about ministry! This week has been a perfect example of that ministry at its finest. We see the faces of homeowners change -- literally take on a different look from the first of the week to the last! Frowns turn to smiles. Hopelessness changes to hope. The feelings of intense loss change to feelings of being loved! Lives changed - both the homeowners and the volunteers! How blessed we are to see it happen each week!

Until next time . . . bless someone else - change lives! Susan and Monty

A BIG "Hump" Day

Sorry for not having more photos but it just didn't happen today. Hopefully tomorrow!

We kiddingly refer to Wednesdays as "hump day" because the teams have worked through the intial "how do we do this" to running on all cylinders and working like a well oiled machine. They were all doing exactly that today.

Mariano and Maria are getting very excited about their House Blessing that is set for Friday at 4:30. The team is doing all sorts of last minute touchups and cleaning. The smile on Maria's face is contagious!

Art has all his doors hung and his shower door installed. His trim is going up and the team was literally waiting for paint to dry at noon so they called and we relocated them to Logan and Janey's where they are cleaning out underneath their mobile home, securing the insulation and installing plastic for a vapor barrier. I think they enjoyed the inside of Art's home a bit more than the underneath of the trailer but they are troopers and doing fantastic!

Martha and Steven's walls are absolutely beautiful! They have one coat of polyurethane on them and are planning on a second tomorrow. We have had perfect drying weather for this project and the team is thrilled. More ceiling fans were being installed also so they will really be set for a cool breeze now.

Logan and Janey's entire house continues to transform. It's quite different with this home though since we have gutted and are rebuilding only one half at a time. It's almost impossible to imagine seeing one side beautiful and the other side not even gutted out yet! We do what we can do accomodate the homeowner and make them as comfortable as can be during the entire process.

Mel and Billie's place is nothing short of astonishing! The team has managed to start working their way through the inside of the home with cleaning and cleaning and then more cleaning! They are planning on tackling the kitchen area tomorrow. Monty and I will then be assessing the entire home and start on the rebuilding process. The new roof is priority since it is raining inside their home. The team will reinstall a temporary tarp over the hole in the roof until we can get it redone. What troopers they have been --- angels for sure!

Robert's home now has all it's doors and door hardware and the kitchen counter tops were going in this afternoon. The HVAC will hopefully start soon and then we will be down to installing the flooring only! He also has a smile that cannot be removed from his face!

Hsilda and George continue to be amazed at the progress in their home. The archway is ready for priming and painting along with the rest of the home. The bedroom closets are complete and the final 3 doors were going in today! George will be shooting the texture on the ceiling areas tonight so the team can also prime and paint them.

I also visited with a new client late this afternoon. Tracy also lives in a mobile home that has water pouring in from all the windows and therefore the mold is quite toxic and quite the mess. I went to do an evaluation to see how we will go about starting this project. Thankfully Tracy is living in a FEMA trailer so it will help us be able to work a bit more freely. She is both hopeless and excited and ready to get the process started. Now all we need is to secure the funding . . .

Seems like alot going on, doesn't it! You should be here and try to keep up with it all. Having 7 different rebuilding projects happening in a week is really something! As small as San Leon is they are all in very close proximity and it's a good thing. Between us checking on all of them and Chester and Pat from the PDA camp we are having a blast!

Be sure and stay tuned as the week starts to wind down tomorrow the teams will step it up a knotch trying to get it "done" - whatever it is they are working on.

Until next time . . . be blessed and bless someone else! Susan and Monty

Can't keep up

They pushed. they pulled, some were cramped into closets to get the work done, others were outside in the sunshine, others were staining walls and ceilings while others were patching walls and ceilings and some more were framing closets.

And still others were hanging doors, installing trim, painting and repainting, laying tile floors and then grouting that floor.

And more were cleaning debris, bringing down trees (carefully), putting insulation under a mobile home, installing a shower door and/or anything else you might think of.

Amazing, inspiring and blessing --- all wrapped up in a fantastic day called Tuesday.

Art is smiling and ready to use his new shower, Martha is still in shock at how nice her walls look, Hsilda loves the new color going in her home, Janey is seeing half of her home transform, Mariano is nearly complete, Robert is getting new counter tops and Billie is seeing her yard for the first time in who knows how long.

Each team is working together like a well oiled machine - a machine built by God Himself. Each homeowner is feeling the blessings that pour from each team member. The neighbors are watching and being blessed just by watching.

Monty and I do what we can to keep up with questions and supplying materials. We actually made it to all the homes today, some even twice! Wonders never cease!

And in the meantime we plan for an incoming team this weekend and for next weeks team. Not to mention needing to go and look at 2 new homes and add them to our list! We have an appointment with a 3rd tomorrow.

It's exciting, amazing and wonderful to see all the changes and all the progress. It's even more amazing and wonderul . . .

OOPPSS ---- CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Had to take a quick break --- you know how you hear tires screeching and wait for the BOOM -- the boom hit just outside our trailer!

Yes, one man's evening just took a nasty turn -- he chose to drink and then drink a ton more and then get behind the wheel -- and met up with the telephone pole in a quite nasty crash!

It didn't take 5 seconds for the police to realize this is the same man that had the same accident just 3 nights ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This time he won't be getting behind another wheel!

Anyway . . . until next time . . . be blessed and be careful! Susan and Monty

Nearly 50 Strong

Morning orientation had nearly 50, I lost count, and then later in the day even more came in. I still don't have an exact count and it really doesn't matter. They all joined in together and are rotating between homes depending on their skills. Each home I visited I found more and more. Don't need names - they are just plain awesome!

Once again we have a combination of Methodist from Baltimore and Presbytarian from all over the place, Arizona and Oregon just to name a couple.

Our Baltimore team is starting a new job -- cleanup of Mel and Billie's place in preparation for some rebuilding to come. The dumpster arrived and was full before the afternoon was finished. They came in and when they got started they didn't quit. They even managed to bring down a quite large tree that was in danger of falling on their home! I am guessing that all of them will sleep very sound tonight!

The Presbytarians are spread between 6 different homes. Yes -- doing the math shows that we are running 7 homes this week - I did meet myself coming and going already today! I didn't look bad for a Monday! :)

The homeowners being blessed this week are: Steven and Martha, Mariano and Maria, Art, George and Hsilda, Robert and Janey and Logan. You name it and it's going on. All the way from cleaning out and reinsulating the underneath of Janey and Logan's mobile home to putting the last and final touches on Mariano and Maria's home.

YES -- you read correctly -- THIS Friday at 4:30pm we will be having the official House Blessing for Mariano and Maria's house!!! Praise the Lord! The team is tiling the bedroom floor and touching up last minute things in preparation for the celebration! If you are a team member that worked on their home -- we thank you! We are in the final stretch and it's looking great! All are excited and each team member here this week will be attending the Blessing!

What a week we have in store for us! The homeowners are thrilled and blessed and some nearly speechless! Another week of God's hands and feet in visible action!

A note about the top photo -- Jimmy from Iowa with his newly decorated stilts! Each tool we have for our disaster recovery is to be painted hot pink in order to keep them coming back to us for the next weeks use. When Jimmy left a day early last week and left his stilts we just couldn't resist "marking" them for him! Love ya Jimmy -- you are awesome and we miss you already! I always knew you would look good in pink!

Until next time . . . just try and keep up with this week! Susan and Monty

And they're all gone - for now

It's amazing that today is already Friday!

Last night the "winds of change" blew through with a vengence and dropped massive amounts of rain with winds in excess of 50 mph but all were up and on the jobs this morning. All except our PDA team from Pennsylvania who had to head home yesterday. You can see them in the above photo. We were blessed to have them here and so were the homeowners who received the results of their love and service.

Today all 4 homes continued transforming. Iowa finished the gutting and cleaning of David's kitchen and family room. This team is the "queen of clean" -- just what David needed. They found canned food in his cabinets that had expired in 1995 -- the results of living alone and being 98 years old! David had surgery on his leg to remove the blood clots, was dismissed and went to stay with his son for some healing time. The team was awesome and David is thrilled with the changes already and the rebuilding hasn't even started.

The other half of Iowa continued working in Logan and Jayne's house. Her bedroom walls are now complete, the bath flooring and vanities are in and the kitchen cabinets are installed. Next week we will continue with further gutting of the other half of the home and start rebuilding it. We will also be reinstalling the insulation underneath the mobile home and putting the protective plastic over it all.

The work continued on both Hsilda and Robert's homes. Robert is nearly all painted and most of the trim work is in. The team purchased a nice bath cabinet to replace the old rather delapidated one that was in there. Lights are hanging, ceiling fans are in and smoke detectors are installed. Hsilda's new archway is nearly all finished and ready for priming and painting. Next week we will be framing in closets in the bedrooms and continuing the inside work while also finishing their deck and railing.

We also have some wonderful news --- the power company came and turned on the power!!!!! Our prayers are answered!!!! Next week we will install the ceramic tile in the last room, add the trim and be doing a House Blessing toward the end of the week! They are so excited and I feel like it's my own home that is ready!!!! Thank you Lord!!!

A quick stop to Martha and Steven was also on todays schedule. We needed to let them know a team will be coming in next week to start refinishing their wooden walls and ceilings. Martha was thrilled and sent us out with an amazing hug of thankfulness!

We've had one of the busiest weeks in a long time and it's been one of the most productive also. Next weeks schedule is even busier -- 40 some volunteers divided into 7 teams working in 7 different homes! If I don't be careful I am certain I will meet myself coming and going between all of them!

Our sincere thanks to all the teams from this week! It is especially difficult for Monty and I to say goodbye to our Iowa family! They treated us to dinner last night and it felt so good to laugh and be loved! We will miss them more than they know but also know that they will be back. We are working on getting Mike to return to build and install some cabinets in Art's house in a couple of weeks!!!!

Thanks to all of you who keep us in your prayers. Those prayers keep us standing upright and going forward.

If you need some specifics to pray for -- our camper trailer has sprung a couple three leaks and when Monty looked at the roof this evening it isn't good news! Repairing these roofs is more than difficult so we will need to make a trip to the local RV shop and get some further info. In the meantime we could use some extended time without rain!

We hope all of you have a great weekend and will rejoin us next week when God will once again be sending blessings out throughout the community of San Leon!

Until then . . . be blessed and bless someone else! Susan and Monty

Cranking on all cylinders

Robert's deck is going up (the job being run by one of the women -- yea!!), his doors and nearly all installed, the painting inside is transforming the entire house and the trim is following right behind it all. Robert even surprised the team with home made tamales for lunch! Quite the hit they were!

Hsilda's now has a new opening in her home that has doubled the size of her dining room - complete with the arch! The new bedroom is looking good and her light fixtures are also going in.

Logan and Jayne's sheetrock is finished and priming and painting are beginning. After a trip to Lowes the window and door casing, the floor trim and the chair railing are all inside ready for whoever and whenever.

David's ceilings are now down, along with all the nasty blown in insulation. The team was all decked out in long sleeves today to try and avoid the itching that comes with the job. They are also working on the counter tops and cabinets and ready to start transforming them tomorrow.

Material was flying, everyone knowing what needs to be done and getting the hang of how to do it -- a typical Wednesday in the life of a one week volunteer team. Some members have just arrived and some were leaving at the end of today. It's a constant revolving door of amazing hearts of service.

The miracle of seeing hearts and lives changed -- in both the homeowners and the volunteers. I know God is smiling!

Two more days to go and who knows what God has in store?!

Until next time . . . be blessed and be a blessing! Susan and Monty

Terrific Tuesday

Some got good rest last night, others worked a bit late - but they all returned raring to go this morning!

Our day started with devotions in the park with our Iowa team. We were both surprised and pleased when they told us one of the things they enjoyed the most were our early morning devotions! We aim to please and what better way to start the day! Even if we were huddled on the side of the restroom building to stay out of the wind! Yes, the temps took a dive but by afternoon the sun was out and all were very happy to be working in the south!

Iowa headed off to Logan and Jayne's and David's. Both dug in right away as Tuesdays are the day where everyone knows what to expect and is ready to do what needs to be done to get the job done. With David being in Texas City we headed there first - after a stop at Lowes, of course! This part of the team were busy cleaning and regrouting his kitchen counters that are made of ceramic tiles. They were also sanding the cabinets in preparation for restaining them. The biggest job ahead of them was to begin tearing out the ceilings - knowing there was blown in insulation behind them -- the absolute worst kind. With masks on their faces and plastic up to barricade other rooms from the dust they started in. It's a messy job beyond description but they were hard at it. We did find out that David was headed to the hospital to be admitted for the care of blood clots in his leg. He wasn't ready to go as he was thoroughly enjoying visiting with all the volunteers and knew things would happen with him gone. Monty prayed with him before we left and we hope he'll only be gone a couple of days. You might want to pray for him also -- remember that he's 98 years "young."

Our PDA teams from both TX and PA were also off and running. They returned to Hsilda's home where they were finishing the new bedroom, opening up a new wall to expand the dining area and working on some electrical that went with opening that wall. They sort of looked like organized ants -- everywhere doing everything!

The rest of the team went back to Robert's where they were painting walls, also working on electrical with the replacing of plugs and switches, installing doors and trim. The two women you see in the above photo were the "women of the day." They have spent the past 2 days inside 1 bathroom trying to get it clean. They mastered the shower and tub and thought the vanity counter top was going to be replaced with a new one. I broke the news that we were going to use the existing one and they started in cleaning what appeared to be the impossible. When we returned in the afternoon is was amazing -- looked like a new one! As I said -- our "Women of the Day" for sure. They promised me they would be working in another room tomorrow! :)

Robert left work to come by and see how everything is going and was so blown away that he was speechless! He looked this way and he looked that way and was amazed! He was nearly in tears when he returned to work as he wanted to stay and help but was having his own busy day and had to go back to work! His case manager also stopped by today and was equally pleased and in awe at the changes.

Our HVAC (heating and air) gentleman also came by both Robert's and Hsilda's today to give us an estimate. Al has done a couple of other homes for us and always does a remarkable job for a more than reasonable price so we are hoping for the same with both of these. This is a job that cannot be done with volunteers, it's just too extensive. We are so thankful to Al as he understands what we are doing and why and also shares our hearts.

Our day also ended at Lowes getting the last few things in preparation for all teams tomorrow. Sometimes when we go in there with 4 families or more - trying to keep all things straight can be quite the juggling job. We now have counter tops and a kitchen sink coming to Robert's on Friday in preparation for another team to install. Friday will be the last day for these teams and God will supply just who we need just when we need them so we wait and know in faith that His timing is always perfect!

Until next time . . . be blessed to be a blessing to someone else! Susan and Monty

Surprise and Wet Monday

You can see by the photos we have quite the number of volunteers this week! And early this morning we received the phone call saying we had one more team than we had planned on!!! It's those kind of calls that could send one over the edge unless you have run as many teams as we have over the years. :) Just send them on with the others and we'll take it from there.

The Presbytarians came with 2 teams, one from here in Texas and one from Pennsylvania. We just combined them into one and it worked great.

Our other team is our family team from Iowa. It's always great to see them and they came in with enough enthusiasm for all of us and then some! Their chant while in the huddle was just great!

The rains came pouring while we were in orientation this morning and didn't stop the entire day! The water, the mud, more water and more mud -- our clothing is soaked but we had a great time.

We have started 4 new homes this week. What a start!

The PDA team is working on both Hsilda and Robert's houses. They are framing in a bedroom, sheetrocking, painting and anything in between.

Iowa is working on Jayne and Logan's and also David, our 98 year old. They are also sheetrocking, cleaning, gutting and yes, you can see Jimmy in one photo holding on to the pipe that got behind the sheetrock they were gutting and broke. Water outside and water inside! No problem -- a trip to Lowes and it was all fixed.

That trip to Lowes ended up in about 3 trips ( I think) as the day continued on way past 6pm this evening. Preparing for tomorrow - and we are now ready! Iowa was still working at 6pm but some were a bit tired around the edges! :)

All the homeowners are so excited that their "number" finally came up and they are getting help. With both teams totalling near 35 we are spread out enough to make an impact and get some good things done!

Be sure and stay tuned as it will be more than busy this week and I can see God smiling -- through the rain clouds of course!!

Until next time . . . be blessed to bless someone else! Susan and Monty