This blog is going to be SHORT! It is 12:30 AM, Mississippi time, and most of the team is sleeping after an incredible last day of serving on our site in Saucier, MS. We had an AMAZING goodbye with our Habitat crew leaders, and it was hard to actually say goodbye after only serving and getting to know them for four days. The reason why this post is so late in the day is because we also just shared about 3-1/2 hours together, talking about all the life lessons we learned on this trip and how God wants us to take those lessons learned back to our homes and lives in PA. We also had a great time just encouraging each other, and before we knew it... BOOM! It was 3-1/2 hours later. Many happy tears were shed, many hugs were given, many laughs were shared, and many thanks were made to God for an incredible team and an unforgettable week.
Friends and family, please ask us about our trips. Ask us what we learned, what our highlights were, what our challenges were, how our teammates affirmed us, what people we met, what miracles we saw, and what stories we heard that made an impact on us. Ask us about the food we ate, the accents we picked up :), and all the ways we heard God's voice. We could have never been here without your prayers and support, so THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!
We fly out in the morning from New Orleans and hope to be back at Daybreak around 8:30ish PM. Most of us will be around Daybreak on Sunday morning, so look for The Shed sauce stains on our lips and come give us hug to say "Welcome Home!" We missed you all SOOOOO much and cannot WAIT to see y'all tomorrow!
- Written by Mel on behalf of my amazing team
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
A Few Pictures...
We posted a blog below, but here are some extra pictures from our dinner at "The Shed." The final picture comes from our visit from our homeowners from 2 years ago.
The Best Thursday Ever
Thunderstorms all night and we woke to a heavy rain.
We’ve hit our stride at the work site. We understand what needs to be done and we do it. We are caulking (still!); painting; installing doors, door stoppers, closet shelves; and pouring a set of concrete stairs. I think we have shocked our site manager because there is no job we decline to do. Two of us (the shortest two) crawled around underneath the house today fixing installation that had fallen. This might not sound too bad, but you also must factor in that these two were crawling around in chicken and goat “raisins” and Mississippi mud in order to complete the job.
We’ve also come to realize that the work we do on Mr. Thomas’ home is not the only way we are serving. We are encouraging one another as we see each other take steps of faith. Our leaders challenged us today to listen to see if we could discern what God was speaking to us. Wow, is God speaking. He is telling us that we can believe that He can heal the sick, telling us how to improve our relationships when we get home, and telling us that we do not need to fear the future.
After work today, we visited the homeowner that Daybreak served two years ago. We also met his two sons. They shared what living through Katrina and her aftermath was like. They lived for six months in their front yard before getting a FEMA trailer. The three of them then lived in the FEMA trailer for over two years until Habitat rebuilt their house. The story of devastation continues to affect us, but more and more we are humbled by the graciousness of the people of Mississippi. They could be bitter, resentful, or prideful, but they are not. They are genuine, warm, and so thankful for the help that they have received.
We ended the evening at the best restaurant in these here parts. We got fed at “The Shed.” Barbequed ribs, chicken, pork, and the best potato salad this side of the Mississippi. Habitat volunteers, who are now close friends, joined us for a wonderful night of laughter. We promised Mr. Ken, a host at The Shed, that we would return, ‘cause I don’t know about y’all, but I’m fixin’ to come back to Mississippi right soon.
- Written by Mandy on behalf of the team
We’ve hit our stride at the work site. We understand what needs to be done and we do it. We are caulking (still!); painting; installing doors, door stoppers, closet shelves; and pouring a set of concrete stairs. I think we have shocked our site manager because there is no job we decline to do. Two of us (the shortest two) crawled around underneath the house today fixing installation that had fallen. This might not sound too bad, but you also must factor in that these two were crawling around in chicken and goat “raisins” and Mississippi mud in order to complete the job.
We’ve also come to realize that the work we do on Mr. Thomas’ home is not the only way we are serving. We are encouraging one another as we see each other take steps of faith. Our leaders challenged us today to listen to see if we could discern what God was speaking to us. Wow, is God speaking. He is telling us that we can believe that He can heal the sick, telling us how to improve our relationships when we get home, and telling us that we do not need to fear the future.
After work today, we visited the homeowner that Daybreak served two years ago. We also met his two sons. They shared what living through Katrina and her aftermath was like. They lived for six months in their front yard before getting a FEMA trailer. The three of them then lived in the FEMA trailer for over two years until Habitat rebuilt their house. The story of devastation continues to affect us, but more and more we are humbled by the graciousness of the people of Mississippi. They could be bitter, resentful, or prideful, but they are not. They are genuine, warm, and so thankful for the help that they have received.
We ended the evening at the best restaurant in these here parts. We got fed at “The Shed.” Barbequed ribs, chicken, pork, and the best potato salad this side of the Mississippi. Habitat volunteers, who are now close friends, joined us for a wonderful night of laughter. We promised Mr. Ken, a host at The Shed, that we would return, ‘cause I don’t know about y’all, but I’m fixin’ to come back to Mississippi right soon.
- Written by Mandy on behalf of the team
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Definitely Not the Same Old, Same Old
The first sign today was not going to be an ordinary day on the work site was that we actually arrived at 8:00 AM…ON TIME! After buttering Mark (our crew leader) up with doughnuts and enjoying some laughs, we got hard to work.
The tasks started out with many of the familiar caulking, painting, and baseboard installation tasks. We then branched out into preparing an attic for insulation and installed doors as well as the door hardware. In these simple everyday tasks for some, God definitely started to allow the work He is doing in us to show. Many of us stepped into tasks that were completely foreign to us and the “yes” we gave to God allowed Him to show us how we can accomplish anything when we trust in Him.
Not only is God using the tasks of the day to teach us, He is using each and every person on the job site to reveal a portion of His truth to us. He may reveal new potential to someone, reveal new truth to another, or allow another to serve in an unexpected way. As the team accepts each new challenge, we grow closer to each other as we embrace and encourage the Jesus we see in each other.
We are not here to just build a house for someone to make into a home. We are building relationships blessed by our Father.
Tomorrow, you can pray for us as we travel back to our homeowner’s place from 2 years ago. Daybreak has kept in contact with him over the years, and our team is going to meet him and hear his story about the storm.
Oh yeah… and we’re going to “The Shed” for dinner. YUM!!!!
- Written by Dan on behalf of the team
The tasks started out with many of the familiar caulking, painting, and baseboard installation tasks. We then branched out into preparing an attic for insulation and installed doors as well as the door hardware. In these simple everyday tasks for some, God definitely started to allow the work He is doing in us to show. Many of us stepped into tasks that were completely foreign to us and the “yes” we gave to God allowed Him to show us how we can accomplish anything when we trust in Him.
Not only is God using the tasks of the day to teach us, He is using each and every person on the job site to reveal a portion of His truth to us. He may reveal new potential to someone, reveal new truth to another, or allow another to serve in an unexpected way. As the team accepts each new challenge, we grow closer to each other as we embrace and encourage the Jesus we see in each other.
We are not here to just build a house for someone to make into a home. We are building relationships blessed by our Father.
Tomorrow, you can pray for us as we travel back to our homeowner’s place from 2 years ago. Daybreak has kept in contact with him over the years, and our team is going to meet him and hear his story about the storm.
Oh yeah… and we’re going to “The Shed” for dinner. YUM!!!!
- Written by Dan on behalf of the team
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Our Day with Mr. Thomas, Mark, and Rosslyn
Today was an incredible day! It was our first day working at the Habitat home. We arrived at our location in Saucier, MS (pronounced so-SURE) around 8:30 this morning and met our site manager, Mark. We learned that we’re working on rehabilitating an existing home. Habitat does both new builds and rehabs. The homeowner, Mr. Thomas, has been living in an extremely small camper in his front yard since Katrina hit 5 years ago. His home is in the country (we traveled on a gravel/dirt road to get there) and Mr. Thomas has various animals including goats and chickens. Thankfully, many of our team members were able to meet Mr. Thomas before he left for work. He is a very nice man who was appreciative and grateful for Habitat and our help. Habitat wanted to tear down the existing property and start from new, but Mr. Thomas was adamant that he wanted to keep his home. Once it’s ready, he will be sharing his home with his four grandchildren.
Habitat has been working at this site for several weeks and the home is approaching completion. After getting to know our site manager, Mark, and the other Habitat workers, betters, we all got to work. Mark has a tremendous sense of humor and put us each at ease with his ability to mix fun with work. We did many tasks which included caulking, painting, installing baseboards (using some power tools!), and laying concrete. The weather was hot and humid today, but we were blessed with a nice breeze most of the day. We were all extremely tired by the end of the day, but felt great about the work we did.
One high point of the day occurred over lunch when we had the opportunity to talk more with the local habitat workers about their experience with Katrina. Some of them evacuated, some stayed. Thankfully, they all weathered the storm safely. We were blessed when one of the local workers, Rosslyn, shared her testimony of when she turned her life over to Christ. We were all deeply touched by her story and willingness to share it with us.
We’re looking forward to another great day tomorrow. Thanks for your love, support and prayers.
- Written by Alicia on behalf of the team
Habitat has been working at this site for several weeks and the home is approaching completion. After getting to know our site manager, Mark, and the other Habitat workers, betters, we all got to work. Mark has a tremendous sense of humor and put us each at ease with his ability to mix fun with work. We did many tasks which included caulking, painting, installing baseboards (using some power tools!), and laying concrete. The weather was hot and humid today, but we were blessed with a nice breeze most of the day. We were all extremely tired by the end of the day, but felt great about the work we did.
One high point of the day occurred over lunch when we had the opportunity to talk more with the local habitat workers about their experience with Katrina. Some of them evacuated, some stayed. Thankfully, they all weathered the storm safely. We were blessed when one of the local workers, Rosslyn, shared her testimony of when she turned her life over to Christ. We were all deeply touched by her story and willingness to share it with us.
We’re looking forward to another great day tomorrow. Thanks for your love, support and prayers.
- Written by Alicia on behalf of the team
Monday, October 25, 2010
From New Orleans to Biloxi
It was yet another bright and early morning. The guys were spread out in two rooms, but somehow all found themselves at McDonald's for breakfast. The ladies went to some fancy coffee shop and had a good breakfast.
The Holiday Inn we stayed in was very nice and located in the French Quarter. We took a Katrina tour by bus. Our tour today took place five years after the hurricane, yet the devastation is still evident everywhere. We were waiting to see this damage first hand, knowing that it would impact us much more after we saw it. Our tour guide repeated over and over that the earthen dams held, but the flood walls failed or were not high enough to stop the 32 foot storm surge. In addition to that, the 17th street canal that was designed to take the water out of New Orleans actually acted as another path for the water to flow into the city from the North side. This happened because of the counter-clockwise circulation of the hurricane. We took lots of photos to show everyone when we return.
We had lunch at The Gumbo Shop restaurant and enjoyed some alligator sausage (yum!), crawfish, gumbo, and jambalaya. Our young waiter David (who looked like a young Mr. T) was a new waiter and we joked with him until he relaxed. He was a New Orleans resident from the Upper 9th Ward, which was hit the hardest of all areas. He advised us that his large family evacuated at the last minute. They returned to see their devastated home for the first time two months after the storm. He stated that it was 5 months after the storm until they were able to return and start the long clean up. They just completed their home only 3 months ago.
After lunch we jumped in the vans and headed to Biloxi, Mississippi, to begin the task we came here for. We arrived around 4:30 at Camp Victor and settled into our bunk room. The staff debriefed us on the house rules and we sat down to dinner at 6 pm. We will gather back together at 8 pm for a team debrief and lights out follow at 10 pm.
God has blessed us with a good indoctrination of New Orleans, which we are grateful for, but we are anxious to get started with Habitat tomorrow. The temperature is expected to be in the high 80’s and the humidity is similar to our summer weather. We’ve all been sweating from the heat already and everyone has changed to shorts!
Thanks to all who are following our blog. Stay tuned tomorrow for the results of our first work day. We don’t know yet what we will be doing.
- Written by Wayne and Bob on behalf of the team
The Holiday Inn we stayed in was very nice and located in the French Quarter. We took a Katrina tour by bus. Our tour today took place five years after the hurricane, yet the devastation is still evident everywhere. We were waiting to see this damage first hand, knowing that it would impact us much more after we saw it. Our tour guide repeated over and over that the earthen dams held, but the flood walls failed or were not high enough to stop the 32 foot storm surge. In addition to that, the 17th street canal that was designed to take the water out of New Orleans actually acted as another path for the water to flow into the city from the North side. This happened because of the counter-clockwise circulation of the hurricane. We took lots of photos to show everyone when we return.
We had lunch at The Gumbo Shop restaurant and enjoyed some alligator sausage (yum!), crawfish, gumbo, and jambalaya. Our young waiter David (who looked like a young Mr. T) was a new waiter and we joked with him until he relaxed. He was a New Orleans resident from the Upper 9th Ward, which was hit the hardest of all areas. He advised us that his large family evacuated at the last minute. They returned to see their devastated home for the first time two months after the storm. He stated that it was 5 months after the storm until they were able to return and start the long clean up. They just completed their home only 3 months ago.
After lunch we jumped in the vans and headed to Biloxi, Mississippi, to begin the task we came here for. We arrived around 4:30 at Camp Victor and settled into our bunk room. The staff debriefed us on the house rules and we sat down to dinner at 6 pm. We will gather back together at 8 pm for a team debrief and lights out follow at 10 pm.
God has blessed us with a good indoctrination of New Orleans, which we are grateful for, but we are anxious to get started with Habitat tomorrow. The temperature is expected to be in the high 80’s and the humidity is similar to our summer weather. We’ve all been sweating from the heat already and everyone has changed to shorts!
Thanks to all who are following our blog. Stay tuned tomorrow for the results of our first work day. We don’t know yet what we will be doing.
- Written by Wayne and Bob on behalf of the team
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Biloxi 2010 - We're here!!!
Hey there, friends and family! Yes, this is the right blog site! You can read all about our trip this week, and also check out trips from year's past.
We are here safe and sound. Our flights were easy and drama-free, and all of our luggage made it through. We just checked into our hotel in New Orleans and will be going shopping once we finish updating all of you! Then we're headed to a yummy New Orleans dinner, and in the morning we will be taking a 3-hour tour (can you hear the song from Gilligan's Island?) of the city to learn all about Hurricane Katrina and how it radically changed the people here.
We hope to be able to update our blog daily, but no promises! We will do our best to keep you up to speed on how we're doing each day, and we REALLY appreciate your prayers and support. We could never be here without you, so thank you!
The Biloxi 2010 Team
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